MOSCOW, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Georgi Schennikov of CSKA Moscow vies for the ball with Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur FC during the UEFA Champions League match between PFC CSKA Moskva and Tottenham Hotspur FC at the CSKA Arena stadium on September 27, 2016 in Moscow. (Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images)
Tottenham’s 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday felt just a tad unjustified.
There was hardly any fault to be found in the defense, and only one or two issues prevented the midfield from playing at peak levels. When Tottenham got the ball to CSKA’s third, however, Mauricio Pochettino’s great machine broke down.
Exactly why it took Tottenham 71 minutes to find a goal is a question for a later piece. For now, we have to deal with the individual performances that, collectively, earned a vital three points in Champions League Group E.
Pochettino was forced to leave a significant amount of first team regulars behind in London due to injury. None of Mousa Dembélé, Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Mousa Sissoko or Harry Kane traveled with the team.
That demanded a shift in tactics and a not inconsiderable reshuffle in personnel. Many players lived up to expectations, some exceeded them. A select few seemed lost, either out of sync with their teammates or the gameplan as a whole.
Let’s break down the starting XI’s efforts in Tuesday’s 1-0 win.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur FC in action during the UEFA Champions League match between PFC CSKA Moskva and Tottenham Hotspur FC at the CSKA Arena stadium on September 27, 2016 in Moscow. (Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images)
Defense
Hugo Lloris – 3.5 / 5
Another game in which Lloris’ distribution played a bigger role than his shot stopping. CSKA managed just two shots on goal, and generally conceded the momentum to Tottenham for much of the game. Lloris refrained from his often questionable mid-range passes, instead favoring quick roll outs to defenders or long punts upfield. Not a legendary performance, but it didn’t have to be.
Ben Davies – 3.5 / 5
The Welshman put on a better show than he did against Monaco, but this match proved just how valuable Danny Rose is to how this Tottenham team operates. Davies is the more conservative selection in defense, the player Pochettino would often turn to when he knows the opposition have a tricky winger in their arsenal.
In favoring that aspect of his game, however, Davies never learned to be a meaningful presence in attack. Rose’s dive-bombing runs forward perform a tremendous service for Tottenham’s attack — not just in terms of stretching play, but also in the form of crosses and even the occasional shot on goal. Davies is simply too cautious a player for a game like this.
More from Hotspur HQ
Jan Vertonghen – 4 / 5
On those few occasions that CSKA attacking duo Roman Eremenko and Lacina Traoré did get the ball into dangerous areas, it was Tottenham’s centre-backs who did the dirty work. Both Vertonghen and Alderweireld broke up attacks, blocked shots and generally proved as much of a wall between themselves as two lines of four did for CSKA.
Toby Alderweireld – 4 / 5
We’ve talked about it before here, but Alderweireld’s secret weapon is his accurate long ball. This season in particular he’s turned to his footwork in order to switch the ball to the opposite flank, often finding Heung-min Son on the left. Unfortunately for Tottenham such long, cross field balls were often wasted by hesitation and poor decision making.
Kieran Trippier – 3.0 / 5
In theory, Trippier is the better wide player to Kyle Walker. His inclusion here should have meant that the Englishman hugged the touchline, thereby providing a crossing threat from the right hand side. In practice, that very infrequently happened on Tuesday. Trippier and Érik Lamela’s link up play is uninspired and when Trippier did get into good positions he was often unable to deliver the final ball.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur evades Mario Fernandes of CSKA Moscow during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between PFC CSKA Moskva and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Stadion CSKA Moskva on September 27, 2016 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Midfield
Christian Eriksen – 4 / 5
Pochettino’s switch to a 4-3-3 formation combined with CSKA’s dropping deep to create an ideal circumstance for Eriksen’s passing game. The Dane completed the most passes of anyone on the pitch at 73, including five that were converted into shots. Perhaps he didn’t have it in him to be a gamechanger, but this was still a very competent performance.
Dele Alli – 3.0 / 5
Alli’s occupied one end of the quality spectrum for much of the season so far. Either he’s turning in his customary multidimensional performance, or he’s limp and whiffing at chances.
Tuesday’s match was an example of the latter. He might have hit CSKA’s post in the first half, but overall this was a match featuring wayward passes, poor ball control and poor decision making.
Victor Wanyama – 3.5 / 5
Filling in for Dier was never going to be easy, but Wanyama acquitted himself well. His yellow card was a bit foolish, but overall he did well to help cut off CSKA’s counters and get the ball moving back toward the final third.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Aleksei Berezutski of CSKA Moscow vies for the ball with Vincent Janssen of Tottenham Hotspur FC during the UEFA Champions League match between PFC CSKA Moskva and Tottenham Hotspur FC at the CSKA Arena stadium on September 27, 2016 in Moscow. (Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images)
Attack
Heung-min Son – 3.5 / 5
Tottenham’s hot foot almost predictably scored the winning goal. As crucial as that goal was, this was not a memorable performance from Son. What’s made him so effective in previous matches is his wild card factor on the left side of Tottenham’s attack. Will he cut inside? Will he go wide? Will he shoot when he’s in sight of goal?
The answer on Tuesday? Almost always, “cut inside”. That fell right in CSKA’s plans and only amplified how poorly Vincent Janssen looked leading the line. Son would do well to embrace his free role more in the future.
Érik Lamela – 3.5 / 5
To his credit, Lamela tried his darnedest to get things going from deeper positions on Tuesday. CSKA’s organized defending was too robust however, and when Lamela did find chances he often elected to control the ball or pass it on rather than shoot. His assist for Son’s goal was invaluable though.
Vincent Janssen – 3.0 / 5
This was not a performance that will settle any doubts about Janssen. His objective was clear: play hold up man, get Son and Lamela and Alli into the game. CSKA crowded him out though, always hanging on his shoulder and kicking at the balls he did receive. Tottenham needs a striker that’s more than simply a pivot point.
This article originally appeared on 
