Tottenham responded to Leicester City’s victory over Sunderland earlier on Sunday in some style as they brushed aside Manchester United at White Hart Lane.
The game was characterised by Spurs’ ruthless six-minute period where they scored thrice to run out comfortable winners. Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela found the net for Mauricio Pochettino’s side as they kept their slim hopes of winning their maiden Premier League title alive.
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Here’s a closer look at every player’s performance and their assigned ratings on a scale from 1-10:
Tottenham
Hugo Lloris – 7.5
He had just a single meaningful save to make, denying Anthony Martial after a dazzling run-in through the heart of the Spurs defence.
Kyle Walker – 8
The fullback was impressive down the wings and his searing pace on the right kept Marcos Rojo on his toes.
Toby Alderweireld – 8.5
He had a solid performance at the back thanks to his accurate positioning to deny United from getting too many clear-cut goal-scoring chances. His header to give Spurs a 2-0 lead after 74 minutes gives him a higher rating.
Jan Vertonghen – 7.5
A clean sheet on his return from a long-term injury will be a massive confidence booster for the Belgian centre-back. He effectively kept out Rashford and Young in either half with his interceptions and reading of crosses.
Danny Rose – 8.5
It was a scintillating display from the fullback as he outpaced an out-of-position Juan Mata in nearly every duel. Rose provided a magnificent assist for Erik Lamela’s goal which gave Spurs their third goal.
Eric Dier – 7.5
Once again, Dier showed why he is amongst England’s future prospects as he shielded his back four superbly with some timely interceptions and confident tackling. He slotted in at centre-back whenever Alderweireld made a forward approach as well.
Mousa Dembele – 7
The Belgian initially struggled to get a foothold on the game in his box-to-box midfield role but grew in stature as the game progressed to administer Spurs’ ruthless attacks in the second half.
Erik Lamela – 8.5
He was amazing in the second half, getting into good positions and putting in some fierce crosses into the United box to unsettle their defenders. Lamela delivered the free-kick which was met by Alderweireld before finding the net himself two minutes later after side-footing a Danny Rose cross.
He gets slightly struck down from a rating of 9 for missing a glorious opportunity in the first half – heading the wrong side of the post with the goal gaping.
Dele Alli – 7.5
He was not really involved in the game until the 70th minute before he was provided with a quality ball by Christian Eriksen to slot past David de Gea to give Spurs the all-important lead. He was energetic after that, continuously using his pace and liveliness on the ball to run into holes within a deflated Manchester United defence.
Christian Eriksen – 8
The Danish midfielder had a very decent game, trying to force an opening in the first half down the middle with a good curling effort from around 30 yards out. He was constantly looking to break United open with his deft passing to locate Harry Kane.
He ultimately got his reward when he expertly found Dele Alli on his right to help Spurs get their opener.
Harry Kane – 7.5
It was perhaps a bit of a surprise to see Harry Kane absent from the goals or assists list in a 3-0 victory, but nonetheless, he showed why he was amongst Europe’s most sought after strikers due to his work ethic inside the box.
He drew a couple of fouls, got himself into positions to meet a cross from the wing and went really close to scoring late in the game when his thumping shot was well tipped over by David de Gea.
Substitutes
Nacer Chadli, Son Heung-Min and Ryan Mason – N/A
All three were introduced very late in the game to shut up shop and replace some tired feet.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 7.5
It was his series of saves that might have kept the scoreline down for Manchester United. In all, the Spanish stopper made 6 saves, including a fine one to deny Harry Kane late in the encounter.
Tim Fosu-Mensah – 7.5
He was a dynamic presence in the attacking third for Manchester United, making some purposeful runs towards the right byline in a bid to help his side cut through a very organised Spurs defence.
Chris Smalling – 6.5
He was solid for 70 minutes but lost belief and focus once the first goal went in – leading to a complete collapse at the back.
Daley Blind – 6
Blind had an abject final half an hour, being constantly rounded by Dele Alli and Harry Kane in the box. None of his corners were potent enough to threaten the opposition.
Marcos Rojo – 6.5
He did occasionally keep Kyle Walker at bay with some good covering up tackles but will be held guilty for getting so easily beaten by Alderweireld in the air to concede United’s second.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 6.5
The French midfielder managed to keep the likes of Alli quiet for 70 minutes with his disciplined defensive marshalling before he too found the 19-year old’s and his team-mates’ shift in gear too hot to handle in the closing stages.
Michael Carrick – 7
The ex-Spurs man had a decent game compared to his team-mates, completing a majority of his passes to set the tone for United’s attacking pursuits.
Juan Mata – 6
The Spaniard must be credited for willing to do the job of back-tracking Danny Rose down the wing when that is the last thing any manager would expect him to do. Louis van Gaal obviously had his reasons for deploying Mata there, but that tactic obviously never paid off as Rose’s pace was head and shoulders above Mata’s.
He never really got the opportunity to play in his preferred number 10 role behind the striker and work his magic.
Jesse Lingard – 6
He played as the attacking midfielder instead of Mata and found the going tough as he failed to create even a single clear opportunity for Marcus Rashford or Ashley Young up front. He would easily have preferred to play wide and let his hungry young legs do the talking.
Anthony Martial – 7
A brilliant threading run through the Spurs defence on the hour mark is the very reason pundits have been pleading Van Gaal to start Martial down the middle as a number nine. He gave Kyle Walker quite a few hiccups with his fleet-footedness but all his efforts were ultimately fruitless.
Marcus Rashford – 6.5
After a promising first 25 minutes, Rashford’s effect died out by the end of the first half as he was unable to get the better of Jan Vertonghen in the Spurs defence.
Substitutes
Ashley Young – 6
A natural winger, Young would have been perplexed himself at his manager’s decision to play him as the central striker in the second half. He, quite expectedly, looked clueless on how to prise open the best defence in the Premier League.
Matteo Darmian – 5.5
The Italian replaced an injured Fosu-Mensah at right back for the last quarter of the game. It was as if that substitution was the Spurs’ ticket to ruthlessness as they scored thrice within nine minutes of his introduction.
He was caught out by Rose’s sheer pace and determination to win a duel down the wings. He never looked likely to do anything meaningful up the field either.
Memphis Depay – N/A
He replaced Juan Mata for the final 13 minutes and will only be remembered for an angry tussle with Kyle Walker, leading to both players going into the book.
