On a day of wildly contrasting fortunes for Fantasy managers, Harry Kane‘s owners/captainers were left bitterly disappointed by the England striker’s one-point return in the evening match at the King Power Stadium.
Kane was named as a substitute for the first time in the Premier League this season, only entering the field of play with 16 minutes remaining.
Son Heung-min and Dele Alli did the damage with goals either side of half-time to further their own cases as premium midfielders for the weeks ahead.
We’ve got all the goals, assists, injury news and Fantasy talking points from last night’s clash in Leicester.
Leicester City 0–2 Tottenham Hotspur
- Goals: Son Heung-min (£8.4m), Dele Alli (£8.9m)
- Assists: Serge Aurier (£5.8m), Son Heung-min
Spurs picked up all three points in the eighth and final Premier League match to be contested on Saturday, registering their sixth clean sheet of the campaign in the process.
The Lilywhites always looked in control against a Leicester City side who missed the cutting edge of Jamie Vardy (£8.9m) up front.
Harry Kane (£12.5m) owners were left pulling their hair out when the team news broke, with the Englishman who ‘never gets rested’ named amongst the substitutes by Mauricio Pochettino alongside Christian Eriksen (£9.3m).
To compound the frustration, both players made cameo appearances in the second half – scoring just one FPL point each.
After the game, Pochettino was asked about the importance of resting Kane ahead of the UEFA Champions League tie against Barcelona on Tuesday:
Yeah but it’s always about the best decision first of all for the player and then for the team. It’s no point that players can play every three days in that busy period. It’s not healthy. The players need to rest. The players need to sometimes breathe.
Yes, it’s a thing that we need to avoid maybe talking and just respect not only my decision but all the managers in the Premier League because for some teams like Tottenham it’s difficult to manage. The most important thing is to be genuine in the trust that you have in your squad because it’s so easy to say I trust but in the end, arrive the moment and you never give the possibility to play.
We are showing that we trust in all the players. Of course, some players are going to play more than others because that is football. But we really believe in our squad.
Spurs set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Harry Winks (£5.5m) and Eric Dier (£4.8m) protecting the back four, and Moussa Sissoko (£4.9m) playing further forward than he has been in recent weeks.
Son Heung-min (£8.4m) and Dele Alli (£8.9m) were the stars of the show, the South Korean scoring a spectacular goal from distance at the end of the first half and then providing the assist for Alli’s headed goal to bring his tallies to three goals and two assists in the last four Gameweeks.
For those who don’t own Kane, Son could be a viable midfield alternative for the upcoming festive fixtures and is currently owned by fewer than 5% of FPL managers.
Pochettino had good things to say about his performance:
Yes, I’m so happy after the international break. The first few months of the competition a little bit disappointed because he struggled a lot. But after rest and avoiding going with the national team, I think he was so focused in trying to improve and today he improved a lot from Chelsea and now we are so happy with his contribution and performance. That is the player that we want and expect that energy from.
Alli was excellent throughout and found the back of the net for the third time this season. His link-up play with Son caught the eye and both players could have had even bigger hauls but for resolute defending from the Foxes.
Alli was a constant threat, registering ten touches in the Leicester penalty area. Son, Alli and Lucas Moura, who didn’t have much of an impact before being taken off, interchanged positions throughout, each playing as the most advanced Spurs attacker in different periods of the match.
Serge Aurier (£5.8m), who was awarded the assist for Son’s screamer, was replaced by Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.2m) towards the end of the game. The right-back, who was deputising for the injured Kieran Trippier (£6.1m), seemed to be suffering from an injury niggle himself as he left the pitch, which will be a worry for Pochettino ahead of the Barcelona tie.
In his post-match interview, the Argentine said he doesn’t know how serious Aurier’s injury is but that he’d have no problem playing Walker-Peters on Tuesday:
I think he’s ready to play. All the players that we have in the squad, the younger ones like Oliver Skipp or Troy Parrott, who was involved today for the first time, it’s because they’re involved in the first team during days, during weeks, during months, and it’s only to give the possibility to play.
I don’t doubt and I am not worried about players who are injured or don’t perform in their best, because we have another who can replace them. I promise we are going to win or lose with one or another.
Leicester started with a 4-3-3 formation but moved to a 4-4-2 when Marc Albrighton (£5.1m) and Rachid Ghezzal (£5.1m) came on to replace Vicente Iborra (£4.7m) and Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.9m) before the hour mark.
Full-backs Ben Chilwell (£5.2m) and Ricardo Pereira (£5.1m) got forward at every opportunity and looked threatening. Both are attractive FPL options this season, but Leicester have some tricky fixtures on the horizon, notably Chelsea away in Gameweek 18 and Manchester City at home in Gameweek 19.
James Maddison (£6.8m) was his usual creative self from set pieces and in open play, but it was clear that Vardy would have made a big difference if he was on the pitch to get on the end of Maddison’s through balls.
Iheanacho didn’t make much of an impact before he was replaced by Ghezzal. Claude Puel had the following to say in his post-match interview:
We have regrets. I am frustrated because we started well with the right intensity. We put in place a good structure. We recovered the ball and we made fantastic moves without the right ball at the end. I was frustrated. When we started with the ball, we played back. We needed more confidence and around their box, to give the right ball.
Leicester City XI (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Evans, Chilwell; Mendy (Okazaki 78’), Ndidi, Iborra (Albrighton 55’); Maddison, Gray, Iheanacho (Ghezzal 55’).
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier (Walker-Peters 77’), Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Winks; Sissoko, Alli, Moura (Eriksen 66’); Son (Kane 73’).
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5 years, 4 months agoHowdo Chumps.