In retrospect, a strange game. We were completely in control at the 60th minute - we could have properly demolished them if we'd kept that going. But then two completely needless, self-inflicted moments of weakness, and suddenly we had to throw up the barricades and ride it out against a truly garbage side.
We just about managed it, but getting into that needlessly risky position was entirely self-inflicted.
Anyway, positives - Big Daddy Kane, Eriksen being quietly unstoppable as usual, Davies did a good job down the left, Lloris did reasonably well in terms of being alert to developing dangers and distributing it reasonably well when the need arose. Toby, Verts and Sanchez were for the most part solid and did their jobs well.
Mixed reviews - Alli, Dier and Aurier. To be fair to him, Alli *tried*, and kept making runs that weren't spotted - and when he did get the ball, he created two assists, so it isn't really fair to say he was up-and-down. But that remains my impression - having screamed for the ball so much, when it actually came to him in promising positions twice, he fluffed his lines both times. And his flicks and skills, while magnificent when we're in full flow, are really 50:50 when we're not clicking - on the plus side, they lead to us getting a lot of free-kicks when he gets fouled, but they also lead to turnovers a lot, and that's not what we needed in games like today.
Dier was sort of half-and-half as well - did reasonably well distributing possession, but either dropped to deep or otherwise lacked the positioning to really stamp his authority in the middle. He's great at winding c*nts up, though - much like Alli.
Aurier was actually good for the 70-odd minutes he was on the field - he was caught out of position by Arnautovic a couple of times, but he made amends with some brilliant last-ditch challenges and looked increasingly assured as the game wore on.
And then he got himself sent off for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I suppose he's still adapting to the pace of the English game, but that was thoroughly reckless, and I hope he learns from it. 50:50, in the end, because we got away with it - if we hadn't, he'd have been the pantomime villain, I think.
Negatives - Sissoko. He was *okay* on the ball - ran into blind alleys a few times, but kept things ticking and was a reasonably useful outlet when on the break. But he did nothing of note. And when you're having an unremarkable game, you need to do the basics well - which he failed to do when he lost Hernandez for the first goal. I don't blame him for looking out of place at right-back, but his middling performance combined with his error on the first goal mean he had a bad day.
Anyway, a win's a win - same scoreline as at the Lane last season, and it's always good to put the tinpot spammers back in their place before moving on. No doubt 'we wuz robbed' will be the refrain from their lot, but they were truly woeful when three down - they were looking worse than Everton did against us, which is quite a feat. If they end up escaping relegation this season, it'll be an undeserved escape, on this evidence.
Also, as a closing thought, Poch got the subs *spot on* today. Winks on for Eriksen gave us a bit of control and a shield in midfield - he also made some very useful runs forward to wind down the clock, and his energy helped us keep the right side reasonably tight and locked down. Trippier for Sissoko was the obvious choice, and he did well in the time he was on the field. And Llorente on for Kane at the end was also the right choice, because he immediately put himself about, won all the balls we sent up at him and helped restore some control in the dying minutes. He also got up in Reid's face and helped waste two whole minutes as a result, which is also a bonus.
So, in the end, Poch did well with his subs. I'm still concerned about the Dier-Sissoko central midfield pairing, but props to him for his changes today.