Tottenham 5-1 NS Mura: Player ratings as Spurs ease to Europa Conference League win
By Sean Walsh
From Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Spurs ensured their dip in form didn't turn into a full-blown crisis with a 5-1 win over NS Mura in the Europa Conference League group stage.
Tottenham raced into an early lead before being pegged back by the champions of Slovenia, but were spared their blushes by a late hat-trick from substitute Harry Kane.
Spurs were awarded a penalty in the third minute after Dele was brought down by goalkeeper Matko Obradovic - a grown man wearing the number 69 shirt - and the captain for the night made no mistake from the spot.
Giovani Lo Celso doubled the lead soon after, latching onto a lovely dink by Harry Winks over the top and firing into the top corner.
Dele and Oliver Skipp went close to adding a third, but Spurs had to settle for a two-goal lead at the break.
The visitors pulled one back just after half-time, with Ziga Kous volleying it into the bottom corner and getting a warm round of applause from the home fans.
Mura threatened to make a game of it, and an unhappy Nuno Espirito Santo brought on Kane and Son Heung-min in order to see out a victory.
And Kane gave Spurs the breathing space they desired when he tucked away Lucas Moura's lovely through ball.
The England captain doubled his tally for the night with 15 minutes remaining when he converted Son's low cross before completing his hat-trick in the dying embers, as Spurs eventually sailed to victory.
Tottenham player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Pierluigi Gollini (GK) - 6/10 - Passenger for the most part and couldn't do much about the worldie he conceded.
Matt Doherty (RB) - 6/10 - Wasn't atrocious, which is an improvement on most of his Spurs performances.
Cristian Romero (CB) - 8/10 - Carries himself with real seniority and should be a starter in Nuno's strongest XI.
Joe Rodon (CB) - 7/10 - The maturity with which Romero plays allowed Rodon to take a few more risks.
Sergio Reguilon (LB) - 6/10 - Beaten a couple of times in the air and occupied similar positions to Gil, almost standing on his toes at points, but at least provided another attacking outlet.
2. Midfielders
Oliver Skipp (CM) - 6/10 - Par-for-the-course performance. Brought off ahead of Sunday's game with Aston Villa.
Harry Winks (CM) - 6/10 - Every time he threatened to spring into life, a Mura player clattered him and he lost confidence, but otherwise a decent game.
Dele (AM) - 6/10 - Roamed forward a lot and was looking like his inventive former self at times, but felt he was holding back and could have delivered more.
3. Forwards
Giovani Lo Celso (RW) - 8/10 - Scored a cracking goal but gave the ball away cheaply at times and hesitated in the final third. Grabbed a clever pre-assist for Kane's second.
Dane Scarlett (CF) - 5/10 - Some neat touches and dummies, but still lacking that physical presence and killer instinct at the top level. Experience will serve him well.
Bryan Gil (LW) - 6/10 - Very tidy but lack of pace put a cap on how much he could hurt Mura down the touchline.
4. Substitutes
Harry Kane (CF) - 9/10
Son Heung-min (LW) - 7/10
Lucas Moura (RW) - 7/10
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (CM) - 6/10
Emerson Royal (LB) - N/A
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