Tottenham player ratings as 'incapable' defender gets 3/10 and 'influential' youngster gets 7/10 in Newcastle United defeat

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We rate the Tottenham players from Saturday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham.

Tottenham returned to losing ways on Saturday after giving up a lead at home to Newcastle United within the first half and failing to recover.

Spurs took the lead just three minutes in when Lucas Bergvall’s direct run paved the way for a pinpoint Pedro Porro cross. Dominic Solanke threw everything at it and headed home. But the lead did not last, with Newcastle equalising three minutes later when Bergvall’s pass hit Bruno Guimaraes’ arm and the ball was played through to Anthony Gordon, who did the rest.

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Newcastle completed their comeback seven minutes before half time when a fine low cross found Alexander Isak, who tapped in after Radu Dragusin, unaware of who he was marking, couldn’t quite get a strong enough contact to divert the cross. Tottenham dominated the second half, and especially when Heung-min Son and James Maddison were brought off the bench just after the hour-mark, but they failed to find a second goal and slumped to another home defeat. Here we rate the players from another frustrating afternoon for Spurs.

Brandon Austin - 6

A great save down low to deny Gordon in the 20th minute. Not much he could have done about either goal. Austin also made a good save to deny Harvey Barnes in the dying minutes. He looked much more comfortable than Fraser Forster has in recent weeks.

Pedro Porro - 5

Superb cross to set up the opener, showing great technique. It’s unclear whether Postecoglou asks his full-backs to play so high, but Porro is still usually chasing players from way out after being caught too far forward rather than getting into a good starting position as a full-backs. It’s still as though Spurs are playing with wing-backs despite having two centre-backs. To his credit, his positioning did improve in the second half.

Radu Dragusin (Off at 45’) - 3

Took a poor angle on Anthony Gordon for the equaliser. The goal wasn’t his fault as such, but he could have done better. Certainly could have done better for the second, too, once again unaware that there was someone behind him in Isak. Dragusin plays the ball over the man far too often for a centre-back at this level. It could be a case of form, but over recent weeks, Dragusin has looked incapable. He came off at the break here.

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Archie Gray - 6

Still very much in the deep end playing this position at this level, and it shows at times. Though, he did make some good interventions, including an important block to deny Tonali in the 57th minute, A solid second half performance, in particular.

Djed Spence - 6

Perhaps too narrow in the build up to the second goal and failed to stop the cross when he did get there. Some of the same issues with Porro also apply to Spence, but he was largely decent here, and he was much better in the second half, allowing very few opportunities for Newcastle to get in behind.

Pape Matar Sarr (Off at 61’) - 5

He was under pressure, but his poor pass to Lucas Bergvall is what led to the equaliser. Came close with a good long strike around 10 minutes after half time. Other than his early mishap, Sarr did okay.

Lucas Bergvall (Off at 61’) - 7

Strong run in the build-up to the opener. Arguably gave away the first goal but not only did the ball clearly hit Guimaraes’ arm, but he was played into trouble by Sarr. What can a player do if they make a pass, it’s blocked by an arm but not handball? Overall, Bergvall was very busy, produced some very good passes and was often Tottenham’s most influential player. His withdrawal was perplexing.

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Dejan Kulusevski - 5

Busy and showed plenty of endeavour but didn’t find any end product.

Timo Werner (Off at 61’) - 3

Anonymous. Werner produced next to nothing here.

Brennan Johnson - 5

Hit the post from a very tight angle 10 minutes after the break. Missed a big opening at the back post in the 82nd minute. He should have found the target but produced a shot that resembled a cross.

Dominic Solanke - 6

Great agility to contort his body to head in the opener. Came close with another acrabatic header in the 94th minute, too. Solanke battled all afternoon but was again isolated for the majority of the game. Tottenham need to get supporting players closer to him to reap the benefits from Solanke’s hard work.

Substitutes

Sergio Reguilon (On at 45’) - 7

Helped steady things at the back in the second half. Did well on the ball, too, supporting those ahead of him.

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James Maddison (On at 61’) - 6

Added quality after coming on at the hour-mark. Produced some nice crosses into the box. It wasn’t enough, but Maddison did add to his side’s attacking efforts.

Heung min-Son (On at 61’) - 6

Instantly added a spark to Tottenham’s front line but couldn’t find that elusive equaliser.

With Newcastle sitting back for large spells in the second half, Bissouma didn’t have too much to do, but he looked after the ball well.

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