Tottenham Hotspur player ratings from 1-0 win over Watford in EPL
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Defensive Ratings
There is little doubt that through three matches in this young season, the defense for Tottenham Hotspur has been a strength. Tested in a similar yet different way by Watford, the squad ultimately only allowed two shots on target. Helped by some timely midfield protection – more on that later – the defense continues to shine for Tottenham Hotspur.
Sergio Reguilón – 7.5
All Tottenham fans know that Sergio Reguilón can be a wonderful attacking option coming out of the back of the defense. However, sometimes it has felt like that attack has been at the cost of consistent defensive play. On Sunday, Reguilón had his hands full with Ismaila Sarr but more than held his own. Reguilón gave us his best Japhet Tanganga impression mixing in some very physical play with his quickness on Sarr. Reguilón was superb making four tackles and three interceptions to lead the team in both categories on the day.
Eric Dier – 7
Despite playing in three close games for not the first time this season, Eric Dier was relatively quiet on Sunday, which for a defender is a good thing. Dier’s most significant contribution may have been a block he made in the first minute, taking a hard shot off the face/head saving a likely goal. Outside of that, Dier was never pressed on Sunday and passed very well as a result. His four clearances led the team, which shows us just how slow things ultimately were for the Tottenham defense.
Davinson Sanchez – 7.5
Davinson Sanchez, like DIer, continues to show he is a much better player than the one we saw last season. Sanchez was once again a strong presence in terms of recovering and winning the ball. Sanchez won three aerial duels, won three tackles, and had three interceptions. The Colombian almost got lucky with a very nifty backheel flick off a corner that just missed finding the net. This new and improved Sanchez is a big part of this team’s early success.
Japhet Tanganga – 7
Japhet Tanganga continues to grow into the right fullback role in this current Tottenham system. Despite facing Emmanuel Dennis much of the day, Tanganga was not nearly as busy as was Reguilón. What we saw more of from Tanganga on Sunday was a willingness to both push forward as well as fling the ball into the box. While he is not Kieran Trippier Tanganga did knock in five crosses and is showing growing confidence on the ball which bodes well for both his and the team’s future.
Hugo Lloris – 7
All-in-all it was another quiet afternoon for Hugo Lloris. While Tottenham has been pinned in deep at times over the first few weeks that was not the case too much against Watford and Lloris was rarely troubled. As a 34-year old keeper, the key is asking Hugo to make one or two big saves per match, not 4 or 5 and so far that is working for Tottenham and that continued Sunday against Watford.