Match Ratings Ratings vs Man Utd

Eriksen hands down. But Vertonghen and Sanchez were class imo.

Dembele was great second half, can we expect a similar level at Anfield or does Vic start in his place?

Very good performances everywhere. Dier and Dembele bitch slapped Pogba and Matic. Vertonghen and Sanchez stood firm for 20 minutws after our opener and then cruised the rest. Davies was superb and Trippier pushed forward for 90 minutes. Pick of the bunch was Eriksen who was quite sublime. Fantastic display and result where we made Utd look very poor. Could have put 6 past them.

Poch fired them up for this one.
The press was thrilling
the tackling strong, even my MOM Christian put a foot in.
Plenty of contenders though (Dembele, Verts, Trippier, Dele. Tom Cobley and all.
Eriksen 9 all the rest 8's
except lazy arse Lloris who did hardly anything.
Should have been 4 or 5
Lukaku: what is that all about.
Six straight wins and clean sheets for UTD coming into this game.
Stats eh!
Watch and be very afraid... er...Newport

Eriksen had a really great game. But Vertonghen though, absolute silk of a defender. Best CB in the league. Saying that Sanchez is probably second best, also truly outstanding tonight. Yes I do remember Toby, but Jan been out shining him for a long long time now. Past 2 years Jan best in prem, and deserved our POTY last year. Tonight shows exactly why.

Eriksen MOTM

Alli not to far behind - gave them fits all game long

Lloris was fantastic (at least thru 60 min when I quit watching)

CBs very good

everyone else did well, too.

No complaints

Eeriness probably MON but Jan was magnificent.

Davies was excellent too, reading the game so well that sometimes he just broke them up by his positioning alone, without having to even make a tackle. Harry scared the bejesus out of the entire Utd team too, so without scoring still made a fantastic contribution.

But in truth it was masterful right across the pitch, every one of them.

Intensity is the key. When we play with that urgency and fire in our belly there really aren't many teams to fear. The intensity most importantly means we get the work rate, the whole team battling across the park, the closing down and pressing putting a stranglehold on the opposition. It then seeps into other parts of the game... We seem to zip the ball around quicker, even the quality and ambition of what we do seems to go up a notch, players are willing to bust a gut and gamble making that run. It all comes from the state of mind.

The team has been given deserved stick for the last couple of games. Tonight showed the true capabilities of the team, and why we get frustrated when standards occasionally dip unacceptably low. Across the park tonight I thought every player did his job and got the better of his opposite number - in effort, in desire, and in quality. We controlled virtually the whole game, barely gave them a sniff, and that was one of the most comprehensive 2-0's you will ever see.

Whilst we had many good performers, I have to mention Eriksen as I thought he was superb tonight. His movement, appreciation of space, positional play, and 360 degree awareness of the game around him was a level or two above anyone else on the pitch - and that's without even getting to the quality with the ball. Simply wonderful to watch him go about this work.

That was one of the best performances of the Poch reign, and gives us a nice shot in the arm going into this tough run of matches. Now to back it up, and go again......

Lloris - Didn't have a great deal to do, but made a couple of great plays early on when we had a little wobble and made a decent save second half.

Trippier - Thought early on he struggled a bit, three or four times he bit in, sold himself, and led to good passages of play for Utd, however he then went from strength to strength powering up and down the flank and put in probably his best performance for us.

Sanchez - Brick wall. Stopped everything at source.

Vertonghen - Very good game.

Davies - Very good game and most aggression I have ever seen from him, lets see more of that.

Dier - Solid enough.

Dembele - Very solid platform. Much, much, much, better tonight.

Eriksen - See above. Wonderful game.

Alli - Worked hard and made some very good runs all night. Mostly very sensible with the ball and found some good positions... Still sometimes though I'd like to see him release it quicker!

Son - Worked hard, made some decent runs. Maybe a little wasteful in front of goal but put in his shift.

Kane - Didn't pack his shooting boots tonight, but ti didn't matter. Really good all-round game, I thought first half particularly he was brilliant and bossed their centre backs.

Poch - Much better, well done. These are the standards man, don't let them slip too much!

Anyone who limits a front 5 of Lukaku, Sanchez, Martial, Lingard and Pogba to 1 notable shot on target is MOTM material. The back 4 all played a huge part in that but Jan was an absolute masterclass in defending.

Everyone was brilliant. Vertonghen and Eriksen slightly more brilliant than everyone else.

mpickard2087 said:

Intensity is the key. When we play with that urgency and fire in our belly there really aren't many teams to fear. The intensity most importantly means we get the work rate, the whole team battling across the park, the closing down and pressing putting a stranglehold on the opposition. It then seeps into other parts of the game... We seem to zip the ball around quicker, even the quality and ambition of what we do seems to go up a notch, players are willing to bust a gut and gamble making that run. It all comes from the state of mind.

The team has been given deserved stick for the last couple of games. Tonight showed the true capabilities of the team, and why we get frustrated when standards occasionally dip unacceptably low. Across the park tonight I thought every player did his job and got the better of his opposite number - in effort, in desire, and in quality. We controlled virtually the whole game, barely gave them a sniff, and that was one of the most comprehensive 2-0's you will ever see.

Whilst we had many good performers, I have to mention Eriksen as I thought he was superb tonight. His movement, appreciation of space, positional play, and 360 degree awareness of the game around him was a level or two above anyone else on the pitch - and that's without even getting to the quality with the ball. Simply wonderful to watch him go about this work.

That was one of the best performances of the Poch reign, and gives us a nice shot in the arm going into this tough run of matches. Now to back it up, and go again......

Lloris - Didn't have a great deal to do, but made a couple of great plays early on when we had a little wobble and made a decent save second half.

Trippier - Thought early on he struggled a bit, three or four times he bit in, sold himself, and led to good passages of play for Utd, however he then went from strength to strength powering up and down the flank and put in probably his best performance for us.

Sanchez - Brick wall. Stopped everything at source.

Vertonghen - Very good game.

Davies - Very good game and most aggression I have ever seen from him, lets see more of that.

Dier - Solid enough.

Dembele - Very solid platform. Much, much, much, better tonight.

Eriksen - See above. Wonderful game.

Alli - Worked hard and made some very good runs all night. Mostly very sensible with the ball and found some good positions... Still sometimes though I'd like to see him release it quicker!

Son - Worked hard, made some decent runs. Maybe a little wasteful in front of goal but put in his shift.

Kane - Didn't pack his shooting boots tonight, but ti didn't matter. Really good all-round game, I thought first half particularly he was brilliant and bossed their centre backs.

Poch - Much better, well done. These are the standards man, don't let them slip too much!

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Pretty much word for word my thoughts. Trippier, Sanchez, Dier, Dembele all had their best games in ages, Eriksen was a class above everyone else and Harry with no shooting boots is still incredible. But for a few poor decisions/ executions in the final third from Son and Dele, or some scuffed Harry shots, this could’ve been six and it wouldn’t have flattered us.

Phil Jones.

Was a beast for us tonight.

Jan Vertonghen is mine. Been saying for a while how incredible he is. The best defender in the PL and no one can tell me otherwise.

Could not possibly give a motm tonight. We were just imperious all over the pitch. More of that every week please. Superb.

Jan was the best player on the pitch. When we scored they had a 15 min spell where they looked dangerous but not with super jan. have been saying this for 2 years he is the best defender in pl league and Europe. I fully expect loads of stupid ratings but thats my opinion

yankspurs said:

Jan Vertonghen is mine. Been saying for a while how incredible he is. The best defender in the PL and no one can tell me otherwise.

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And Europe! Only one better is toby but i dont think so

I commented earlier in my group chat (as the only Spurs fan) that Verts has to be top 5 centre backs in Europe. If anything I think saying top 3 would be more realistic, but I was met with "behave".

Obviously I'm gonna be biased, but this imperious performance from Jan tonight just solidified my opinion. He's so, so bloody good. That rapid interception and burst down the left flank was fantastic. If only the ball had found him like it should have done. That play almost had me out of my chair; so few players read the game as well as he does.

(in case it wasn't at all obvious, the handsome chap wearing #5 for me)

Eriksen, king of the Wasteland Bullies

That was such a strange game. Good strange, but fucking strange. It started strange. In fact, even before it started it was strange, because for some strange reason Mourinho decided to be less risk averse than he ever is in these type of games; less risk averse, for example than he was in the reverse fixture when he was the home manager. Playing Pogba in a CM2 is never getting the best of him, it's not quite is daft as playing Alli or Eriksen in a CM2 (cough Sherwood) against a top side, but it's not far off. You just do not get the best of Pogba in a Cm2 format, he needs more freedom, and to be played in 3. (So yeah, you can add a BC knows better than Mourinho sticker to your "That **** BC thinks he knows better than" Panini album)

Then the strange start did start. We kicked off and scored. That never happens, not just to us, but to anybody.

The next 15 minutes were reasonably uncomfortable as ManU did what Mourinho probably wanted them to do for the first 15-20 minutes, they pushed. That's often his plan. Push for 15-20 minutes, try to get a lead to sit on, then whether they do or don't, sit and pounce with Martial and Sanchez whenever possible as we try to push for the remainder. Because that's what we like to do.

What we did then was pretty much bully ManU for the next 20 minutes, and once again there was a strangeness to it, as I can't remember a ManU team ever being this passive, this easy to push around. The game largely bypassed midfield and was played at either end, mostly at theirs as we pressed and suffocated them, led by the forwards, really well supported by the full backs, especially Trippier, with Dembele and Dier providing good press support with Utd occasionally breaking the press and bearing down on our back 4, who for the most part stood firm.

So what happens next ? I know right, Mourinho storms off early to get his hair dryer well and truly charged up, he makes two changes, rectifies his tactical midfield fuck up and sends his players out with the safe word(s) "Lads, I sink it is Tottingham, no" to which decades of programming kicks in, they come out possessed and give us good rodgering, we retreat into our shells and the next 45 minutes is like waiting in traffic when you are already late whilst a bird tries to reverse her car into a parking space 3 inches too small for her car.

This is where it gets even stranger, because none of that happened. We just came out and kept bullying them, Mourinho apparently had just said "as you were" to his lot, so they passively let us. We smothered them, without the ball we were superb.

There were also a couple of outstanding performances with the ball, most notably, Eriksen. This was an absolutely superlative performance. So superb that even Owen "sensationally wrong about most things" Hargreaves couldn't even fuck it up for MOTM. Apart from providing the games most decisively composed moment, when after 10 seconds he coolly chipped curled round DeGea the opening goal, he was fucking everywhere. He was the difference maker. If others had had their wits about them (Kane, Alli, Son) he'd have had at least a couple of assists too, but not only was he the games most intelligent and creatively productive player (6 key passes) only one player on the pitch got through more passes (Eriksen 68 93% - Dembele 77 95%). He was fucking Everywhere. When a defender needed an out ball, he was there, when a midfielder was getting pressed, he was there. When an attack needed orchestrating he was there. He played the ball out to Trippier for the second goal. He does all this so quietly, it's probably the only thing that keeps him Spurs player.

Next up on the honours list is Trippier. This boy really takes some shit. He's not the most imposing physical athlete. He suffers in comparison to Walker in that respect. But what he does have is a far super brain. He thinks better, quicker, constantly. He had a torrid time against the leagues best left side when we were badly set up, but he's now had two outstanding games against the second and third best attacks in this league. They were so busy trying to stop him, we rarely saw Sanchez and Young all night. And he was constantly involved in the game, only Eriksen and Dembele completed more passes, no one tackled/intercepted more. And it was his quick thinking and ability to put the ball in early, but with actual quality too, that earned us the second. This was NOT A SKEWED SHOT, Trippier was aiming directly for Kane, and Jones had to get something on it. We got lucky that what he got on it was a hooked sand wedge. But it was deliberate accuracy that caused the error.

Taking the bronze medal tonight was Vertonghen. This boy just oozes fucking class. When we needed a last ditch tackle, he was there, when we needed a cool head to calmly stride out, he was there, when we needed someone to grab that little fucking twerp Herrera by the throat, he was there (this is sounding a lot like a biblical folk song....?)

Ok, now the shit strange bit (fuck off BC, can't we just enjoy the win over a big rival FFS - sorry no - @mpickard2087 would never forgive me). Productively, this game was a fucking wasteland of post apocalyptical proportions. I can't remember any game against a ManU side where we had so many great situations. It's not strange that Kane, Alli and Son can bumble about a bit, but what is incredibly strange is that none of them eventually ram our bumble grumbles down our throats. At least one of them always does. Not tonight. I can't remember a game where Kane's shooting was so inept from so many different angles. We are all used to him greedying a couple, fluffing a couple but then he always makes good and bangs at least one in and all is forgiven, but strangely, not tonight. I loved everything else about his game tonight, but his finishing and final third play in general was atrocious. As was Alli's and Son's. Again Alli's overall contribution has improved enormously, his involvement in game play and work off the ball much better, but the continual wastage of great situations drove me nuts. And this was Son at his bumbling worst. The boy tried, but nothing he did came off. Simple passes bobbled, and when he had the chance to roll in Kane for a game clincher he just blasted straight at DeGea. It was piss poor, but Kane has done this so many times (been greedy instead of doing the right thing for the team) , he can't complain too much. This is what happens when you do it too often, it comes back to bite you on the arse.

Maybe because I sat through the abomination of the "Lad's it's Tottenham" 3-5, and was even at the ten man City 3-4 from 3-0 up, or maybe it's just because this is football and football can ram a cricket bat up your arse sideways, and often has, that missing chance after chance, wasting situation after situation to finally kill this game, had me twitching like Inspector Dreyfus after a caffeine enema.

Epilogue

Just when you think you are a little weary of Pochettino's ways - you know you still love him, but you are in a familiarity dip - he wakes you up in the morning dressed as a nurse, serves you hot chocolate and buttered croissants, and tells you to pack the strap-on cause he's booked us on the Eurostar to Paris.

Isn't football strangely fucking good sometimes.

Individual

Lloris - One great save. No distribution howlers. Strange but good.

Trippier - Excellent performance. Like a little right back play maker tonight at times. Sometimes brains can be more valuable than braun. And I don't just mean with the ball, I mean the way he supported the press, won the ball back, and the positions he takes up. And having a player who can hit a ball first time and actually do it with precision is a bonus.

Sanchez - Couple of iffy moments but generally very good.

Vertinghen - Smooth mother fucker.

Davies - decent game.

Dier - Wasn't totally comfortable first 25 minutes when they were doing the pressing, but after that was decent, supported the press well.

Dembele - Best game for ages, like Dier, supported the forward press well, but there is still the odd occasion where you just wish he'd release the ball instead of taking on one more man.

Eriksen - Fucking über performance. Goal, clever passes creating chances, orchestrated everything, and the industry to get himself everywhere and make himself available. Outstanding. MOTM

Alli - His work rate and involvement levels have improved considerable lately, and as long as he's doing that, and getting into situations, then I can forgive a certain amount of bumblidge. But creatively tonight was a bit frustrating at times. Good game overall, though. 57 passes at 68% is good numbers for Alli.

Son - Not a great game really. Lively but wasteful.

Kane - I loved everything he did tonight except what he did in goal scoring situations. Worked hard, roughed them up, was always available and some of his hold up play was very good. Finishing unusually bad.

Could have chosen number of players as was such a good team performance but had to opt for CE who was everywhere and showed everything we have been missing in last couple of games.
He was the catalyst tonight who got everything going after 10.4 seconds.

Having watched the games against Dortmund, Real, Liverpool, Southampton etc., at home I have to say that may be the most complete performance O have seen this season. Can't fault anyone.

Special mentions for Verts, Son, Dele, Dembele and Trippier .. but all were as good today as the players were bad on Saturday. Eriksen May MOTM though for a beautiful performance. In particular with Dier and Dembele bossing the middle we saw Eriksen, Son and Dele play some spellbinding football. A committed, brave, skilful performance

everyone overlooking Lloris - only a few saves but he snuffed out half a dozen chances and was commanding in the box. I think we take that for granted.