Harry Kane celebrated his 100th Tottenham Hotspur appearance by scoring the opener in a 2-0 win over Southampton on Saturday.
Kane broke the deadlock after 40 minutes at St Mary’s, moments before Dele Alli doubled Tottenham’s advantage with his fourth Premier League goal.
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The result, coupled with Manchester United’s 2-1 home defeat to Norwich City, sees Spurs climb into the top four.
It wasn’t a brilliant display from Spurs, but fans will be more than happy with how their side’s final game before Christmas panned out.
Here’s how Tottenham’s players rated…
GK Hugo Loris – 9/10
Made a stunning save to deny Sadio Mane when the scoreline was 0-0 and then produced another good stop to keep out Graziano Pelle in the early stages of the second half. However, Loris best save of the game came in the dying seconds, with his left hand thwarted a shocked James Ward-Prowse.
LB: Ben Davies – 6/10
Did OK standing in for Danny Rose, but one would expect that Davies will return to the bench as soon as his fellow left-back returns from the illness which sidelined him today.
RB: Kyle Walker – 7/10
Did well defensively against a tricky Saints attack and made a useful contribution at the other end too, setting up Alli for Tottenham’s second goal.
CB: Jan Vertonghen – 8/10
Almost flawless. Excellent in and out of possession.
CB: Toby Alderweireld – 7/10
A tidy display against his former club. Alderweireld, who spent last season on loan at St Mary’s, made more clearances than any other player and came up with a brilliant block in the first half.
CM: Mousa Dembele – 8/10
Sat much deeper than usual and did brilliantly as a defensive midfielder. Didn’t look at all fazed by his battle with Saints giant Victor Wanyama.
CM: Eric Dier – 6/10
Did very little wrong, but was outshone by Dembele.
AM: Christian Eriksen – 5/10
Tottenham need their star man to start playing like their star man again. He was fairly anonymous today. Hooked on 85 minutes to give Nacer Chadli (6/10) a run out.
AM: Dele Alli – 8/10
Scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season and also played a role in the build-up to Kane’s opener. Got a massive ovation form the Spurs fans when he was replaced by Tom Carroll (6/10) after 79 minutes.
AM: Erik Lamela – 7/10
Looks really fit these days. Lamela worked tirelessly during the 90 minutes, winning the ball back on numerous occasions. The Argentine was off target with all three of his speculative shots, although he created a glorious chance for Carroll, who should have made it 3-0 late on.
ST: Harry Kane – 8/10
Took his goal very well, despite being starved of service up until that point. Unlike Lamela, Kane hit the target with all three of his shots. He also won four aerial battles. Kane’s afternoon ended worryingly. He took a bang to the knee and limped off in the dying moments, with Heung-Min Son (N/A) replacing him for what was an uneventful four minutes of stoppage time. However, Kane’s face was grimace-free as he shook hands at full time.
Full time: Southampton 0-2 Tottenham