Cardiff vs Tottenham Hotspur: Player ratings as Tottenham hit home three in half an hour

Updated: 13/12/2024

It took only 26 minutes for Tottenham‘s Son Heung-min to ripple Cardiff‘s net for the third time, suspending any doubt over the outcome of Spurs' first Premier League away day of 2019.

While much has been made of the lack of squad depth available to Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs looked sharp and well-oiled in dismantling the Bluebirds confidence within half an hour. That said, Cardiff's defence should not be considered a major obstacle to those claiming to be in a title race – at least not on New Year's Day's showing.

Read more: Jarrod Bowen to Tottenham? Meet the 22-year-old Hull winger attracting attention

The opening goal was a farce. Harry Kane's neat turn bloomed the counter-attack as he found Kieran Trippier on the right wing. The delivery into six yard box pinballed about before Harry Kane found the corner of Neil Etheridge's net, who was slow to the bobbling ball.

Two more goals on the counter from Christian Eriksen and Son put the game to bed before half-time. At that is where it remained for the remainder of the 66 minutes.

Cardiff

Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur shoots to score against Cardiff (Getty Images)

Neil Etheridge 4/10

Dives in slow motion for Harry Kane's shinner, but the blame mostly rests with the defence. Eriksen's second is a great strike, but Son's shot, slow and by no means in the corner, he should stop.

Bruno Ecuele Manga 4/10

Leaves Christian Eriksen to track the threatening run of no-one for the Dane's goal. Tried to scramble back but was nutmegged with the shot.

Sean Morrison 3/10

A dramatic lack of a clearance for the first Tottenham goal. He's dragged 20 yards out of position for the second by Harry Kane and gets nowhere near affecting the play. For the third, he fails to put Son under any pressure.

Sol Bamba 4/10

Positionally adrift for the first goal, Bamba was little to do with the second, to be fair. The third was his major error. He stepped forward out of the defensive line to miss two interception possibilities and allow Son a clear run. Produced a lovely turn in the second-half, before spanking an overhit pass to no-one into Moussa Sissoko.

Greg Cunningham 5/10

Didn't cut out the crucial crosses or passes on his flank, often drawn out of defensive position by Kieran Trippier.

Aron Gunnarsson 6/10

Porous in defence while sitting in front of centre-backs. Struggled early on to break down Tottenham attacks, or indeed get close to them at full sprint. Just points at space for the third goal.

Grew into the match with a bit more physicality, but the damage was done. Lovely nutmeg in the 80th minute before he tried to claim a far-fetched penalty.

Callum Paterson 6/10

Dribbled well and posed a different sort of threat, but didn't get a breakthrough out wide.

Victor Camarasa 6/10

Looks very good technically, but his crosses never really found their man. Off at 59 minutes, seemingly injured, for Joe Ralls.

Harry Arter 4/10

Floundered in front of Christian Eriksen before his goal. Some poor long range passes amid an otherwise cautious passing game. Tackled physically and got better as the game went on, but wasn't at the races for a while.

Josh Murphy 6/10

Off at half-time due to an injury, which was a shame as he looked quite lively when given space, replaced by Junior Hoillett.

Bobby Reid 4/10

Substituted after 71 minutes after struggling to create any chances. Didn't get a shot off and lost the ball frequently.

Substitutes

Junior Hoillett 6/10

Good off the ball movement and actually engineered some shots. Drew a foul on occasion too, but not a game-changer.

Joe Ralls 5/10

Got on the ball a lot, with some OK close passing but overegging his range sometimes.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 6/10

Picked up the ball on the intercept but didn't do too much with it. Got a decent cross into the area.

Tottenham

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur beats goalkeeper Neil Etheridge of Cardiff City for the first goal (Getty Images)

Hugo Lloris 6/10

Claimed the difficult crosses when he needed to, tipped over threatening goalward-bound balls and generally martialled the area pretty calmly.

Kieran Trippier 7/10

His accurate cross into the six yard box caused chaos for the first goal. Drove forward well and was excellent at retrieving the ball.

Davinson Sanchez 6/10

Passed calmly and controlled play, but wasn't really called on to get physical that frequently.

Toby Alderweireld 8/10

Showed his class today, passing well, clearing danger and rarely letting trouble develop.

Danny Rose 7/10

Pushed forward and showed some nice footwork and pace. Did a proper defensive shift in the channel too, a lot of strong tackles.

Harry Winks 7/10

Lovely coordination of attack from the back of the midfield diamond. Calm, short passing with a focus on ball retention and liberating creative players further forward.

Moussa Sissoko 7/10

Some strong driving runs again and good at winning the ball. Some off-target passes but nothing unforgiveable.

Christian Eriksen 9/10

Very tidy footwork and finish for his goal. Not under much pressure from the Cardiff defence, but he shook them brilliantly. At the heart of every counterattack and calm in his decision making. Controlled large parts of the match.

Dele Alli 6/10

Not his usual excellent self, but by no means poor. Passed very accurately and produced a lot of off the ball movement. Crucial in the high press as always, eventually came off for Fernando Llorente.

Son Heung-min 8/10

Read more: Son Heung-min at Asian Cup: How many games will Tottenham star miss?

Good lay-off to Eriksen for his goal, and a tidy finish for his own. Passed a little inaccurately at times, but a real goal threat for his side today.

Harry Kane 9/10

Excellent passing, ahead of his finishing today. Great on the turn and spreading play, with a neat nudge to assist Son. Dropped deep a lot again, but it does draw centre-backs out with him.

Substitutes

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Oliver Skipp 6/10

On for Son at 76 minutes. Knocked a few passes and pressed energetically.

Fernando Llorente 5/10

Minimal impact upon the match for five minutes, with a couple of passes.

@LouisAlexDore

More on the Premier League:

Tottenham's relentless star quality keeps them in title race

Defective defending from Arsenal and Fulham a reminder of priorities

Man City vs Liverpool: How to watch, team news and expected line-ups

Everton 0-1 Leicester: Player ratings from a New Year's Day hangover

Rashford injury: Will Man Utd star be fit to face Newcastle?

Solskjaer turns back clock and reaps rewards at Man Utd

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