Tottenham continued their fine run of away form on Saturday as they handed a 4-0 thumping to Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium.
An imperious Tottenham made short work of Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday to go into the international break with a lot positive form and momentum. The win also helped the North London side leapfrog Chelsea into third place, five points behind the two Manchester clubs.
The hosts grabbed the lead within the first ten minutes as Harry Kane capitalised on a defensive error by Chris Lowe, collecting Kieran Trippier’s headed pass to slot the ball past Jonas Lossl with a fine finish. The lead was doubled soon after as Ben Davies raced towards the stray ball inside the box to score past the Huddersfield goalkeeper.
FULL-TIME: Another fine display as we see off Huddersfield thanks to goals from @HKane (2), @Ben_Davies33 & @MoussaSissoko. #COYS pic.twitter.com/Y4hz31aW5Y
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 30, 2017
Kane then grabbed his second goal of the match midway through the first half, scoring a fine curling goal from his left foot – the 13th time he found the back of the net in a spectacular September. The game settled thereafter with chances coming few and far between.
The win was finally rounded off in stoppage time in second half when Moussa Sissoko finally scored his first goal for Tottenham as his shot was deflected into the net. With Tottenham continuing their perfect away record, The Hard Tackle runs the rule over Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Hugo Lloris: 7.5/10
63 – Hugo Lloris has now kept 63 clean sheets in the Premier League for #thfc.
Out of this world. ? pic.twitter.com/ooUwUCgDi7
— Hotspur Hacker (@HotspurHacker) September 30, 2017
A comfortable outing for the Tottenham captain who had little to do in the match as the back-three in front of him soaked up whatever little pressure the Huddersfield attack created. But, he did have one important save to make as kept Tommy Smith’s low driving shot away from his net. A well earned clean sheet.
Toby Alderweireld: 8/10
The Belgian hasn’t had to do much adapting to Pochettino’s tactical change considering he plays in a similar position for Belgium as well. On Saturday, he was as solid as ever as he kept the hosts’ attack silent pretty much throughout the match while also using his trademark long diagonal passes to good effect.
Alderweireld also covered up well for Spurs’ right wing-back Kieran Trippier, whenever the Englishman left space to be exploited behind him. All in all, a solid outing, although he wasn’t troubled a lot.
Davinson Sanchez: 7/10
Sanchez has proven to be a fine addition to Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, taking little time to adapt to life in England, having been almost immediately thrust into action by his manager. Saturday’s outing wasn’t quite his best performance.
But, after making a few basic errors early on, when he could have been penalized for barging into Elias Kachunga, the Colombian grew into the game well to help keep the Huddersfield attack quiet, particularly in the second half.
Jan Vertonghen: 7.5/10
Tottenham’s Mr. Dependable was ever the reliable defender for his side on Saturday as well. As is the case more often than not, Vertonghen made his job look too easy while also marauding forward at times to sniff at possible goalscoring chances. A solid, yet adventurous outing for the Belgian.
Kieran Trippier: 8/10
Kieran Trippier has now recorded more Premier League assists (8) than any other defender in 2017.
6 of them have been for Harry Kane. ? pic.twitter.com/HaUfWs3ej7
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 30, 2017
The right wing-back slot is providing Pochettino with a lot to think about. There’s Aurier, who is such a known commodity, but the Spurs boss also has the reliable Trippier at his disposal. On Saturday, the latter filled in well in the absence of Aurier as he remained solid defensively while constantly marauding down the right flank.
The result of his attacking forays helped Trippier provide two assists, one from inside his own half and the second in the final third, while he also came close on a few more occasions. Has proven himself to be capable of filling in Kyle Walker’s boots, and is standing toe to toe with Aurier for a regular role.
Harry Winks: 7/10
A rare start for the young Englishman, who was preferred to Moussa Sissoko in the absence of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama. And Winks didn’t disappoint as he controlled the tempo of the game well while distributing the ball smartly. A no-nonsense performance from the youngster who is a solid option for his manager.
Eric Dier: 7.5/10
While Winks was the more forward thinking in the central pivot, Dier worked well to support the three-man defensive unit behind him. The Englishman patrolled the centre of the park well, breaking up plays and circulating the ball quickly to keep things quiet all through the match. A step in the right direction after a slow start.
Ben Davies: 9/10
6 – Ben Davies has been directly involved in six goals in his last nine Premier League appearances (3 goals, 3 assists). Opportunity. pic.twitter.com/lgMnNXijwt
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 30, 2017
Davies continued a fine start to the season by turning in a near-perfect wing-back performance on Saturday. Solid and dependable whenever needed at the back, the Welshman created his major impact in attack as he scored his side’s second goal before assisting the fourth as well.
In addition to that, he got into dangerous positions to create space in attack. Another solid performance, and it is hard to see how Danny Rose will be able to usurp Davies when he returns to full fitness.
Christian Eriksen: 7/10
It was a largely quiet day for Eriksen, who didn’t look at his best for parts of the game. The Dane did get into dangerous positions a lot of times, but didn’t have an end product to show for his efforts as he his decision making didn’t seem to be up to the mark.
Not one of his best days, but a solid outing nonetheless as he looked to be shaking off the effects of the illness that kept him out of the midweek game against APOEL Nicosia.
Dele Alli: 5.5/10
It is not often when Dele Alli is the worst performer for Spurs in a match, but Saturday was one of the rare occasions. Poor decision making, a few rash challenges and an absurd dive in the second half summed up what was a disappointing outing for the Englishman.
He did come close to scoring once before half-time, but that was just about the only noteworthy moment for the youngster on the day. Dele needs to pull his socks up after a few below par showings.
Harry Kane: 9/10
Harry Kane has 13 goals this September, equalling the record in a single month by Lionel Messi (March 2012) & Cristiano Ronaldo (Oct 2010) pic.twitter.com/l2cKDqxLVp
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 30, 2017
What can be said about Kane that hasn’t been said already numerous times. After a lull in August, the English striker more than made up for it in a delightfully prolific September. On Saturday, he struck a well taken brace to complete seven goals in seven days and 13 for the month.
In those 13 goals, Kane has shown the complete bag of tricks that he possesses, with his second goal on the day a splendid long-range left footed strike that curled past a fully stretched Lossl. A tad selfish at times, he could have contributed a lot more in the game. A superb outing nevertheless.
SUBSTITUTES
Moussa Sissoko (on for Eriksen): 6.5/10
After struggling a lot in his first season at Tottenham, the Frenchman seems to be finally growing in confidence. Scored his first goal for the club on Saturday, and it should give him a lot of confidence going ahead.
Kyle Walker-Peters (on for Trippier): N/A
Came on with less than ten minutes to go and had very little to do, but was solid in defence.
Son Heung-min (on for Kane): N/A
With just three minutes left in the match, he couldn’t do much in his substitute appearance.
