Tottenham v Brentford player ratings: Son 8, Kane 8; Canos 5, Toney 4

Spurs knocking on door of Premier League top four after 2-0 victory

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  TOTTENHAM RATINGS; Hugo Lloris 6 - Not much to deal with in the first half other than collect a cross looping towards the back post. The France international’s defence prevented any troubling shots from coming his way. Getty

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  Davinson Sanchez 7 - Competitive in his individual battle against Ivan Toney who has been a handful for defenders this season. Getty

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  Eric Dier 6 - Not a great deal to do on the night other than keep a watchful eye on Brentford counter-attacks. Dier found a good balance between applying pressure and maintaining shape, but Brentford simply didn’t trouble the Spurs back three on the night. Reuters

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  Ben Davies 7 - Involved in the opening goal as his marker Canos diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper, but couldn’t claim what would have been his first goal in four seasons. EPA

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  Emerson Royal 6 - Got forward well throughout the game but one ball all wrong with Son in acres of space inside the box. PA

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  Sergio Reguilon 8 - Problematic for Brentford with runs down the left flank that stretched the play, and it was only a matter of time before he had an impact on the game, cutting the ball back for Son to double Tottenham’s advantage. AFP

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  Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 7 - Dane transitioned the play quickly and gave the ball to more attacking players. Helped win the midfield battle against his countryman Norgaard. Could only find the side netting when goal was gaping. EPA

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  Oliver Skipp 8 - An exquisite ball to Harry Kane should have been an assist but the forward got the finish all wrong. Young midfielder always looked to play forwards, and his performance would have impressed manager Antonio Conte. EPA

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  Lucas Moura 6 - A good effort was met by a strong stop from Brentford goalkeeper Fernandez after he was found by Kane. Wasteful on the ball in the first half, but a brighter display after the break. AP

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  Son Heung-min 8 - Brentford struggled to get close to Son who had the freedom of the pitch to run at defenders and get balls into the box. Involved in the opener as his cross caused confusion in the box and then got on the scoresheet himself with close-range finish. AP

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  Harry Kane 8 - Striker held the ball up well and brought others into play without. Unlucky not to pick up an assist after finding Lucas Moura, and while he has to do much better with his one-on-one chance, his sublime pass to Reguilon was big factor in Spurs doubling their lead. EPA

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  SUBS: Harry Winks - (On for Lucas 77') N/A. AP

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  Japhet Tanganga - (On for Emerson 84') N/A. Getty

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  Steven Bergwijn - (On for Son 87') N/A. AFP

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  BRENTFORD RATINGS; Alvaro Fernandez 7 - A strong hand denied Lucas Moura from putting Spurs into an lead. Made a good stop against Kane, but couldn’t do much about either goal. EPA

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  Ethan Pinnock 6 - Worked hard when having to sprint back to keep up with Moura, but there wasn’t enough organisation at back with teammates as Spurs made regular chances throughout the game. PA

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  Pontus Jansson 7 - Had a lot to deal with but put in a solid defensive display. Jansson read the play quickly and cleared danger well. Getty

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  Charlie Goode 6 - Defended well against quality Spurs attack and asked questions with long throws into the box. A fair performance for a player who has only recently broken into the first team. AFP

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  Rico Henry 5 - Had to keep an eye on the runs of Emerson Royal and this prevented him from getting forward as much as usual. PA

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  Sergi Canos 5 - Enjoyed a constant battle for position against Reguilon and had to defend more often than usual. Unfortunate own goal and seemed to lose Reguilon in run up to second goal. Getty

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  Vitaly Janelt 5 - Frustrating distribution from the German whose passes often going out of play or finding an opponent. PA

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  Christian Norgaard 6 - Tried to settle the play down for his side after they went a goal down and looked to edge back control from Spurs. Let down by his teammates who were wasteful and not on the same wavelength. EPA

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  Frank Onyeka 6 - Worked hard without having a lot of the ball. Broke up a couple of Spurs plays to relieve pressure but seemed to drift out of the game for long spells before being substituted. PA

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  Bryan Mbeumo 4 - The man Brentford looked for on the break but he was quickly closed down. A tough task with Thomas Frank’s side slow to support the attack. Getty

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  Ivan Toney 4 - Isolated as Brentford struggled to maintain possession for long. Didn’t have much to aim at with flick-ons. PA

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  SUBS: Shandon Baptiste - (On for Onyeka 57') 6: Didn’t put a pass wrong and kept things simple. Reuters

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  Mathias Jensen - (On for Janelt 70') 6 - Had a bright spell when he came on and looked confident. His direct balls asked questions of the Spurs defence. Reuters Yoane Wissa - (On for Canos 70') 5 - Simply didn’t get the ball enough when introduced to have any sort of impact.

Tottenham put themselves back in the race for the top four with a 2-0 home win over Brentford which extends their unbeaten Premier League record under Antonio Conte.

A first-half own goal by Sergi Canos and Son Heung-min’s second-half strike earned the victory which moved them into the top six, just two points behind West Ham with a game in hand.

Conte said that the Spurs job was his biggest challenge, but with two wins and a draw from his three games in charge, things are beginning to look up.

Brentford, who had taken points off Liverpool and Arsenal this season, were never really in the game and have lost five of their last seven league games.

After the match, Conte praised Oliver Skipp, saying he has what it takes to become a top midfielder.

“This player is very young. He has a lot of space for improvement,” said the Italian. “He played with great intensity, great passion, great heart, with soul. It was important.

“He doesn’t care if he’s only 21 years old. Today he played well. I think I can improve him a lot in possession and technically. We’re talking about an important prospect. We’re very happy for him.”