Tottenham Hotspur moved to within six points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with a 2-0 win over Leicester City.
Son Heung-min gave Tottenham the lead at the end of a largely uneventful first half with Dele Alli doubling the advantage after an hour.
And that would be all that was required for Spurs to return to third in the Premier League after momentarily dropping out of the top four.
Here’s how the players rated.
Leicester City
Kasper Schmeichel – 6 – Had a good first half but could do nothing to stop Son’s sublime effort. Got a hand to Alli’s header but it was not enough.
Ricardo Pereira – 6 – Got forward well in both halves but couldn’t help Leicester make the most of their bright start.
Wes Morgan – 7 – Kept a lid on Tottenham’s attacks for most of the first half, producing a good tackle to prevent Son from scoring midway through. His game was made harder as Spurs stepped up the intensity but the Jamaican can be proud of his efforts.
Jonny Evans – 7 – Produced a good partnership with Morgan, keeping Spurs quiet for large parts of the first half. But could not stop the away side from making their dominance count.
Ben Chilwell – 5 – Did not have the best first half, with his touch poor and at times and failing to link up with his attacking players. Improved slightly after the break, but the left-back will have wanted to do more.
Vicente Iborra – 4 – Iborra didn’t have the best game, adding very little defensively or structurally in midfield.
Wilfred Ndidi – 6 – The midfielder was good in the centre of the pitch, helping Leicester combat their Tottenham counterparts. Looked to get forward more while chasing the game, but his attacking ability was slightly lacking.
Demarai Gray – 6 – Threatened to trouble Spurs defence but did not do enough getting forward in the first half. Had Leicester’s first big chance on goal after the break but his effort was saved easily by Lloris.
James Maddison – 7 – Leicester’s best player on the night, Maddison was a threat from open play and set pieces. But the Englishman was missing a clinical striker to make it count.
Nampalys Mendy – 4 – Had very little positive impact on the game, losing the ball in the middle of the pitch in the build up to Spurs’ second goal.
Kelechi Iheanacho – 3 – Replacing Jamie Vardy is a hard enough task as it is, but the Nigerian forward had very little luck going forward. Taken off shortly after half-time as Puel tried to mix things up.
Substitutes:
Rachid Ghezzal (for Iheanacho 56) – 5 – His arrival brought a shift in formation for Leicester but it was not enough to rescue the game. Tested Lloris with a good shot.
Marc Albrighton (for Iborra 56) – 5 – Added a new dimension to Leicester’s attack after coming on, but could not help his side get back into it.
Shinji Okazaki (for Mendy 79) – 5 – Puel’s last throw of the dice, but did not do enough to test Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris – 6 – A spectator for most of the match but did well when he was called upon, erasing the memories of a poor North London Derby.
Serge Aurier – 7 – Continuing to start in the absence of Trippier, Aurier got forward a lot, recording the assist for Son’s wonder goal. Got caught out on occasion defensively, but nothing too serious for Spurs.
Toby Alderweireld – 7 – Back alongside his old buddy, Alderweireld gave Leicester’s attackers very little joy in front of goal. Back close to his best, winning three aerial battles – the most of any Spurs player.
Jan Vertonghen – 8 – Tottenham’s best centre-back, Vertonghen was the main reason Spurs did not go behind inside the opening 15 minutes, putting out fires inside the box. And he remained solid throughout.
Ben Davies – 7 – Had little to worry about defensively with Leicester struggling to create big chances, but did his part with six tackles. Got forward well too.
Eric Dier – 5 – The midfielder did not have the best start but improved with a slight change in his role. Still not at the level many would want him to be, but is a certainty to start at the heart of midfield against Barcelona in midweek.
Harry Winks – 7 – Another good game for the Englishman, moving the ball around well. His influence grows with every passing game though Winks could still do a little more defensively.
Moussa Sissoko – 6 – A slightly less impressive performance than those we have come to expect from him, wasting passing opportunities in the first half. Not as influential after the break, but the Frenchman is surely allowed a bad game considering how well he has been playing.
Dele Alli – 8 – Threatened Leicester’s defence with some good runs but could not punish in the first half. Did get the goal his performance deserved just before the hour mark, with a good header at the far post. Ran the show from midfield.
Dele Alli has now scored 50 goals for Spurs across all competitions, becoming the 47th player to reach a half-century for the club.
Still only 22 years old. pic.twitter.com/fJK0Hmf6o5
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 8, 2018
Son Heung-min – 8 – Brilliantly opened the scoring cutting in from the right and curling past Schmeichel. His game got better after half-time, with the South Korean setting up Spurs’ second with a good cross.
Lucas Moura – 6 – The Brazilian had a fairly quiet game before being taken off after 67 minutes, but did give Leicester’s backline something to think about.
Substitutes:
Christian Eriksen (for Moura 67) – 5 – Given game time to keep fresh for midweek but did not have to do much with the win secured.
Harry Kane (for Son 74) – 5 – Did not have too much impact on the game with Spurs happy to sit back.
Kyle Walker-Peters (for Aurier 77) – 6 – A forced change with Aurier injured, Walker-Peters slotted in well.
The post Every player rated as Spurs beat Leicester City 2-0 appeared first on Squawka News.
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