Tottenham Hotspur player ratings from lopsided loss at Crystal Palace
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham midfield ratings
Part of the defensive issue for Tottenham on Saturday was the lack of positioning and poise but the poor performance of the midfield certainly contributed. So dominant in possession were Palace that eight of their players had more passes than did Pierre Hojbjerg, Spurs top passer with 36 attempts. We can blame the card some but this unit was being played off the park long before the team went down to 10 men.
Harry WInks – 4
Positioned as the left midfielder in what appeared to be some oblong diamond shape to start, Winks spent most of his afternoon trying to cover for Sergio Reguilon. Despite being deep most of the match, Winks only had five forward passes the entire game. With little movement off the ball and no passing range on it, Winks was a passenger most of the day.
Oliver Skipp – 5
Most fans assumed a Skipp WInks midfield would not work and that was certainly the case Saturday. Skipp was marginally better than Winks in that he was trying to look forward with the ball. His 12 forward passes more than doubled Wink’s output but ultimately led to little for the team. Often sliding over to cover for Winks who was covering for Reguilon, the middle was less protected and Spurs paid the price as a result.
Pierre Hojbjerg – 5
After looking like a real wonder on the ball in the first three matches, Pierre Hojbjerg looked more like a defensive midfielder out of position Saturday. The midfielder played a poor ball over to Dele in one of the few opportunities in the first half and simply was unable to pull off some of the more dynamic moves that he has had success with earlier in the season. One spin in the middle of the pitch was particularly poor in terms of losing possession. Simply off the pace all afternoon.
Dele Alli – 4.5
Dele Alli was kind of in the #10 role at the top of the Spurs midfield diamond on Saturday but spent most of the afternoon showing up late and being beaten to the ball. At no point did Dele really command the ball in the middle of the pitch and try to make something happen. Still willing to run, with a lopsided two-man front line the press was almost pointless. It’s not the kind of performance Spurs needed.