Yesterday saw Ryan Mason’s fairytale story which saw him thrust into the first team managerial position ahead of the Carabao Cup Final end in agony as Spurs succumbed to Man City’s consistent pressure and lost 1-0, leaving fans to endure another trophy less season.
After deploying an adventurous formation, Spurs failed to break-through the City press and were forced to play defence for the majority of the game, as the Premier League champions-elect bombarded Hugo Lloris’ goal.
Analysis of Spurs in the cup final. No courage at all & that is down to the players not the manager. #Spurs #CarabaoCupFinal
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) April 26, 2021
After keeping them out for 80 minutes, Aymeric Laporte rose highest for City at a free-kick conceded by the clumsy Serge Aurier, and Spurs were made to pay.
Hugo Lloris – 8
https://twitter.com/thfclp__/status/1386374505766039562?s=20
Spurs captain Lloris was the best player on the pitch representing our club, as he countlessly denied City with his fantastic reactions and concentration. He has come under plenty of criticism this season, but yesterday he showed exactly why he is still one of the top keepers in this country.
Sergio Reguilon – 4
Another poor outing from Reguilon who struggled to deal with Riyad Mahrez yesterday all game. Him and Hojbjerg had a massive mis-communication in our best chance of the game which ended with the ball trickling out of play for a goal-kick.
Eric Dier – 6
Defensively solid, with only a couple of mistakes but overall never really looked out of place at the back and did well to block shots and close down angles. However, the lack of trust within himself and the likes of Winks, Lo Celso and Hojbjerg to pass in-between the lines and get beyond the first wave of press was a massive problem.
Toby Alderweireld – 6
Like Dier, Alderweireld was very solid defensively and made a number of blocks to keep the game goalless before Laporte’s winner. However, again he was at fault throughout the game for opting with the long clearance instead of trusting himself to play a five yard pass with little risk – unless the pass was misplaced leading to a clear-cut chance for City.
Serge Aurier – 5
Struggled against Raheem Sterling, but luckily for him the England forward wasn’t having a great game and looked short of confidence. At fault for the winner by sloppily giving away a free-kick in the final third.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6
Hojbjerg and Reguilon figuring out that overlap play: pic.twitter.com/ptvLwA9r3O
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) April 25, 2021
Lots of energy as usual and was confident on the ball enough to carry it between the lines of defence and midfield. Showed plenty of times but also messed up our best chance of the game by having a complete breakdown in communication with Reguilon and kicking the ball out of play.
Harry Winks – 5
Didn’t do much at all, but then again that’s not completely his fault as Dier and Alderweireld didn’t trust him or themselves enough to play the ball into his feet for him to turn. A couple of good bursts of energy with his runs but not enough – but you cannot completely put that down to him.
Giovani Lo Celso – 6
A very hot and cold performance from Lo Celso who at times looked good enough to play for City and at times didn’t look good enough to play for our reserves team. Some exquisite touches to get us onto the attack and carry the ball from defence to attack, but in the final third his passing was dreadful.
Heung-min Son – 5
Another quiet performance from the Korean forward, who failed to track back as much as Mason would have liked and also failed to pull the strings when he received the ball in advanced positions. Kane found him multiple times with brilliant passes, but he looked scared when facing Kyle Walker, and immediately would offload the ball even if he could have shifted the ball and had a strike from distance.
Harry Kane – 6
After being isolated up front with the defence under pressure the entire game, he bought a free-kick.
People talking like their strikers wouldn't do this – this is the first thing any manager would tell their striker to do if the defence was under pressure🤦‍♂️ https://t.co/U6TDTA0KPJ
— Dan Huggins (@Dan_H26) April 27, 2021
A wonderful player playing a team that looks far from his standards. Doing his typical work drawing fouls, playing exquisite long cross-field passes and getting past players with quick turns of pace, strength and clever use of his body, but ultimately not receiving the ball in the final third.
Lucas Moura – 7
The best Spurs player apart from Lloris was Brazilian forward Lucas, who was the out-ball on countless occasions as Spurs looked to use his pace to get beyond the City press. He got the better of Laporte twice in the first half, but somehow he only received one yellow card.
SUBS: Gareth Bale – 5, Moussa Sissoko – 6, Dele Alli – N/A, Steven Bergwijn – N/A
Bale, like Son and Kane, was a very isolated figure in the Spurs attack, receiving the ball on minimal occasions, while Sissoko had a slightly better impact on the team with his energy and intense running. Alli and Bergwijn struggled to make an impact in the very little time that they had on the pitch.