Spurs player ratings in 1-2 Tottenham loss to Liverpool
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Defensive Ratings
It was a mixed bag for Spurs defensively, as they lost Mo Salah on a couple of occasions and ultimately were their own worst enemy, suffering from a self-inflicted second goal.
Left-back – Ben Davies – 6.5
The Welshman had a relatively non-descript day. He was in some dangerous areas late in the match but could not get on the end of a cross. Davies struggled to complete his long passes and was not near close enough to Salah on the opening goal. With Clement Lenglet playing in the middle, Davies is what Spurs have for another two matches, worn out or not.
Center-back – Clement Lenglet – 7
The best of a poor bunch overall, Lenglet was where he needed to be most of the evening. As much at fault as Davies for losing Salah a few times, Lenglet avoided the big mistake and was accurate in his passing. Like many on the team, Lenglet had a chance, but his header off a Perisic corner was high and flew over the bar.
Right-back – Eric Dier – 6
It was a tale of two games for DIer. There was the big mistake and pretty much everything else. Dier was a huge part of the Tottenham gameplan, using his diagonal ball to the left all day. His long balls were mostly accurate and timely, as his push forward helped keep Liverpool pinned deep for most of the half. Unfortunately for Tottenham, the one thing Dier will be remembered for in this game was his poor header that fell to Salah for the second Red’s goal. On a day were Spurs needed to avoid the big mistake, Dier’s was about as big as they get.
Goalkeeper – Hugo Lloris – 6
Liverpool tested Spurs’ keeper a fair amount, producing six shots on target from 13 total. Lloris was up to four of those shots; however, Salah’s two goals were another matter altogether. With the first, Lloris never even had a chance to react as his head turned in time to watch the ball fly by. The second goal had Lloris in an unenviable position of one-on-one with Salah, which will go to the Egyptian most of the time, as it did today. Lloris’ distribution was again poor, and he almost gave the ball away to Firmino in the back.