Two first half goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap secured a 2-1 victory for Ipswich Town over Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Tottenham Hotspur nearly cut into the two-goal deficit immediately after halftime when Dominic Solanke scored in the 49th minute.
The goal was overruled after a VAR check due to a handball from Solanke.
Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring for Spurs in the 69th minute, but the home side were unable to close the deficit.
Ipswich Town were able to secure their first victory in the Premier League and pull themselves out of the relegation zone.
We explored how each player performed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Starting XI
Arijanet Muric - 8
Muric has been on a quality run of form over the last five matches. This match he definitely produced his best. He completed five saves, three from inside the box.
He helped protect Ipswich Town’s lead. Muric helped navigate the team through an early first half period where Tottenham Hotspur were pushing for a goal.
Leif Davis - 7
Another very strong performance from Leif Davis after he scored a stunning goal last weekend. He had six clearances and was a large part of the team securing their first victory.
Alongside his defensive contribution, Davis had two key passes and helped to influence play moving forward.
Cameron Burgess - 7
He assisted heavily with the defensive work for his side. He had nine clearances. He nearly scored from a header on the left hand side of the six-yard box in the 9th minute.
His effort hit the bar and he nearly opened the scoring for Ipswich Town early in the match.
Dara O’Shea - 7
Another defender who was valuable to Ipswich Town’s victory. He had nine clearances and three blocked shots. He had two tackles and won half of his duels in the match.
Axel Tuanzebe - 6
He had two interceptions and two tackles. A solid performance from Tuanzebe was needed for the result. He didn’t have much of an impact on the attacking side of proceedings.
Jens Cajuste - 6
He did well to get forward from his defensive midfielder position. He had three successful dribble attempts and played almost the full ninety minutes.
Sam Morsy - 7
Morsy completed 91% of his passes (30/33) and controlled the tempo of the match from midfield. He had three clearances and three interceptions.
Morsy has been influential in the last few matches with accurate passes from midfield.
Sammie Szmodics - 7
His overhead kick goal in the 31st minute opened the scoring for the match and stunned the hosts. This is the second time he scored against a traditional ‘Big Six’ side in the 2024/2025 season.
He scored against Manchester City at the the Etihad and opened the scoring there, too. Szmodics stepped up to the plate again today and helped his team once again.
Omari Hutchinson - 7
He completed 88% of his passes (23/26) and had a key pass in the match. Hutchinson helped defensively and had two tackles. He also had an interception.
The defensive side of proceedings is something Hutchinson will probably focus on developing as the season progresses.
Ben Johnson - 6
Johnson did not have much of an impact in the final third. A lot of his passes did not lead up to attacking chances. He completed one dribble attempt and had three tackles. He put forth a pretty good effort for Ipswich, but there wasn’t anything too extraordinary to speak about.
Liam Delap - 8
A goal and assist against Tottenham Hotspur have topped off some good performances over the last month. His hold up play was once again influential in a tough away battle.
He didn’t get many touches of the ball, 18, but did a lot when he did receive the ball. Another really good performance from Delap.
Substitutes
George Hirst - 6
He came on and contributed defensively, but did not provide much in an attacking sense. He won all four of his aerial duels and had a clearance.
Jack Clarke - 6
Clarke played 19 minutes and came onto the pitch for Sammie Szmodics. He got 15 touches, but did not pose much of an attacking threat.
He won a few duels and showed effort to protect the lead. This is the most important contribution someone can make for a team that has a one goal lead away from home.
Massimo Luongo - 6
He only came onto the pitch for eight minutes and did not have much of an impact. He only touched the ball one time and was subsequently fouled.
He won a ground duel and moved around the pitch. There wasn’t much to speak on his individual performance, and he was sent on to protect the lead.