Opinion: Player ratings from Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Man City, or was it a win?
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a defeat to Manchester City in North London this evening. Tottenham won? Arsenal lost? I’m not really sure anymore. Two goals were scored by people in Man City shirts. Let’s leave it at that.
As tempting as it is to give every Spurs player a 10 rating, let’s take a look at how they actually played:
Guglielmo Vicario – 8.5 – He may have been wearing sky blue, but Vicario was Man City’s arch-nemesis at times this evening. That point-blank save to deny Foden may be up there with his best, and it wasn’t the only big save he made tonight. Only thing he didn’t do was save the penalty.
Pedro Porro – 5 – A pretty understated performance from Porro this evening. He used the ball really nicely in transition but didn’t get involved too much going forward beyond the odd misplaced cross. Giving away the penalty that potentially handed Man City the title will be what he remembers.
Cristian Romero – 7 – For the most part, he had a wonderful game. Kept the likes of Haaland quiet by getting right in their faces in his typically aggressive style. For some reason, he let Foden off the hook in the build-up to Man City’s goal.
Radu Dragusin – 7.5 – This was a huge game for Dragusin. Starts have been hard to come by and this was by far his best appearance in a Spurs shirt. It may have been offside but that headed clearance off the line was superb. He didn’t look out of place up against Haaland either.
Micky Van de Ven – 6.5 – Started at left-back for the first time in a Spurs shirt. I expected to see some more underlapping runs down the middle with his immense pace, but he played more as a third centre-back at times.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6 – Started the game superbly before slicing the ball up into the air and almost handing Foden a gift of a goal. He settled down after that and had a tidy game though, albeit without doing anything spectacular.
Pape Matar Sarr – 7.5 – Sarr personified Tottenham’s approach to the match this evening with his relentless pressing and running in behind. He played everything from a midfield pivot to a false nine and did all of it to a pretty high standard.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 6 – Came off early in the second half, and absolutely battered one of the Tottenham seats. He actually looked after the ball really nicely but he was the obvious change once he picked up a yellow. Hopefully, he can get back to his best over the summer.
Brennan Johnson – 6 – Full of running as normal but his final ball wasn’t good enough. For the positions he gets into, Johnson should have even more assists to his name this season.
James Maddison – 6 – Started the match in a false nine role and got a lot of the ball in the first 20 minutes. Drifted out of the game once Man City took control but you can see his confidence on the ball returning.
Heung-min Son – 5 – It’s tempting to give him a 10 and the MOTM award for missing a 1v1 with the score at 1-0. In reality, Sonny was very quiet this evening, both out wide and down the middle. He really is Spurs through and through.
Substitutes:
Dejan Kulusevski – 7.5 – Came on after 55 minutes and looked like Tottenham’s most threatening attacker. Created two good chances for himself and was unlucky not to score.
Oliver Skipp – N/A
Giovani Lo Celso – N/A
Mikey Moore – N/A – Congrats on the debut, Mikey!
The post Opinion: Player ratings from Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Man City, or was it a win? appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.