“A true captain’s display” – Full player ratings as Spurs smash-and-grab a huge home win vs. Man City
In a shocking afternoon of football, Spurs beat Manchester City 2-0 at Tottenham Stadium.
The match was almost as one-sided as City’s 2-2 draw with Spurs from earlier in the season, but just like that day the London side inexplicably scored twice out of almost nothing to pick up a huge win.
Here’s how the players rated at Tottenham Stadium:
Spurs
Hugo Lloris – 9 – Phenomenal performance from the Frenchman. Several big stops and an immense penalty save. Almost blotted his copy book with a weird rush off his line, colliding with Tanganga, but got away with it and went right back to bossing the life out of Manchester City’s attack. A true captain’s display from the flamboyant Frenchman.
Serge Aurier – 6 – A decent outlet on the right and a ferocious tackling display. Almost marred his afternoon with a shocking lunge on Aguero to concede a penalty, but Lloris saved the day for the Ivorian.
Toby Alderweireld – 8 – A great block on the line from Aguero was the highlight of a very solid defensive display.
The first 15 shots in Spurs vs. Man City:
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
❌ City
⚽️ Spurs— Squawka (@Squawka) February 2, 2020
Davinson Sanchez – 8 – Some ropey passing pounced on by City’s press but defended well besides that.
Japhet Tanganga – 7 – Couldn’t cope with Mahrez at all but still defended his flank well.
Harry Winks – 7 – Completely outplayed in the middle of the park but never stopped battling and forced the Zinchenko red card.
Giovani Lo Celso – 6 – A quintessentially Lo Celso display. Passed well when he had the chance.
Dele Alli – 6 – The game passed him by.
Heung-min Son – 7 – Some penetrative runs, albeit nothing too impressive until he killed the game off with a lovely take and deflected shot to make it 2-0.
Steven Bergwijn – 8 – Got involved on the break and put in an excellent shift defensively. Broke the game open with an absolutely sensational strike to make it 1-0. A debut goal and a promising sign of what’s to come from the Dutchman. Stevie Wonder stole the show out from under both Guardiola and Mourinho’s noses.
Lucas Moura – 7 – Led the line with commendable application but lacks quality. A lovely assist for Bergwijn, however..
Substitutes:
Erik Lamela (for Bergwijn 70′) – 5 – Came on to add legs after Bergwijn cramped up.
Tanguy Ndombele (for Dele 70′) – 7 – Added an enormous amount of quality to Spurs midfield when he came on. A superb assist for the second goal the highlight of a display that will have Spurs fans salivating.
Eric Dier (for Lucas 84′) – n/a – Came on late.
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Manchester City
Ederson – 5 – An alright performance. Could do nothing about either goal.
Kyle Walker – 7 – A very impressive defensive display for the most part.
Nicolas Otamendi – 4 – A perplexing inclusion. Even if John Stones has all the confidence of a matchstick in a house fire, it seems impossible to believe he could be worse than this lifesize Subbuteo player who wobbles all around the pitch with all the grace of a drunk elephant. Never looked solid and his defending for Spurs’ second goal was bafflingly stupid. A colossal liability.
Man City had 13 shots against Man Utd:
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
Man City have had 13 shots against Spurs:
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
Unlucky for some. pic.twitter.com/m61Xp9s7r1
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 2, 2020
Fernandinho – 4 – A superb tackle to stop Son dead in his tracks the highlight of a stable defensive display that fell to pieces after the hour as he failed to block Bergwijn and then, having played Son onside, deflected his shot past Ederson into the net. Fought hard to try and get City back in the game but the damage was done.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 3 – A fairly nothing display in general but lowlighted by two moments of stupidity. Got booked for arguing after the Sterling penalty incident and then picked up a second yellow for a tactical which, when made on a yellow card, is an absolutely ludicrous. Changed the momentum of the game and killed City’s chances of a comeback before they even needed to make one.
Rodri – 7 – Nullified Spurs’ midfield for the most part and kept City on the front foot all game.
Ilkay Gundogan – 3 – A generally positive display in the middle of the park but missed a penalty and a sitter at the sharp end of the pitch. Given how the match ended up, those misses were devastating.
Kevin de Bruyne – 6 – Was closely marked all game. Managed to find some good passes forward but wasn’t as effective as he could be. Pulled a great save from Lloris late on with a lovely shot from wide.
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 2, 2020
Riyad Mahrez – 8 – Utterly unplayable for an hour and then lost his way as the game descended into chaos.
Raheem Sterling – 4 – A couple surging runs aside, this was a mostly ineffective performance from Sterling. He somehow avoided a red card for a shocking challenge on Dele and a second yellow when VAR judged that Lloris didn’t foul him. Left the field late with an injury.
Sergio Aguero – 6 – Looked so bright in attack with his movement and touches. Won a penalty after drawing a ridiculous challenge from Aurier. Somehow managed to blaze wide from 3 yards out and then had a shot cleared off the line.
Substitutes:
Joao Cancelo (for Aguero 64′) – 5 – Came on when City went down to 10. Looked positive on the left.
Gabriel Jesus (for Mahrez 72′) – 5 – Tried to turn it around but the game was gone by then.
Bernardo Silva (for Bernardo 84′) – n/a – Came on late.
