Manchester United v. Tottenham Hotspur: Tottenham Player Ratings
Spurs deserved more than they got tonight. They deserved at least one goal for their trouble. But again, Old Trafford pressure makes officials crumble at silly decisions like a free kick. Nani stole the ball from Gomes and put in the net to make it 2-0 to United. Liverpool v Sunderland runs parallel to this.
Anyway, this isn't what my article is about. I'm here to rate the Spurs players' performances as I saw them. But it'll only be the players who played the MAJORITY of the game as there's more to judge.
Heurelho Gomes
1 of 11
Gomes made some good saves when faced with shots from Ji Sung Park and Nani.
However, I went 'eek' when Gomes started to wander off his line while Nani was holding the ball. The Portuguese winger is highly capable of launching a shot over the head of any keeper and would've done just that if his shot late in the game had more dip. The crossbar was Spurs' saviour for a moment.
RATING - 4/5
Alan Hutton
2 of 11
Hutton put in a very good shift again this week. To me, he's always been a fantastic, professional footballer and quite undeserving of some of the abuse he was getting on various Spurs forums for a while. Made a few fantastic challenges to keep United's wing attack at bay. His highlight was a fine sliding challenge on Nani on the right wing. Hutton crossed flanks to defend and Nani had no chance of a free kick no matter how theatrically he may have gone over and protested like a spoilt child.
RATING - 4/5
Gareth Bale
3 of 11
Let me start by saying Gareth Bale should've been rested at the Everton game to allow Kranjcar or Giovani Dos Santos to have a game so that he'd be fresher for tonight's game. Bale may have had a few days in the sun to relax, but with a game like this coming up, it wasn't enough time. On top of this game, Inter Milan beckon once more.
Due to the lack of rest, Bale's performance wasn't as sharp as his last few games. Manchester United's defenders knew exactly how to deal with him every time. The problem I found with both Bale and Hutton is they failed to realise that United knew how they operated. Early crosses would've kept them guessing and threatened the United goalmouth more with Van Der Vaart and Keane hoping to tap crosses in.
RATING - 3/5
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Younes Kaboul
4 of 11
Most of the defence was quite solid against the likes of Nani and Chicharito.
Kaboul was a part of that, but I do recall him giving the ball away to United cheaply once or twice.
Not much else I can say on that.
RATING - 3/5
William Gallas
5 of 11
Same as Kaboul. Mostly solid at the back. Bossed strikers around as far as I know.
RATING - 3/5
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
6 of 11
A rather acquired taste amongst Spurs fans. Some like him as he does the job, but some dislike him for his lack of passion for the game (although he is the only player to be honest about being in it primarily for the money).
Moving onto the match tonight, he put his shift in. Ekotto cleared his lines and then went forward when needed. However, I have to say, while all four defenders were way off the mark during the free kick-turned-goal. Assou Ekotto didn't poke his head out far enough and Vidic managed to bulldoze the centre-backs to get up for the header and score it.
RATING - 4/5
Aaron Lennon
7 of 11
Lennon seemed quite scared to run at anything else that runs, namely the United defenders. I didn't see much of his trademark box incisions or final balls (which have improved a lot).
This rocket-fuel-guzzling midget became quite absent at certain points throughout the game as the defence again clocked onto his movements.
Quite disappointing in comparison to last season. Surely he's fully recovered from injury now.
RATING - 2/5
Jermaine Jenas
8 of 11
Continuously showing improvement in his performances, however slight.
For once, he got more stuck in with tackling and centre-to-box running like he used to do. The odd challenge to win the ball went down well with me.
RATING - 3/5
Rafael Van Der Vaart
9 of 11
Again fed off of scraps from Modric and Co.
He should've been on the other end of the corners rather than taking them. He's been more of a threat to all opposition than all three of our available strikers put together. Should've finished that golden chance he got. Squirmed through the defence and was one on one with the goalie but shot wide to the right.
Shame he pulled up with a slight injury though. It caused him to be subbed off for Crouch who disappeared from view. That's quite a feat for a bloke with a height of 6ft 7in!
RATING - 5/5
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Luka Modric
10 of 11
Modric worked like a charm. Injected some pace into Spurs' play. Impressed me with that monstrous half-volley set up by Van Der Vaart's corner. The ball went thundering towards the right hand side but Van Der Sar matched the shot with a powerful parry at full stretch.
RATING - 4/5
Robbie Keane
11 of 11
Well, I was surprised to find that he was starting upfront on his own. If anything, HE should be BEHIND
Van Der Vaart seeing as he's slightly better at passing than finishing (as the post-Liverpool stage of his Spurs career will show). Didn't really do much, same as usual. Even Jenas appeared to do just as much as, if not more than Keane. Shouldn't that ring alarm bells in everyone's heads?
RATING - 1/5
(Note to Editor - Please add photo; problem with image search/crop function)
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