Opinion: Player ratings from Tottenham’s 4-2 defeat to Liverpool

Tottenham made it four defeats on the bounce this evening as they conceded four goals at Anfield in yet another slow and sloppy performance.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players got on:

Guglielmo Vicario – 5 – Made a couple of decent stops and takes but should have done better with the Liverpool opener. Has looked a little jittery over the past three weeks.

Pedro Porro – 4 – Pretty anonymous defensively, especially on the Liverpool break when he got caught downfield. That’s part of Postecoglou’s system, but Porro didn’t offer enough going forward to make it worth it in the end.

Cristian Romero – 6 – At times he looked like he was going to drop a 10/10 performance, but he got beat in the air for Gakpo’s goal and gave the ball away cheaply in his own third a couple of times. Some great blocks and tackles in there though, including a clearance off the line.

Micky Van de Ven – 6 – Went about his business quietly and was a lot less involved than Romero. It’s a strange situation where he didn’t play too badly but the shortcomings of others resulted in four goals conceded.

Emerson Royal – 2 – Didn’t have a hold on Mo Salah for a second today. Quality is one thing, but Royal just switched off time and time again. It should have been a man-mark type job but Salah was walking into space at times.

Yves Bissouma – 5 – Was probably the best of the three midfielders to start, which is why he stayed on, but he still looks so far short of his early-season form. Off the ball, he needed to offer so much more to screen the defence today.

Pape Matar Sarr – 3 – Always gives you bags of energy off the ball but he was all over the place with the ball at his feet today. His first touch was heavy and his passing was so inconsistent.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 3 – Still looks a shadow of his former self. I hope he just needs more time. Last season, he looked like he couldn’t lose the ball. Today, it looked like he couldn’t keep it.

Dejan Kulusevski – 3 – Did more defensively than he did going forward, which is both a compliment to his tracking back and a damning indictment of his output in the final third.

Heung-min Son – 5 – Son gained an extra couple of points from his performance in the final 30 minutes. Before that, he couldn’t hold onto the ball or create a chance to save his life. You can see how much more effective he is out wide and Spurs need to go into the market for a real number 9 this summer.

Brennan Johnson – 4 – Flashed in a couple of nice crosses but that was about it. Considering Trent is not the fastest right-back, nor the best defensively, Johnson should have given him a much tougher evening. In the end, it was easy for the Liverpool star.

Substitutes:

Oliver Skipp – 6 – At the very least, he gave it 110%, which is more than most today. He deserves some starts, purely based on how bad everyone else has been. Finished the game at left-back and actually performed better than Emerson.

James Maddison – 6 – Back to his best would be a stretch but that is the most dangerous and creative James Maddison has looked in weeks. Maybe a kick up the bum really was what he needed.

Richarlison – 8 – He looked like a man possessed against his old enemy, Liverpool. A goal and an assist off the bench, as well as some class general hold-up play. Why can’t we see this week-in week-out?!

Giovani Lo Celso – 6 – Another man who deserves more minutes, considering how everyone else is playing. Lo Celso at least had a handle on midfield and kept the tempo high for Spurs.

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