- Jul 26, 2004
- 17,968
- 24,114
Set him free from a life in football?Glad to see flexibility on the formation from Pochettino and a 4231, when I heard the line up I was worried that we were about to witness Son at left back again.
Performance wasn't great, it wasn't terrible either, it was another struggle to break down a team with no ambition. If we'd scored earlier we'd have murdered them, second half we had enough chances to win by a good margin but we were wasteful. 1-0 flattered Bournemouth.
Lloris made one great save during a first half melee, otherwise had little to do other than the routine.
Trippier was great, really good passing and crossing, nice set pieces, not caught out defensively.
Sanchez was poor, he over committed too often and, while this can be papered over in a three man defence, it can't in a two. Needs to learn when to drop off, when to attack.
Alderweireld was fine, as ever from left centre back his passing was a bit off but otherwise he was solid.
Vertonghen was man of the match, great defensively, great offensively, owned his flank.
Dier was good off the ball, some good challenges, but some of his passes were truly shocking.
Winks was fine but unspectacular, I want more from him now that he has the chance to make himself first choice. Very neat, very willing, but needs to be more Modric and less Jenas otherwise he'll only ever be a bench option to bring on when you need to retain possession.
Eriksen wasn't his best again but he improved as the game wore on, played a delightful pass for Harry and scored his goal after a bit of determination and a lovely finish.
Dele was much better, he drove forward with the ball, pressed well off it and was more decisive than he has been. Much more purposeful.
Son was poor, too weak, too telegraphed and very sloppy.
Kane wasn't his best, he worked hard enough and linked play but he was handled well by his 10 markers and seemed to have lost his shooting boots.
Sissoko had a strong cameo, deserved an assist for his great break aways, put it on a plate for Dele and also set free Nkoudou.
Llorente did little up front but he did clear no fewer than three Bournemouth set pieces.
Nkoudou had one chance, got clattered by the goalie, then looked rather deflated.
Patient performance against bus parkers, not enthralling but at least mature and committed. Think Pochettino erred with our defence, he lost a left back but decided to weaken central defence to compensate, ergo causing far more disruption than necessary. Should just had Alderweireld and Vertonghen as a two, put Aurier or KWP at left back. Yes, Vertonghen was our best player, but both Toby and especially Dave were disadvantaged as a result.