Tottenham 0-1 Liverpool: Player ratings with no theme because FA Cup

I don’t usually do this, but I’ve had a hell of a week and am busy. Themed player ratings take time, this article is already a day late, and honestly I’m drawing a blank on what to cogently write about this week. We also have an FA Cup game today. So I’m throwing in the towel. Today’s player ratings are without a theme. I’ll try and do better next time.

And hey, if you have great ideas for a future theme, drop ‘em in the comments.

Here are your player ratings for Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool

5 stars:

Toby Alderweireld (Community — 6.9): Toby was utterly fantastic in this match. He anchored the back line in a match where the defense was under pressure the entire game, and also played several great long balls from deep. More, please.

Davinson Sanchez (Community — 7.3): Sanchez has been one of the players who has benefitted most from Mourinho. He had several solid tackles against Liverpool’s front 3 and was positionally solid in a very difficult job. One of his best matches this season.

4 stars:

Japhet Tanganga (Community — 7.5): I feel like Tanganga’s getting the “unexpected player bump” from the community here. And he was pretty darned good, considering the context of his start! But he did get turned around a couple of times, which is easy to do against Liverpool. This is not a pejorative, he was excellent. Just not quite a 5-star performance.

Paulo Gazzaniga (Community — 6.6): A nice match from Gazinga who couldn’t do anything to stop Firmino’s goal but had some key saves against a high-powered offense.

Gio Lo Celso (Community — 6.8): Changed the match when he came on with his tackling and also progressive attacking. If he’d slotted home that chance, he’d be at 5 stars.

Erik Lamela (Community — 6.6): I love this man so much. Came in the match and immediately shoved a dude in the back when the ref wasn’t looking, and had a curler of a shot that unfortunately went right at Allison. The perfect super-sub for Spurs right now.

Jose Mourinho (Community — 6.6): Say what you want about Mourinho’s tactics in the context of Tottenham’s historic attacking football history — he set up a system to try and get a result against the best club in Europe and barring some poor finishing he would’ve.

3.5 stars:

Son Heung-Min (Community — 5.7): Sonny was doing good things, getting into good positions, and was let down by his finishing. However, as a defensive winger he was excellent, and was part of the reason why Spurs’ left flank wasn’t as porous as it could’ve been.

Harry Winks (Community — 5.4): A real Jekyll & Hyde performance from Winksy. His first half was atrocious when paired with Eriksen, but he turned things around in a big way, passing and driving the ball forward in midfield. That second half was one of the best spells from Winks all season. On balance, 3.5 seems fair to me.

Dele (Community — 5.6): Worked hard and had some inspiring moments of play, but a lot of things just weren’t coming off for him in this match. Looked very frustrated at times.

Lucas Moura (Community — 6.4): Lucas was constantly trying things going forward that didn’t always come off, but he put in a very good shift pressing and defensively, and won more than his fair share of headers.

3 stars:

Serge Aurier (Community — 5.9): Having Tanganga play behind him as basically a second RB helped with the defensive lapses, and Serge also put in a couple of very nice crosses. He wasn’t awful against Liverpool! That’s good!

2.5 stars:

Danny Rose (Community — 4.1): Danny hasn’t played in a long time and he looked like it. He was pretty bad while still showing a few glimpses of the shithouse player we know and love(d).

2 stars:

Christian Eriksen (Community — 3.5): At this point it’s just sad now.