If Tottenham fans squint hard enough, it is just about possible to mistake the Uefa Conference League trophy for the Europa League, but they will have been rubbing their eyes more earnestly at the sight of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura warming up partway through the second half of the 5-1 victory over NS Mura.
When Spurs eased into a two-goal lead inside eight minutes, the hosts threatened to run up the score. Yet this was a night – and indeed this is an entire competition – in which Nuno Espirito Santo can suffer no blows, and knows he will receive few plaudits for the triumphs either.
In any appraisal of Spurs’ attacking performance, it will be taken into account that the Slovenian outfit are the lowest-ranked remaining side, with a Uefa coefficient of 337. When they were founded just nine years ago, Tim Sherwood was busy reintroducing the gilet into the London fashion scene.
That much was apparent when Nuno made nine changes from the side outclassed in the north London derby. Aston Villa on Sunday is must-win for the manager, but he looked unnerved by a perfectly hit volley from Ziga Kous to retrieve a semblance of hope for Mura. Though it was probably a pre-planned move, it was time to enter the big guns as Moura and Kane combined for Tottenham’s third goal of the night, before Son got in on the act to set up the England captain for the fourth.
Here are i’s player ratings from a successful night for Spurs.
Player ratings
Gollini – 6
Had nothing to do but was rooted to the ground for Kous’ volley, which he could have done little about.
Doherty – 5
Consistently lost possession and struggled to beat his man down the right. A chance to impress wasted but he did play a part in one of Kane’s strikes.
Rodon – 7
Rodon has a long way to go before establishing himself ahead of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez but he played the ball out well from the back and was an assured presence alongside Cristian Romero. Began the move that led to Kane’s second.
Romero – 7
Romero looks thoroughly composed and while he has been in and out of the starting XI since arriving this summer, he dealt with the limited threat posed by Mura’s front line.
Reguilon – 6
Key to the build-up in the fourth goal and attempted a decent volley of his own, but couldn’t quite control it.
Alli – 5
It all started so well, Dele Alli winning the penalty in the first three minutes and scoring emphatically from the spot. There were few other positives, however, as he repeatedly misplaced his passes, overhit through balls and took needlessly heavy touches. Looked understandably downbeat when he was taken off.
Skipp – 7
Set up Giovani Lo Celso’s goal with a chipped pass and might have had a goal of his own on the end of a power run through the midfield. Made a good case to start against Villa.
Winks – 6
Nothing too spectacular throughout, but the highlight was a well picked-out through ball to Lo Celso for the second goal.
Lo Celso – 8
Aside from his own impressive finish which cut across the goalkeeper, he kept his cool to pass into Kane’s feet for the fifth. Still not the finished article but benefited from Spurs’ much improved movement.
Gil – 6
He doesn’t necessarily have enough pace, but Bryan Gil showed off his flare with some classy touches.
Scarlett – 6
The teenager struggled to get a foothold in the game as he still needs to grow into a lone striker role, but he oozed confidence with a deft nutmeg and some decent passes.
Substitutes
Kane – 9
Kane appealed for a penalty within moments of coming on in a similar incident to the first and went onto score three in 19 minutes. A much-needed confidence boost.
Son – 7
Any Premier League defender would likely have stopped Son on his run to setting up Kane but he provided a huge injection of pace.
Lucas – 7
Lucas set up Kane with a ball slicing across Mura’s defence, which the striker took first time.
Emerson – N/A
Only came on late for Reguilon.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3onDjbO
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