Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways in the Premier League this afternoon with a victory at home over Crystal Palace. Let’s take a look at how the individual players got on:
Fraser Forster – 7 – Made a few routine saves throughout the 90, but what impresses me most is his distribution. He picks people out effortlessly with his kicks which really gets Spurs up the pitch.
Pedro Porro – 8.5 – Looked far more at home with greater defensive cover behind him in this hybrid system. Porro was a real threat going forward and delivered a pin-point cross to assist Harry Kane. He was a driving force down that right side and a pain for Palace to deal with all day long.
Emerson Royal – 7.5 – Back in the side and finally playing the RCB role many of us have wanted to see. Actually, switched between right-back and right-centre-back which seemed to really complement his skillset. A great first performance back in the side.
Cristian Romero – 7 – Doesn’t always look as assured in the central role because it gives him less opportunity to aggressively press high up the pitch. Some loose passing today too, but overall an impressively reserved and solid performance.
Clement Lenglet – 7 – Gave this system the balance it needed as a left-footer who can play in a four or a three. Composed on the ball and some nice passing out from the back. A great sliding challenge to stop Palace from going through on goal in the first 45 too.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Ben Davies – 7.5 – A very tidy performance from Ben. The hybrid system depended on him transitioning from a left-back to a left-wing-back in and out of possession. He did that very well, contributing defensively but also stretching Palace down the left wing.
Oliver Skipp – 5 – Not his best today. After so many solid games in a row, a bad one was bound to come. His passing was par too loose in the middle of the park, and he gave away a silly foul or two.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 7 – Picked up the slack in midfield today and looked much more like himself, getting involved in attacking plays and showing some great link-up with Kane.
Richarlison – 6 – Ran the channels all day long, but it didn’t quite happen for the Brazilian today. What a lovely piece of skill at his own corner flag though when he won the ball back and flicked it over a Palace player’s head to scamper past.
Harry Kane – 8.5 – That first-half goal moved him into second on his own in the all-time Premier League top scorer list. He also created the move with a really nice switch of play. Harry Kane just doing Harry Kane things. Cleared a ball rolling across the face of goal at the end too.
Heung-min Son – 7 – Looked much more like himself again today with those trademark runs through the heart of the pitch, as well as some nice crosses when cutting in from the left. He is starting to look dangerous again and I’m excited to see him in a more fluid system next season. Should have scored when he went through one-on-one though.
Substitutes:
Dejan Kulusevski – 5 – Didn’t see too much of the ball after coming on.
Eric Dier – N/A
Arnaut Danjuma – N/A
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
