Tottenham Hotspur had another rough day at the office on Sunday as Spurs suffered only their second road loss against previously winless at home Brighton. Despite losing to a team that had not won at home all year, it was the lackluster effort that leaves many with a bad taste. Tottenham did manage eight shots, but never seemed within lightyears of scoring, do how did we rate the players.
Toby Alderweireld – Tottenham’s Top Effort
Toby Alderweireld has often found himself on the outside looking in with the Tottenham Hotspur defense over the last couple of months. The onslaught of matches and an injury earlier in the season had Alderweireld on the outside of the rotation for a while. However, it is obvious to anyone watching that remotely knows anything about football, Toby is still the best Spurs have in defense.
Toby Alderweireld has never had blazing speed, but he could do enough. Toby has never been great in the air but he is always willing to battle. Alderweireld is not flashy, but what he does do is play hard for 90 minutes and rarely, rarely makes mistakes. The block from Toby at 84 minutes kept Spurs in the game and gave them some hope at a point.
How exactly Alderweireld got the bloody mouth we are not sure, but he certainly had a face full of blood following that exchange in play. Toby was a rock all afternoon, with nine clearances, three blocks, and a couple interceptions. Even after Sanchez left the field and Toby had primary responsibility to Neil Maupay, Alderweireld did well.
No, Tottenham did not keep a clean sheet, but it was not because of Toby Alderweireld, who was the most consistent of a poor group on the day, so what are our ratings from the 1-0 loss to Brighton?
Tottenham Defensive Ratings
While Tottenham was supposed to be in a 3-4-3 in the first half and then reverted back to the more traditional 4-2-3-1 in the second half, the reality is Spurs were in five man backline the first half. Moussa Sissoko and Ben Davies were more fullbacks than flankers in the set-up and probably both had way more of the ball than is good for the team. Overall the unit was okay, but some individual errors again cost the points.
Moussa Sissoko – 6.5
Moussa Sissoko was actually one of the better performers for Tottenham on the day, which is really not saying anything. One thing about Sissoko is he does not shy away from the ball and looks to get on it and then try and go forward. Never pretty but always active Moussa Sissoko actually looked good at times as an outside midfielder, where he can influence both sides of the pitch without shouldering the possession load. However, for whatever reason, Sissoko did shoulder much of the possession for Spurs and that is never a good thing.
Davinson Sanchez – 6
In some respects Sanchez deserves an incomplete as he only played the first half, being removed at the interval to bring on Carlos Vinicius. Whether or not Sanchez coming off was the right move could probably be debated but it is what it is. Sanchez had a couple big blocks in his 45 minutes and did not make any real mistakes, which is a step in the right direction.
Toby Alderweireld – 7
Toby Alderweireld played hard all afternoon and covered a ton of ground for Spurs. At one point Toby was all the way to the Brighton endline and was making a cross. No one got on the end of it, but such was the effort from the big Belgian. His block in the 84th minute showed real dedication to the team and a player who has certainly not quit on his coach or mates. Not sure everyone can say that, but Toby could.
Joe Rodon – 6
Joe Rodon did some things well on the afternoon. Overall he was efficient with his passing, although much of it was sideways. Rodon was okay in the air, but as a young defender seems to get drug out of position a bit by the opposition. With more experience will gain more ability positionally. Something to build on.
Ben Davies – 5
Ben Davies passed the ball okay for Spurs and occasionally looked to get in the Brighton half managing to get three crosses off. However, the only thing I will remember from Ben Davies in this match was him being beaten, badly, twice, on the only goal of the game. First failing to stick with his runner and then in an attempt to cut the pass he failed to beat Troussard to the ball. Davies is supposed to bring steadiness to the team, instead he is one dimensional offensively and a liability defensively and both showed in this match.
Tottenham Midfield and Attack
Tottenham was supposed to have four midfielders, but really only had two as Sissoko and Davies spent most of their time defending. This left five players in attack, but without Harry Kane the middle of the pitch was often a void and the team was bereft of ideas. Much better after Carlos Vinicius came on, but still should have done more in the first half than 1 lousy shot.
Pierre Højbjerg – 6.5
Like Moussa Sissoko one of the best things you can say about Pierre Højbjerg is his willingness to show in space and get on the ball. However, also like Sissoko, when the Dane and the Frenchman lead the team in touches it is going to be a long day. While Højbjerg’s passing has far exceeded what was expected coming in, he is in no way a deep lying playmaker who needs 100 touches per match. With 1/4 of the possession going through those two, we should not expect a lot of creativity but without more players willing to get on the ball, not sure what Spurs should do.
Tanguy Ndombele – 7
Tanguy Ndombele did some good things on the day, but he also had his moments where he and his body went and the ball did not. While Ndombele is excellent in both space and tight quarters, he was being asked to do far too much without enough support and under a lot of pressure. Whenver Ndombele was on the ball, there was at least two Brighton defenders on him, as slowing Ndombele slowed the team.
Gareth Bale – 5.5
Gareth Bale jogged around the pitch for about 70 minutes before giving way to Lucas Moura. There were a couple times when it looked like Bale was going to do something, but then nothing ever really happened. Did not have enough burst to get around the corner and adds little defensively. Probably hurting the team more than helping as a passenger without the ball.
Steven Bergwijn – 6
Steven Bergwijn had a rather quiet, pedestrian day. Bergwijn did manage Spurs only shot in the first half, but it really never had a chance to score. Bergwijn seems to be struggling with fitness as he has all year, often seen huffing and puffing after a run like he cannot catch his breath. For a player that is supposed to provide pace and power, we have seen none of that of late. Was willing to get on the ball with 50 touches, but did little with them.
Heung-Min Son – 6
Heung-Min Son was even more quiet than Steven Bergwijn although he did manage more shots, Son really never impacted the match. Did have one little run which led to a shot forcing a save, but only did that once when Tottenham needed so much more. Has a lot of pressure on his shoulders with Kane out, which is compounded by the fact that Son has not really played great all season, despite the goals. His ability to paper over Spurs rough spots was not evident today.
Tottenham Substitutes and Coach Rating
Tottenham used all three substitutes starting with Vinicius coming on at the break and switching up the formation. The reality is Vinicius should have been on from the beginning and Spurs should have been aggressive from the off. Five backs never works and we saw that again today, because that was not 3.
Carlos Vinicius – 7
Carlos Vinicius needed to be on the field the full 90 minutes and maybe things would have been differently. Unlike any of the starters on the pitch, Vinicius at least forces the defense to have to account for someone. Was okay as a target and had a nice turn and shot on frame. If Spurs are going to get out of their funk with Kane injured, Vinicius will have to be a big part of it, but needs to play enough to make that happen.
Lucas Moura – 6
Lucas Moura came on for the last 30 minutes of the match for Gareth Bale and really did not do anything more than the Welshman had. If Spurs are going to not be able to move the ball forward, then it will be difficult for the flare players like Moura and Bale to have an impact. Was active, just not too productive.
Erik Lamela – 6
Came on and was a shell of his former self. Lamela got on the ball a couple times but was lacking the quality to do anything special with it. More concerning, Lamela did not have one defensive action. Not a block, an interception, not even a foul, such was the lack of activity from the Argentine. Was particularly wasteful on a free kick late, as it would have taken something more special than Lamela has in the toolkit to score from 40 straight away. Wasteful.
José Mourinho – 5
I want to give Mourinho time and am not part of the José out crowd, however performances like Sunday live one scratching their head about the coach and practice. The terrible free kicks, the lack of any fluidity in movement, the strange formations, all look like a team completely devoid of ideas and lost at sea. How this team when from so good to so bad so quickly is anyone’s guess. However, whatever magic Mourinho seemed to be applying early has worn off and we just need better.