Tottenham player ratings vs Liverpool: Michel Vorm’s performance a silver lining but N’Koudou has a night to forget

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Tottenham are out of the EFL Cup after beating beaten by Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.

Some poor defending from Spurs cost them dearly early on as Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge latched onto the loose ball and fired past Michel Vorm.

It was a similar story for the second, as more disastrous defending gifted Sturridge his second. Kevin Wimmer made the wrong decision to try and play the Liverpool forward offside and instead allowed him a clean-run at goal. Sturridge made no mistake and doubled his side’s lead.

Spurs did get a late consolation goal through Vincent Janssen. He fired the ball past Simon Mignolet after Erik Lamela was brought down inside the penalty area.

It was a poor showing from Tottenham, who fell to their first defeat of the season.

Tottenham player ratings vs Liverpool:

GK: Michel Vorm 8/10

Vorm is very firmly the second-choice goalkeeper at White Hart Lane, but pulled off a few good saves against Liverpool. He wasn’t helped by his defenders in the first half who failed to track Daniel Sturridge, who fired past the Dutch goalkeeper. Again, his defence let him down for Sturridge’s second goal as they left him 1-v-1 against the striker. If not for Vorm, it could have been a lot worse for Spurs.

RB: Kieran Trippier 6/10

Trippier has appeared in several of Spurs’ Champions League fixtures this campaign and performed well. Tonight, he was handed another start and answered every question posed to him. He wasn’t, though, as much of a threat going forward as he has been in previous games.

CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers 5/10

At 18-years-old, Cameron Carter-Vickers’ best games of his career are very much ahead of him – this wasn’t one. He showed his inexperience in the build-up to Sturridge’s first goal and was caught ball-watching as the striker slipped in behind and scored.

CB: Kevin Wimmer 6/10

Wimmer didn’t provide the sort of performance that could break-up the near impenetrable Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen centre-back pairing. He looked comfortable in possession but his poor positioning was exposed for both of Liverpool’s goals.

LB: Ben Davies 6/10

Like Tripper, Davies had limited effect going forward tonight. Spurs’ full-backs attempted to push up into advanced areas of the field but never provided a final ball of any real quality.

CM: Eric Dier 7/10

Eric Dier was handed the captain’s arm-band tonight and produced a captain’s performance. Assured and decisive in possession, he was arguably Spurs’ best player.

CM: Harry Winks 6/10

Harry Winks looked out-of-his-depth at times in the Tottenham midfield. At 20-years-old he could be forgiven for doing so. He was only able to produce side-ways, ineffective passes – not the sort of quality that could earn him a prolonged spell in the side.

RM: Josh Onomah 6/10

A few weeks ago Sky Sports quoted Mauricio Pochettino comparing Josh Onomah to Lionel Messi. He didn’t produce the sort of performance we have come to expect from who some consider the best footballer of all-time. He was unable to have much of an influence on the game from the right hand-side.

CAM: Tom Carroll 4/10

Tom Carroll is 24-years-old now, it is time to start producing performances. Tonight’s showing did not suggest that Carroll has progressed much in recent years, nor did it suggest he could break into Spurs’ starting eleven any time soon.

LM: Georges-Kevin N’Koudou 3/10

Tonight was N’Koudou’s first start for Tottenham since joining from Marseille in the summer. Like his wing-counterpart Onomah, however, he was unable to directly affect the game. He opted to come inside on too many occasions where he would have been better suited going to the by-line and playing in the ball to his striker. He also conceded possession in the build-up to Daniel Sturridge’s goal, which proved costly for his side.

ST: Vincent Janssen 5/10

Another game, the same story from Janssen’s point of view. He is yet to score from open-play since moving to White Hart Lane in the summer. He had some nice touches and worked hard for his team, but unfortunately leading the line for a team competing for the title means you have to provide more of a goal-threat. He took his penalty well, but it was the only time he looked even remotely dangerous.

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