Football
Harry Kettle 3y

Kane quiet, Sanchez 3/10 as Tottenham let lead slip in derby defeat to Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur were stunned by rivals Arsenal, who came from behind to register a vital 2-1 win in the north London derby on Sunday. Erik Lamela's sublime effort handed the visitors the lead but through Martin Odegaard and an Alexandre Lacazette penalty, Jose Mourinho's men were left emptyhanded.

Positives

The rope-a-dope style of allowing the Gunners to put pressure on them worked for the first half hour or so. They were happy to give Arsenal all the time and space they needed to really make an impact, and then when their guard was down, that's when Tottenham started to look threatening. Their moments of joy were sporadic, but whenever they implemented quick passing movements, it felt as if they were making progress.

Negatives

The lack of structure in midfield opened up a gap that Arsenal were far too happy to exploit. There was no sense of control or energy in anything Tottenham did, and that sort of lethargic behaviour bled into the rest of the team. If they just attacked their rivals with a bit more impetus and smarts, they could've come away with something other than a loss.

Manager rating

5 -- Mourinho put his attacking foot forward with the lineup, but we're not so sure he did the same with the tactics. Spurs sat back and invited the pressure, and even though there were smart substitutions littered into Mourinho's gameplan, it always felt as if they were a step behind and never really threatened Arsenal outside of their goal.

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Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Hugo Lloris, 5 -- The sweeper keeper was well drilled in his principles but wasn't able to make much of a difference in either of Arsenal's goals.

DF Sergio Reguilon, 5 -- There's a lack of spatial awareness that needs to be addressed in Reguilon's game but at the same time, he also has great instincts -- as he showcased in the build-up to Tottenham's goal.

DF Toby Alderweireld, 6 -- Looked fairly composed throughout the game and rarely put a foot wrong, even though his side came up on the losing end.

DF Davinson Sanchez, 3 -- Nervous, sloppy, uninspiring. All three of those words could be used to adequately set up a description of Sanchez's performance that was ultimately compounded by him giving away a needless penalty.

DF Matt Doherty, 4 -- The former Wolves man was slow to the ball for the equaliser and generally didn't look confident in anything he did at the Emirates.

MF Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 5 -- This wasn't a glittering example of what Hojbjerg can do from his inability to dictate the pace all the way through to overall poor decision making.

MF Tanguy Ndombele, 4 -- Allowed too many gaps in the middle of the park and struggled to influence the overall flow of the game.

MF Son Heung-Min, N/R -- In an uneventful afternoon, Son was pulled off through injury after barely getting a touch in the first 19 minutes.

MF Lucas Moura, 5 -- Spent most of the game chasing shadows with his assist only covering the cracks of the inconsistent delivery he provides.

MF Gareth Bale, 5 -- He played a decent ball in for the opener and looked active in the second half but ultimately, the Welshman couldn't get going.

FW Harry Kane, 6 -- Outside of a lovely ball in the 70th minute, an offside headed goal and striking the post in the 90th, Kane was as quiet as he's ever been in the north London derby.

Substitutions

MF Erik Lamela, 6 -- Produced one of the best Rabona goals you'll ever see and then proceeded to get sent off courtesy of two yellow cards. If that isn't a derby day outing for the record books then we don't know what is.

MF Moussa Sissoko, 6 -- Couldn't quite get into the sort of rhythm that he needed to in order to really take control of the game.

MF Dele Alli, 6 -- Showed nice footwork and more than enough desire to prove why he should be featured in the starting XI.

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