Tottenham 2-1 Southampton Player Ratings: Vertonghen bosses it

Alli nets the pen in Kane’s absence – mirror.co.uk

First half goals from Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli helped Tottenham to a 2-1 win over 10th place Southampton – but how did players on both teams rate?

Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris – his distribution was poor and he could have done better for Ward-Prowse’s goal. 4

Eric Dier – gave the ball away in dangerous areas and switched off more often than can be accepted from a centre-back. 3
Toby Alderweireld – air-kicked a cross from his right, which led to the opposition goal. That uncharacteristic error marred an otherwise assured display. 5
Jan Vertonghen – an outstanding performance. Unlike his partners, Vertonghen didn’t put a foot wrong all game. 9

Kyle Walker – plenty of energy and industry, though his passing could have been better. 5
Victor Wanyama – threw his weight around and did some excellent covering work, which made up for limited technical contributions. 7
Moussa Dembele – won a few tackles. Could have been more mobile in his forward play, although he was involved in Eriksen’s opener. 6
Ben Davies – a solid performance, yet hard to escape the feeling Spurs lose some attacking pace when Rose is out.

Christian Eriksen – retained the ball well in forward areas, played two key passes and took his goal superbly. 7
Dele Alli – won and converted the spot kick well, but his attacking contribution was not as strong in the second half. 6
Heung-Min Son – often thrives playing just off a more physical front man, but as the lone striker he struggled. 3

Harry Winks (on 75) – looked bright when he came on, added energy and could be the right man to partner Wanyama in future games. 7
Kieran Trippier (on 78) – looked a tad error-prone in his short time on the pitch. 4
Vincent Janssen (on 86) – got as many shots away in five minutes as Son did all game. Has arguably done enough to start next time out. 6

Southampton

Fraser Forster – made a few good saves in the first half that kept Southampton in the game. 7

Cedric Soares – made some decent forward runs and had one shot from range on target. Rarely beaten for pace. 6
Jack Stephens – looks out of his depth at this level. Needs a season at a Championship club like Brentford or Barnsley that will embrace young, ball-playing centre-backs. 3
Maya Yoshida – a sturdy performance, despite one or two jittery moments. 6
Ryan Bertrand – was involved in Southampton’s goal and got forward well. 7

James Ward-Prowse – got the goal to open the game up just after the break but was a touch fortunate not to get booked. 5
Steven Davis – no shortage of effort, but with Romeu doing a lot of the dirty work it’s hard to see a long-term future for him at Southampton. 3
Oriol Romeu – gave his side a combative edge with perhaps more athleticism than Davis. 7

Dusan Tadic – struggled with the physical side of the game, but was involved in a few first half openings. 5
Nathan Redmond – gave the ball away too much and was at times too honest in his tracking back. Needed to press Dier rather than chase back Walker. 4
Manolo Gabbiadini – Southampton could not capitalize on their pressure when he came off, much like their performances before the Italian came in. 5

Shane Long (on 32) – forced one save out of Lloris but was caught offside too often. 4
Sofiane Boufal (on 69) – looked poor when he came on and hasn’t lived up to his summer hype. 4
Jay Rodriguez (on 80) – didn’t have enough time to influence proceedings. 5