Match Ratings Ratings vs Sheffield Utd

[spids]

Lloris - 7 - very little to do, but when called upon was safe as houses.
Aurier - 8.5 - so much better in an offensive system when playing on the front foot.
Toby - 8 - Some lovely long range passing and no mis-steps defensively.
Dier - 6 - nearly gifted them a goal first half with a real brain fart of a pass.
Højbjerg - 7 - Solid game.
Lo Celso - 7.5 - positive with his passing.
Dele - 7.5 - looked rusty and slightly out of sync, but always wanted the ball.
Bale - 9 - three great goals and his best tracking back to date!
Son - 8 - back to his best. Unlucky to have one ruled out for offside when VAR clearly did not have the right camera angle to do anything other than guess.
Kane - 7.5 - Missed chances he’d usually bury and looked a little leggy. Amazing that we scored 4 and he did not score or assist.

Winks - 7
Bergwijn - 7.5
Lamela - 6

Mason - 8 - Positive, brave, football. Called out the stamp. Interested to see how he fares against Bielsa’s Leeds.

 

[Japhet]

Like watching a completely different team. We wanted the ball and fought hard to get it. Once we had it the movement was good and we had some lovely passages of sharp passing. The goals were clinical. Defensively we were firm and resolute. Mason got the setup spot on with an attacking 4231. The pivot worked fine with 2 aggressive tacklers in there and Dele given a free range. Up front the movement was good with Dele dragging their defenders around and causing problems.

At last it was a performance that was enjoyable to watch and the smiles on players faces says it all really. Of course, it's all in the context of how bad Sheff Utd were/are, but you can only play what's in front of you and we've all repeatedly witnessed us be passive and weak against teams equally bad or worse. With any luck this will be just the tonic we need to set us up for a hard fought run in because that's what we need right now.

Bale my MOM, not only for his goals but for his overall effort including plenty of tracking back and tackling. He partnered up extremely well with Aurier who had a cracking game. Well done Ryan Mason.

 

[wirE]

Bale and Aurier.

 

[mr ashley]

Agree with most of this. Though a teeny tiny bit harsh on Dele. I thought he grew into the game, and was by no means at the same level as Kane today. Who really wasn't at the races for some reason. Indeed, it was rather worrying to see that potentially the worst of our starting XI today was Kane. For some reason he seemed listless. And his body language wasn't hugely enthusiastic. Could be injury related. Could be he doesn't want to get hurt before the Euros... could be reports of him wanting off are true, but he's bummed, 'cos he knows the liklihood of that happening is borderline impossible.

The optimist in me wants to say it was simply a case of he's still feeling his ankle injury and isn't thrilled with how his body is responding.

That’s fine- like I said I didn’t see the first half so could only comment on what I saw of dele in the second half. Even on a bad day he will still show for the ball and make runs in behind.
Hoping that we can start to see the best of him soon

 

[EastLondonYid]

Reguilon and Aurier by some distance. The fullbacks absolutely set the platform for everything good we did, not just getting forward and getting involved in possession but their aggression and energy to press and steam into the opposition.

Almost thought I'd teleported back four years.

Massive difference to our performance when the fullbacks playing at that level.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

I guess goals win games, so Bale for MOTM.

Was great to see Serge put in one of those displays that we all know he's capable of. Hopefully this performance gives him a nice confidence boost, as that's what I think he thrives on. 2 very good assists!

Talking of the 2 assists. I'd like to give an honourable mention to Dele Alli, for the ball he played to Aurier for (the first?) assist. Outside of the right foot, perfectly weighted, split between the defender & Aurier. Really not a easy as Dele made it look.

Back to Bale. How beautiful it was to see him show that twat Mourinho, and the site Jester @yankspurs how much he's capable of if given the opportunity, and how we really must do all we can to get that 2nd season loan sorted (if the new manager wants him).

Shit opposition but a great platform for the players to build a bit of confidence & belief in what they can do.

Ps, love you really Hank.

 

[SonicSarr]

Aurier plays well when he's hungry, doesn't he? #StarveAurier

 

[Gilzeanking]

We absolutely adore not being pressed .So much more time on the ball . It reminds me in reverse of how we have made teams in bad form suddenly look like Barca throughout this season with our zero press under JM , so many losing streaks ended when playing us,infuriating !

We'll need to see us vs a pressing team before we get too excited imo , but what a lovely match to watch for us . I was absolutely livid with Son(7) in the Final...he just had zero appetite to contribute when as soon as he received the ball he was pressed . This is his achillies heel and vs City he simply shut up shop and downed tools . So vs this broken Sheffield side he was enthusiastic for footie again and played well.

I am far from Dele's(6) friend ,but again with space to play, was pretty good . Great to see that . Aurier(9)was on fire well before his decisive contributions, a full, excellent match. Bale (9) was also outstanding , not only the goals , but all round effort.

A real tonic for us after the depressing Final . But c'mon, Sheff Utd had no desire ,no press ,no urgency . We'll take this positive mood into
the next match tho, just what the doctor ordered .