Tottenham Hotspur, the Champions League runners-up last season, failed to defend a two-goal lead on Wednesday night against Olympiacos. But the test was sterner this afternoon at King Power Stadium against a rejuvenated Leicester City side desperate to win the tie after failing to grab a result versus Manchester United last weekend.
The Lilywhites were lined up without an array of key individuals and suffered yet another setback despite leading at half-time. Brendan Rodgers turned things around after the break and clinched all three points claiming a 2-1 victory.
Below are the Spurs players rated in their disappointing defeat against Leicester City.
Paulo Gazzaniga: 6
Was handed a rare start in place of Hugo Lloris who missed the game due to family reasons. The Argentine made a few decent saves but looked nervy at times in the last line of defence. Was lucky to escape a howler when he spilt Youri Tielesmans strike into the path of Ayoze Perez. Wilfred Ndidi turned it in, but the goal was disallowed after consulting VAR due to offside.
Serge Aurier: 6.5
Tried to play his part in the attacking third with marauding runs and crosses. But he lost most of the duels and failed with his dribbling attempts from the right-hand flank. He could have had his moment too if his second-half strike had not been ruled out by VAR for offside against Son.
Toby Alderweireld: 5.5
Had a tough time in the heart of the backline. Struggled to contain Jamie Vardy as well as James Maddison who kept on dancing past the Spurs’ backline time and again.
Jan Vertonghen: 6
Took a no-nonsense approach by making long clearances. It was an open game, and therefore, had issues while defending deep against the hosts’ swift counter-attacking movements.
Danny Rose: 6.5
Had a few great duels with Ayoze Perez down the wide areas. The Englishman performed his defensive duties with timely recoveries and helped out the frontline combining with Winks and Son.
Harry Winks: 5.5
Was under pressure in the middle of the park against the likes of Tielemans and Maddison. Tried to build the game up from the deep but was mostly confined to defensive duties.
Tanguay Ndombele: 5
Struggled in midfield as he not only gave the ball away early in the game but also offered little with his box-to-box movements. Was successful with his tackles but, on the other hand, was dispossessed repeatedly allowing Leicester to surge forward. Was taken off in the closing minutes to be replaced by Lucas Moura.
Moussa Sissoko: 6
Worked hard, made some ambitious runs but was unable to create anything noteworthy for Lamela, Son or Kane in the attacking third. Made way for Victor Wanyama midway through the second half.
Erik Lamela: 6.5
The Argentine had his moments in the game with smart link-up play and cut insides from the flank. Created space high up the pitch and his with the ball runs often troubled the Foxes backline. Made way for Christian Eriksen late in the game.
Heung-min Son: 7
Was smart to set it up for Kane who made no mistake in grabbing the first-half lead. But the South Korean wasted a glorious opportunity and failed to threaten Kasper Schmeichel in Leicester goal despite multiple attempts.
Harry Kane: 8
Despite being off-balanced, the Spurs hitman found the net around the half-hour mark to earn a lead. Came close to adding more to his tally but was denied by Schmeichel on several other occasions.
Substitutes
Victor Wanyama: 5
A defensive move that went horribly wrong for Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine chief opted to defend the lead, but the hosts equalised minutes into the Kenyan’s inclusion.
Christian Eriksen: 5
Was brought in late, created a few chances but failed to make an impact from the bench.
Lucas Moura: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
