Gerrard record equalled: the four best Spurs players from Cardiff hammering

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In what could charitably be described as a casual crushing, Spurs beat Cardiff 0-3.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men got off to a fast start, scoring within the first four minutes. After that, it was an unending period of Spurs’ dominance, where the only limiter was how much energy Spurs wanted to conserve for the tough challenges laying ahead.

Who were Spurs’ four best individuals on the night? We’ve come up with the list.

1. Harry Kane

The Main Man, The Striker Supreme, Big Daddy Kane. There’s no no. 9 on planet earth operating at the same level as Harry Kane is week-in week-out. Robert Lewandowski is close, but no cigar, and whilst Luis Suárez can still outperform him, he can only do so for short bursts of form rather than the consistent excellence of the Englishman.

Against Cardiff, Kane was sublime in the way he effortlessly dominated the game. All three of Spurs’ first-half goals had his fingerprints on them. On the first it was his delightful turn and run at the heart of Cardiff’s defence that saw the ball worked wide, them back in for him to thigh home. For Spurs’ second goal Kane’s sublime around-the-corner is what broke open the Cardiff defensive structure, leading to Son setting up Eriksen. And on the third goal it was his perfectly-weighted through-ball that Son drilled home.

Spurs needed someone to step up and lead them to a victory, and of course Harry Kane was more than happy to oblige. The goal was his fifth on New Year’s Day, drawing him level with the record held by Steven Gerrard and Andrew Cole. It also meant that he has now scored against all 28 Premier League sides that he’s faced, something no other player has managed (Thierry Henry has 34 against 35, but his 97% has now been eclipsed by Kane’s perfect 100%).

2. Hueng-min Son

Harry Kane may be Mr. Consistent, but Spurs’ hottest striker right now is operating with the power of a million exploding suns. Sons? The Korean forward has worked his way into the Spurs side and has been utterly lethal since doing so.

Today he bagged a goal and assist, meaning that in his last 12 games he has scored nine times, bringing that more recently and he has six in his last five. He also has five assists in that time as well. That is utterly ridiculous form.

The assist was simple enough; a well-weighted square pass shifting the emphasis of Spurs’ attack from the right over to Christian Eriksen in space on the left. The goal, however, was an incredible first-time finish from that same right half-space where, having been fed by Harry Kane he didn’t hesitate and drilled a low shot into the back of the net. He was withdrawn with about 10 minutes left to play and Mauricio Pochettino will be dreading the day he heads off to the Asian Cup.

3. Christian Eriksen

FC Barcelona’s Christian Eriksen.

Well, he’s not, but if he was you wouldn’t be surprised would you? Eriksen is such a sublime playmaker and goalscorer that when neutrals watch him, they genuinely wonder how he is still at Spurs. That’s not to say Spurs aren’t good, Spurs are great, but Eriksen’s capacity for brilliance is so colossal that he honestly should be representing the world’s best teams.

Cardiff felt his wrath today. His all-around play was outrageously and effortlessly good. The way he moved was serene, dovetailing with his team-mates and threading passes with all the assurance of a grandmother threading the needle. And his goal? His goal was glorious. A simple finish on the face of it, but his little touch to wrongfoot two defenders before sliding the ball between their legs and into the near-post, leaving poor Neil Etheridge flailing like an upset toddler.

Tottenham Hotspur FC’s Christian Eriksen.

4. Moussa Sissoko

The fourth best performer didn’t score, but nevertheless had and continues to have a huge impact on the Spurs midfield and their ability to play the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond shape without losing too much dynamism, and that’s Moussa Sissoko.

The Frenchman has well and truly overcome the flop reputation that he had when he joined Spurs and then played terribly for what seemed like an eternity. He came back to Spurs with tremendous World Cup energy, and as a result has looked right at home. Remember when Spurs missed Moussa Dembélé this season? No? That’s because of Sissoko.

He’s not a perceptive passer, but he knows how to keep it safe and not overextend himself when he has the ball. Where he’s happy to fly, however, is running with the ball at his feet. He glides by opponents as though they weren’t even there. Pace, power, precision, touch, agility, intelligence; as a runner he has it all. He showed it in Spurs’ third goal, driving through the Cardiff midfield before feeding Kane who passed to Son who made it 3-0.

The post The four best performers at Spurs bounced back by thrashing Cardiff appeared first on Squawka News.



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