Tottenham Hotspur earned a confidence-boosting victory against Fulham at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Spurs were dominant throughout the first half, crowning it with a 43rd-minute stunner from Lucas Moura, but it was Fulham that came out firing in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, with Aleksandar Mitrović first hitting the post and then scoring to draw the game level.
A beautiful Kieran Trippier free kick in the 74th minute sent Tottenham ahead, and Harry Kane scored his first-ever August goal just three minutes later to ensure the win. How did the Spurs players fare?
Goalkeeper and Defenders
Hugo Lloris: 7/10 - The Spurs keeper was overall solid today. He made two saves and was left with two attackers against him. Lloris' distribution, his weak spot, worked quite well. If Lloris keeps his consistency throughout the season, he might be reaching for the Golden Glove.
Kieran Trippier: 8/10 - Trippier scored an absolute beauty from a free kick, showing that he might replace Christian Eriksen at set pieces, already taking some corners. Other than that, Trippier enjoyed a lot of space down the right, but most of his crosses were thwarted by Le Marchand before they got to their target.
Davinson Sánchez: 6/10 - Sánchez was the least memorable of the three centre-backs, and though he had a very poor long pass, he still managed to silence Mitrović in the first half.
Toby Alderweireld: 8/10 - Alderweireld is back in the team after being on the bench against Newcastle, and he came back with a bang. He was the centre-half that was on the ball the most, found Trippier out wide with a long pass from which he could switch to a cross. Overall, an incredible performance to ensure his spot for next week.
Jan Vertonghen: 7/10 - A very solid performance from Vertonghen. He kept the talented Ryan Sessegnon out of the game for most of it, eliminating his pace with brilliant positioning. He is usually the centre-half to drive forward, but handed off the role to Alderweireld for this game and just stayed back and defended.
Ben Davies: 6/10 - Ben Davies had an okay game. He was making all the right moves and runs, but his crossing didn't seem the most productive, especially during the 20 minutes between Mitrović's and Trippier's goal, when he was the main crosser. A highlight of his game in injury time, when he cut inside on his right and took a great shot saved by Fabri.
Midfielders
Eric Dier: 6/10 - A rather average game for Dier, as he took on a more defensive role as Alderweireld drifted forward. He didn't make any particular mistakes, so he should get a solid rating.
Christian Eriksen: 5/10 - It was an off day for the Danish magician at Wembley. He was still an important creative outlet for the team, but his final passes were not coming through. He led the team with five shots, none of them really threatening Fabri, despite three of them being inside the box. Eriksen will definitely be looking to bounce back against United.
Lucas Moura: 9/10 - The Brazilian winger had an absolutely amazing game, starting in the absence of Heung-Min Son. He scored once but could have easily gotten a hat-trick. Moura got his goal before halftime struck, receiving the ball after a deflected Eriksen pass, cutting inside on his left, and smashing it in off the post past Fabri, his first-ever Premier League goal.
Attackers
Harry Kane: 8/10 - The striker finally broke his August curse, scoring his first Premier League goal of the month in his career. Kane's goal in the 76th minute was important, essentially putting the game away. He had a couple of chances with his weaker left foot as well, hitting the post once and the other was safe. Scoring in August must be a huge mental boost for Kane, which might reflect in his quest to reclaim the Golden Boot.
Dele Alli: 7/10 - It was a solid game from Alli, as he acted mainly as a connection between the wing-backs, Alderweireld, or Eriksen, and Kane with Moura. Alli often limited himself to just one-touch flicks, which sped up Tottenham's game. Between the 50th and 70th minute, when the score was 1-1 and Spurs were chasing the game, Alli got a couple of chances in the box, onto his left foot, but instead of taking the shot, he held on to the ball for too long and his shots were inefficient.
Substitutes
Mousa Dembélé: 6/10 - The Belgian midfielder replaced Sánchez to give Tottenham a player who can drive the attack, but as Trippier scored just eight minutes later, and the substitution of Dier could not be changed, Dembélé ended up playing a more defensive role in the final 20 minutes, acting as the middle of the back three. He did very well in transforming defence to attack and starting counterattacks.
Erik Lamela: 7/10 - Lamela came on right after Trippier put Tottenham ahead in an offensive-minded substitution for Eric Dier. Lamela was very impressive in his 15 minutes on the pitch, an integral part of all counterattacks after Fulham sent players forward, trying to equalize. Not only did the Argentine assist Kane's goal, he also had a great chance of his own in the final minute of added time, after Fabri spilt the ball after Davies' shot, Lamela only hit the rebound into the keeper.
Harry Winks: 5/10 - Winks replaced Kane in the 91st minute, so he obviously didn't have much impact on the game. He showed off his new No. 8 shirt, and made his first Premier League appearance since December, due to an ankle injury. It may be a few weeks before he gets a start, but fans must be happy to see the young midfielder back.