“He’s been brilliant today” – Tottenham 1-0 Man City player ratings

Tottenham ended a two-game home Premier League losing streak after running out 1-0 winners against Manchester City this evening.

With their manager sidelined Antonio Conte’s men were once again indebted to Harry Kane, the London-born marksman sealing all three points and in the process creating further history in a Lillywhite‘s jersey.

As for their visitors, it was another disappointing road game for Pep Guardiola’s defending champions, oft-criticised for overthinking the Spanish head coach sprung a tactical surprise on Spurs which miserably backfired as they had the chance to end the weekend sitting two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal albeit playing a game more.

Here’s how the players rated today:

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Tottenham

Hugo Lloris – 7 – It’s fair to say Lloris is a shadow of his former self, that being said the retired French international would have expected to endure a busy day in goal, though he made four saves none were beyond routine.

Ben Davies – 6.5 – Slotted in Tottenham’s back three and was disciplined throughout.

Eric Dier – 7 – Given the job of marshalling Tottenham’s backline and the England defender-cum-midfielder did a reasonable job.

The numbers tell the story 💙@HKane: Tottenham Hotspur's all-time record goalscorer pic.twitter.com/slXtqtdU2C

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 5, 2023

Cristian Romero – 3.5 – Picked up another yellow card. On this occasion a wild challenge on Haaland well inside City’s half. Despite walking a tightrope he remained unperturbed when duelling with Haaland. It proved to be his undoing when Grealish skipped past him in the 87th minute.

Ivan Perisic – 5 – Was unusually quiet in terms of going forward. He was booked late on before going off to spare him receiving another yellow.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 7.5 – The first name in Andrew Madley’s book after stepping across Lewis and clipping him.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 8.5 – Pounced on Rodri’s mistimed pass to play Kane in for Spurs’ opener. He was his usual energetic self in Tottenham’s midfield. Regularly won possession through a well-time challenge or intercepting City’s passing by positioning himself correctly. “Hojbjerg has been outstanding. He’s been brilliant today,” Gary Neville said on commentary.

Emerson Royal – 7 – Enjoyed a fascinating battle with Grealish which saw him come out on top.

Emerson Royal's game by numbers vs. Man City:

52 touches
8 duels won
6 clearances
5 fouls won
5x possession won
3 touches in opp. box
2 fouls conceded
2 tackles
2 interceptions
2 crosses
1 chance created

Winning his duel with Jack Grealish. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/KtuzqTLMmR

— Squawka (@Squawka) February 5, 2023

Son Heung-Min – 7.5 – Floated in and out of the game, but whenever the South Korean forward had the ball he was constantly baring down on City’s defence.

Dejan Kulusevski – 7 – A mixed bag today, Kulusevski was dispossessed on no fewer than four occasions, but was continually aggressive when it came to winning back the ball and driving Spurs forward.

Harry Kane – 8 – Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer. His 267th goal for Spurs was number 200 in Premier League football, the third man to reach this milestone after Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208), even more impressive he’s done so in fewer games (Kane 304, Shearer 306, Rooney 462). This was also his seventh opening goal in the Premier League this season, more than any other player, with Tottenham going on to win all seven of those matches.

Substitutes:

Ryan Sessegnon (for Perisic 79) – N/A – A late sub.

Yves Bissouma (for Son 84) – N/A – A late sub.

Davinson Sánchez (for Kulusevski 89) – N/A – A late sub.

Man City

Ederson – 5 – Cautioned for unsportsmanlike behaviour inside the final 10 minutes. At times Ederson looked erratic and was far from being a calming influence at the back.

Rico Lewis – 7 – Started in a more traditional left-back role, but with the instruction to come into midfield when City have possession. Lewis finished the game strong from a defensive perspective (winning four tackles and completing three clearances). 

Nathan Aké – 5 – Put in another credible shift once City went behind. Ake was often the one to bail out City’s defence with some late challenges.

In esteemed company, @HKane 👏#PL | @SpursOfficial pic.twitter.com/0tmsbgDAtg

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 5, 2023

Manuel Akanji – 6 – By no means did the former Borussia Dortmund defender have a bad game, it was another shift you’d come to expect from him, Akanji has grown into City’s defensive leader and he’d be kicking himself they conceded.

Kyle Walker – 4 – Back in his old stomping ground though it proved to be another frustrating outing for the English full-back.

Rodri – 5 –  Not sure what he was seeing in the build-up to Kane’s opener. “It came from nowhere. Rico Lewis was given a hospital pass,” Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports commentary. A very uncharacteristic error from the usually dependable metronomic Spanish deep-lying midfielder.

Bernardo Silva – 4.5 – A strange game for the Portuguese midfielder who shifted around as Guardiola was in chase mode. Silva was unable to make any meaningful contribution.

Jack Grealish – 5.5 – Another start for City’s most expensive acquisition but Grealish at times felt like a defensive forward spending more time in his own half than Spurs’. That being said he won a game-high seven fouls. 

Erling Haaland has failed to have a shot in a Premier League game for the first time at Man City.

He didn't have a single touch in the Tottenham box. 😲 pic.twitter.com/i2WC6aVrXL

— Squawka (@Squawka) February 5, 2023

Julián Álvarez – 5 – Álvarez’s profile changes at the World Cup finals when he played an instrumental role in Argentina’s third success. Today was his fifth Premier League start which turned out to be a less-than-stellar outing.

Riyad Mahrez – 4.5 – He’s been City’s most in-form player in 2023 so far but the electric winger struggled to get into the game before a rasping effort crashed off Lloris’ bar.

Erling Haaland – 4 – Hardly received possession in the opening 30 minutes, with no touches in Tottenham’s penalty area, but not for the lack of wanting. “Haaland is making the runs, he is ready to go, they are just not playing them,” Neville noted. “The amount of runs he makes that get ignored is incredible.” Haaland ended the game failing to have a single attempt on goal in a game for Manchester City for the first time, while this was the second occasion he failed to have a touch in the opposition box as a City player (also vs Borussia Dortmund in October).

Substitutes:

Kevin De Bruyne (for Mahrez 59) – 7 – Made an immediate positive contribution once coming all. The gifted Belgian playmaker was constantly looking forward. In fact, De Bruyne ended the game having created three chances, no City starter produced more than one.

Bernardo Silva (for Gündogan 84) – N/A – A late sub.