After falling behind again, Tottenham Hotspur pushed and prodded but fell short against Liverpool; here are Spurs player ratings in the loss.
In a game Spurs desperately needed to keep pace with a surging top end of the table, Tottenham Hotspur could not complete another big comeback and fell 1-2 to Liverpool in the Premier League. Although several players gave heroic efforts, and Tottenham was the far better team in the second half, it was not enough to overcome another two-goal deficit. So who performed and who did not in the tough Tottenham loss?
Rating Spurs Forwards
With Heung-min Son out injured, Antonio Conte elected to start in a 3-5-2 formation, with Ivan Perisic getting the first crack at replacing the injured South Korean superstar.
Forward – Harry Kane – 7
Harry Kane did a bit of everything for Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool, but Spurs needed a bit more. Kane was a distributor in the first half, looking to drop deep and drift wide to pick up the ball in dangerous areas. Kane hit several good balls into the box, including one Ivan Perisic, headed off Alison and the post. Kane did a great job flashing and finishing in the second half to get Spurs back in the game but couldn’t get the ball in a similar position again.
Forward – Ivan Perisic – 7
Unlike his previous outings, where Perisic could find that final ball against Liverpool, that moment never came. Perisic was outstanding throughout the match in terms of his effort showing his tremendous endurance. The Croatian was as likely to be defending outside the box running with a man as he was crossing into the box. He and Kane connected well, but like Kane and Son this season, they were not quite finding that high note.
Rating the Tottenham Midfield
With a five-person midfield, Spurs were looking to control the possession and push up against Liverpool. Unfortunately, in the first half, Liverpool’s midfield four controlled much of the action before a furious Tottenham comeback.
Left-wing-back – Ryan Sessegon – 6.5
The young Englishman had moments in the match, like when he managed to wiggle his way past multiple defenders on the left and when he got on the end of a cross to head the ball back to Perisic for a shot at goal. Sess likely feels a bit hard done after going over in the box from a clear shove from Trent Alexander-Arnold. However, on the whole, Sessegnon, like the rest of the team, lacked that moment of quality needed, as he was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski with just over 20-minutes to play.
Central-midfield – Pierre Hojbjerg – 6.5
Pierre-Emily Hojbjerg has been incredible for Tottenham this season, fighting until the last and producing some results in the attack, but Sunday was not his best effort. Battling a knock in the second half, Hojbjerg was trying but never made the key pass or run as the team ran out of time.
Central-midfield – Yves Bissouma – 7.5
Playing as the deepest of the three central midfielders, Yves Bissouma showed three sides of his game on Sunday. Defensively, Bissouma was incredible, winning the ball back on multiple occasions as he used his pace and power to beat Liverpool players to the ball again and again. Once he had the ball, Bissouma showed the close control we had yet to see from him this season. He was about to dribble out of trouble on multiple occasions, showing strength and skill with the ball at his feet. Unfortunately, that final ball for Bissouma was lacking as he struggled to connect in the final third of the pitch. Bissouma was replaced late by Lucas Moura as Spurs searched for an equalizer.
Central-midfield – Rodrigo Bentancur – 7.5
Over the last several matches, the contributions of Rodrigo Bentancur have been plain for all to see, and he again put in a big shift against Liverpool. Bentancur was often the focal point in Spur’s press as they looked to pressure the Liverpool center-halves when they had the ball at their feet. With the ball, Bentancur moved it quickly and kept the team on the front foot. His big moment was a second-half header, which he did not catch cleanly enough to beat Alison.
Right-wing-back – Emerson Royal – 6
It was a tale of two halves for Emerson Royal, although it did not match the same script as everyone else. In the first half, one of the more aggressive Tottenham players was Emerson Royal, who played a couple of good balls into both Kane and Perisic in the final third. However, as the game went on and Royal’s contributions faded, Matt Doherty eventually replaced him.
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.
Tottenham Coaching and Substitute Ratings
Tottenham used three substitutes, all in the second half, which changed but did not take the game.
Substitute 1 – Dejan Kulusevski – 7
After missing the entire month of October, Dejan Kulusevski’s impact was felt immediately. As the ball quickly moved forward to the Swede, Deki then slid the ball to Kane for Spurs’ only goal. The boost he provided was much needed, but he never did get on the wavelength with his teammates in a similar fashion again.
Substitute 2 – Matt Doherty – 6.5
Matt Doherty was fractionally better than Royal, with his most significant contribution coming when he ran into Alison, knocking the keeper down for a minute. Doherty did play the square ball to Deki before his assist to Kane but never provided any good service from the right.
Substitute 3 – Lucas Moura – N/A
Lucas Moura came on with only a couple of minutes left in regular time and ran hard. He caused some havoc but never a big play. He was almost kicked in the face, but like everything else, it was just a close call.
Coach Antonio Conte – 6.5
It was obvious that Spurs were trying to press more and carry a higher line from the beginning of the match. However, that approach did not change the continuing first-half struggles for Spurs. The team dominated the second half, and the injection of Kulusevski made a difference. However, despite a clear dominance in the last 45-minutes, Conte failed to add more attacking nous to the team, with Bryan Gil left out and Moura not on until two minutes remained. Conte could not find it on an evening when the game was crying for something different.