It was a disappointing day for Tottenham Hotspur as our dreams of making the top four came crashing down.
It was always a long shot given the gap, but the performance against Sheffield showed that the team is some way away from challenging for a spot at the top table of European football.
For all our posturing, we actually find ourselves below Arsenal in the league table at this point of time.
Given the season the Gunners have had, that is a damning fall from the glories of last season.
In Sheffield United, we were up against an opponent who was rocked by injuries. The likes of Lundstram, Jack O’Connell, John Fleck, and Luke Freeman were all unavailable on the night. Chris Wilder went as far as to name only seven substitutes of a possible nine, which spoke volumes of his predicament.
Spurs never got into the game as Sheffield United almost scored in the first minutes. Itw as a sign of things to come. The excellent Sander Berge gave the Blades the lead in the 31st minute.
Harry Kane looked to have brought us level but the goal was ruled out by VAR. Lys Mousset and Oli McBurnie put the game to bed before Kane grabbed a late consolation.
A forgetful night. We might as well as also forget our European aspirations.
We take a look at how the Spurs players fared on the night.
Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings
Hugo Lloris (5/10)
It speaks volumes when your goalkeeper is the best player in defence in a match where you concede three goals. The Frenchman was alert and denied George Baldock from scoring in the first minute. If anything, that was a sign of things to come. To his credit, he did not do much wrong.
Serge Aurier (3/10)
The Ivorian either causes confusion in the opposition ranks with his marauding runs or withing his own backline due to his ability to switch off. Today it was the latter as he was turned time and time again by Sheffield.
His contribution at the other end wasn’t much to write home about either. Taken off for Dele Alli in the second half. Mourinho will not have been impressed.
Eric Dier (4/10)
His worst performance in defence for Tottenham. The Englishman did well to win a number of crucial headers in the first half but struggled with the ball on the ground.
His positioning left much to be desired and was caught flat-footed as Lys Mousset doubled the Blades’ advantage. It did not get much better as he could do little to thwart Oli McBurnie from scoring the third.
Davinson Sanchez (2/10)
A miserable night for the Colombian who was at fault for all three goals. Was too inertial for the first goal and was caught completely out of position for the second.
Stood out like a sore thumb amidst a defence that was missing all game. Spurs fans might be forgiven if they thought they were watching Dejan Lovren in action.
Ben Davies (4/10)
Struggled to make an impact at both ends of the pitch. His crossing was awry while his positioning was questionable at best. Should have done better to read the buildup for the third. A forgetful night.
Moussa Sissoko (4.5/10)
The Frenchman did little to justify his inclusion in the starting lineup. Although he bombed forward numerous times, his final ball was lacking.
A player capable of both the sublime and the ridiculous, he was more Hyde than Jekyll on the night at Bramall Lane. Failed to keep up with his man for the second goal and was promptly subbed off.
Giovani Lo Celso (4/10)
In the leadup to the game, Mourinho had stressed that he would prefer to have Lo Celso over Bruno Fernandes. He might have well have been tempting fate as the Argentine faded as the game went on.
He could not stand up to the physicality in midfield and also made a hash of his setpiece deliveries. Lo Celso is an excellent player who can fill the void left by Christian Eriksen. However, it appears he still has ways to go.
Lucas Moura (4.5./10)
Ran hard but made little of note happen. The Brazilian played a key role in Harry Kane’s equalizer. Unfortunately, he was adjudged to have handled the ball and saw the effort ruled out.
Made a few good runs, but lacked the end product to make them count.
Steven Bergwijn (5/10)
The Dutchman played the number 10 role and saw a lot of the ball. He caused Sheffield some problems with his pace and trickery. His usual end product was however lacking and was taken off for Erik Lamela at the hour mark.
Son Heung-Min (5/10)
Spurs were without their talismanic striker for a while prior to the restart. It looked to be the same against Sheffield as the South Korean was anonymous on the pitch.
Honestly believed that he had been taken off at half-time before he popped up to assist Harry Kane for the consolation.
Harry Kane (5/10)
Barely touched the ball and looked off the pace. Thought he had brought his side level only for the goal to be ruled out. Grabbed a late consolation in what was our only saving grace all game.
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Substitutes
Erik Lamela (6/10)
Showed urgency after coming on and immediately made a darting run into the box. did his best to bring his side back into the game but could not find that final pass that could have made the difference.
Tanguy Ndombele (4/10)
Brought on with 20 minutes to go. Difficult to see what he could have done given the average performances around him. To his credit, did pass the ball around and try to make things happen.
Dele Alli (4/10)
Did little after coming on. At the very least it took the disappointing Aurier our of the game.
Jan Verthonghen (NA)
The Belgian was brought on for the final nine minutes. Not much to talk about here.