Tottenham player ratings and analysis: Christian Eriksen steps up as Youri Tielemans shines at Wembley

1/56
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP10 February 2019

Tottenham continue to keep pace with Liverpool and Manchester City after securing a third straight win over Leicester.

The north Londoners move level on points with City, temporarily at least, and remain five behind leaders Liverpool following their win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

It was another crucial win for Spurs, who remain without the key duo of Dele Alli and Harry Kane.

Dan Kilpatrick was at Wembley to provide analysis for Standard Sport on another huge afternoon for Mauricio Pochettino​.

Son on target late on again.
AFP/Getty Images

Spurs find a way to win again

Another late goal from Heung-min Son added gloss to the scoreline and ensured a comfortable final few minutes for Tottenham in another impressive display of resolve from Mauricio Pochettino's side.

Spurs took the lead through Davinson Sanchez against the run of play and they had goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to thank for keeping them ahead in the second half, as he saved Jamie Vardy's penalty before Christian Eriksen and Son scored either side of the Leicester striker's tap-in.

Three wins on the bounce for Spurs.
AFP/Getty Images

Spurs were nowhere near their free-flowing best again – hardly surprisingly given the continued absence of Harry Kane and Dele Alli – but they still found a way to win, moving them back to within five points of league leaders Liverpool. On the one hand, Spurs surely cannot continue to ride their luck and win ugly but they will surely improve when Kane and Alli return.

The introduction of those two players into a side that just does not know when its beaten is ominous for Spurs' opponents, not to mention their title rivals.

Eriksen steps up

Christian Eriksen tends to go through quiet spells over the course of a season but his latest period of downtime has coincided with injuries to Kane and Alli, leaving Spurs too reliant on Son. In the last few games, Spurs have needed more from the Dane, and he was the difference between the sides at Wembley, deciding the game with two moments of quality.

Tottenham player ratings

Lloris: 8

Trippier: 6

Rose: 7

Vertonghen: 6

Sanchez: 8

Skipp: 5

Winks: 8

Sissoko: 8

Eriksen: 8

Son: 7

Llorente: 6

Subs:

Wanyama: 6

Alderweireld: 6

Walker-Peters: 6

 

With Leicester on top midway through the first half, Eriksen collected Kieran Trippier's short corner and whipped a brilliant ball into the box for Sanchez to head home the opener with his first goal for the club.

Eriksen settled the game just after the hour with a superb finish from 20 yards – his 20th league goal from outside the box, more than any other player since September 2013.

There has been a sense that, while Son has relished the opportunity to be Spurs' leading man in the absence of Kane and Alli, Eriksen has shied away from the task.

He showed that was not the case today, and was probably helped by playing closer to goal, which will leave Pochettino with a decision to make against Dortmund on Wednesday.

Eriksen scored a superb second for his side.
REUTERS

Puel, Vardy at heart of puzzling decision

Leicester would likely have taken something from Wembley had it not been for the dramatic decision to allow Vardy to take their 60th-minute penalty with his very first touch of the game.

With Spurs leading 1-0 and the Foxes captain waiting to replace Demarai Gray, James Maddison went down – softly – under a challenge from Jan Vertonghen.

Claude Puel pushed ahead with the change and the former England striker grabbed the ball from Maddison, only for Lloris to save his spot-kick. Vardy was punished for his hubris but surely Leicester boss Puel had the final say in the decision, and should ultimately take the blame for the situation.

Lloris saves Spurs

It is next to impossible to evaluate Hugo Lloris' season because the Tottenham captain has blown so hot and cold.

Every time Lloris makes a mistake, and Spurs fans begin to look wistfully towards the Frenchman's impressive deputy Paulo Gazzaniga, he goes and produces a match-saving performance like this.

Lloris saved Spurs again.
AFP/Getty Images

Vardy's penalty was, admittedly, a nice height for him but Lloris denied Harvey Barnes with an even better save soon after, sticking out a leg to deny the winger one-vs-one. Lloris has made too many mistakes this season but his critics would do well to remember to amount of games in which he has won his side points. This was another one.

Tielemans impresses

Spurs were linked with Youri Tielemans in January but the 21-year-old midfielder ended up at Leicester, on a season-long loan from Monaco.

Here, the Belgian was full of clever passes from midfield, setting up Barnes to fire past the far post in the first half and creating Leicester's goal with a fine pass for Ricardo Pereira.

Tielemans a former Tottenham target.
AP

Spurs decided against signing a midfielder to replace Mousa Dembele, in part because Pochettino has full faith in 18-year-old Oliver Skipp but the game passed the teenager by on his second Premier League start.

While Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks were brilliant again, Spurs' midfield options look thin behind those two and Tielemans would, on this evidence, have been a smart addition.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in