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Tottenham 5-1 Lion City Sailors: Player ratings as Spurs survive scare in Singapore

2023-07-27 05:22
Player ratings as Tottenham came from a goal down to beat Singaporean side Lion City Sailors 5-1 in a pre-season friendly.
Tottenham 5-1 Lion City Sailors: Player ratings as Spurs survive scare in Singapore

Tottenham Hotspur battled back from a goal down to beat Singaporean side Lion City Sailors 5-1 in their second pre-season friendly under Ange Postecoglou.

Sunday's clash with Leicester City in Thailand was called off due to weather conditions, with their disrupted summer continuing in Singapore.

Jose Mourinho's Roma were meant to be Wednesday's adversaries, but the Giallorossi cancelled their pre-season tour and so Tottenham had to face off against local opposition instead.

Harry Kane spurned a great chance to give Spurs a third-minute lead. Destiny Udogie raced to the byline and pulled the ball back for James Maddison, who in turn picked out Kane, but his shot was dragged narrowly wide.

And Lion City Sailors took a shock lead after a quarter of an hour. A quick counter attack saw Maxime Lestienne find space to cross for Shawal Anuar, who ghosted in behind Pedro Porro and clumsily forced the ball over a hapless Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham continued to dominate the ball and were beginning to carve open Lion City Sailors. Firstly, Son Heung-min managed to sprint away but his cross for Kane was overhit, before a Maddison ball through the box was turned behind for a corner.

Son thought he had headed Spurs level when he raced in behind to meet a clever quick free-kick from Kane, but the flag was raised for offside.

Maddison was then denied by a superb stop from goalkeeper Zharfan Rohaizad after receiving a clever pass from Dejan Kulusevski through the lines as Tottenham's first-half frustrations continued.

Rohaizad was left helpless when Pape Sarr unleashed a fierce improvised half-volley, but fortunately for the goalkeeper it clipped the top of the bar. Son then had a similar effort land on top of the net.

On the stroke of half-time, Tottenham were awarded a penalty when Sarr drew a foul from Rui Pires, with Kane firing home from 12 yards.

Just after the break, Spurs found themselves ahead. Giovani Lo Celso won back the ball high up the pitch and while his shot was blocked, Richarlison was on hand to tap in the rebound.

Minutes later, Richarlison grabbed his brace. Lion City Sailors failed to deal with a long throw-in from Ivan Perisic, allowing the Brazilian striker to ghost in and head home.

Richarlison could have had a hat-trick within 10 minutes of the restart when he managed to rise high and head towards goal again, though this time Rohaizad was on hand to deny him.

Spurs should have added a fourth when Perisic drifted in off the left and worked a love give-and-go with Lo Celso before firing past the far post by a matter of millimetres.

The offside flag denied Richarlison his third of the day after straying offside when Oliver Skipp headed in a second ball from a corner, with Spurs' number nine finding the top corner with an acrobatic but futile effort. The assistant referee again ruled a Richarlison header out moments later.

Manor Solomon struck the post before Lo Celso finally got Tottenham's fourth, with Lion City Sailor's meekly dealing with a tempting low cross from the Israeli winger and letting the Argentine slot past Rohaizad from a few yards out.

After being kept out twice already, Richarlison finally secured a hat-trick in the latter stages. Emerson Royal and Oliver Skipp worked the ball through midfield to release the Spurs striker, who found the far corner with a delicate dink.

Tottenham Hotspur player ratings (4-3-3)

First half XI

GK: Guglielmo Vicario - 4/10 - Another goal which Vicario will not want to watch back. Neither had control on the cross or his line.

RB: Pedro Porro - 4/10 - Comfortable in possession and his technical qualities suit playing as an inverted wing-back, but remains a liability defensively.

CB: Cristian Romero - 6/10 - Tottenham's most reliable defender, combining both the fearlessness and ability to calmly play from the back.

CB: Ben Davies - 4/10 - Disjointed the Spurs backline with a needlessly aggressive press which led to Lion City Sailors' opener.

LB: Destiny Udogie - 6/10 - Looks a natural fit in Postecoglou's system and is already linking up well with his new teammates, though needs to work on defensive transitions.

DM: Yves Bissouma - 6/10 - Likewise excellent in possession but still needs fine-tuning going the other way.

CM: Pape Sarr - 8/10 - Spurs' best player in the first half, ultimately winning the penalty which saw them into the break on level terms. His mix of physical and technical attributes make it easy to see why Postecoglou has spoken so glowingly of him.

CM: James Maddison - 7/10 - Opened Lion City Sailors up with his trickery and creativity, though was guilty of taking a number of speculative pot-shots.

RW: Dejan Kulusevski - 6/10 - Worked himself into opportune positions but like in recent months remained hesitant to pull the trigger.

CF: Harry Kane - 6/10 - Not as involved as he would have liked to have been before levelling from the penalty spot.

LW: Son Heung-min - 5/10 - Found it hard to take on his man, and though looked more reminiscent of his younger self when darting into space, his delivery was subpar.

Second half XI

GK: Brandon Austin - 5/10 - A spectator for the most part.

RB: Emerson Royal - 7/10 - Once more looked capable of coming inside to provide an extra body in midfield.

CB: Eric Dier - 6/10 - Had very little to do upon his return from injury.

CB: Japhet Tanganga - 6/10 - Similarly untested as Lion City Sailors tired.

LB: Sergio Reguilon - 6/10 - The most involved of Spurs' backline, working his way infield and allowing Perisic ample space out wide in which to effectively operate.

DM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 6/10 - Brought some solidity and composure to midfield following a more open first half.

CM: Oliver Skipp - 7/10 - Quieter this time around following a box-crashing performance against West Ham last week though was crucial to the fifth goal.

CM: Giovani Lo Celso - 9/10 - Another fine performance for the former outcast, linking midfield to attack and carrying the ball around as if he had it on a string.

RW: Manor Solomon - 7/10 - Provided more natural width than the left-footed Kulusevski, opting to try and reach the byline or go outside his man more often than not.

CF: Richarlison - 9/10 - Made the most of his minutes with two well-taken finishes, while his two offside goals were none too shabby either.

LW: Ivan Perisic - 7/10 - The Croatian's two-footedness made him a useful outlet whether coming inside or stretching play.

Player of the match - Richarlison

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This article was originally published on 90min as Tottenham 5-1 Lion City Sailors: Player ratings as Spurs survive scare in Singapore.