Tottenham half-time player ratings vs Newcastle United as 5/10 defender looks off the pace

The half-time whistle has blown in the Premier League match between Tottenham and Newcastle United, and it’s time for our player ratings.

Tottenham Hotspur head into the break a goal down against Newcastle United in front of their home support at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players got on:

Guglielmo Vicario – The Italian was eventually beaten by Malick Thiaw, who reacted quickest to turn home the rebound after the Spurs goalkeeper had parried his initial header – the save only pushing the ball straight back into danger. Vicario, though, would be wondering why none of his defenders reacted in time. 5.

Archie Gray – In possession, the youngster often looks to hold his position, helping Spurs build with a back three. However, he has had a few opportunities to get forward here, but they have not been too frequent. 6.

Radu Dragusin – It has been a solid second start for the Romanian so far. He did have a nervy moment early in the half when his scooped clearance awkwardly dipped back to Vicario, who had to be alert. The centre-back, however, looked to have half-pressed the ball for Newcastle’s disallowed goal and got stuck in no man’s land. Thankfully, Willock was offside. 5.

Micky van de Ven – He has been very aggressive in the tackle, quite often pushing high and getting tight to his man, trying to keep the opposition far away from the Tottenham goal. 7.5.

Djed Spence – The entire left flank is the full-back’s in this game, especially with Simons handed a free role that allows him to drift around the pitch. Spence, however, has been more focused on defending, with few forward forays. 6.

Pape Matar Sarr – He was given a deeper role tonight alongside Yves Bissouma in the pivot and has looked solid in the middle of the park. He often drops deep to pick the ball up during the build-up and has quite frequently shown for the ball in midfield, looking to play forward passes. He was later booked in the half after simulating. 6.

Yves Bissouma – The Malian has looked to mop things up in the middle of the park for Tottenham, which he managed to do for most of the first half. He often covered for Archie Gray whenever the full-back pushed up. 5.5.

Conor Gallagher – The Tottenham midfielder showed a willingness to go forward in the early parts of the opening forty-five minutes, often finding himself on the right of Spurs’ attack. He created the best chance for Tottenham following a fast break, with his cross finding Xavi Simons, but the Dutchman could not hit the target. 6.

Xavi Simons – He found himself in good positions in the first half. For Wilson Odobert’s cut-back, he was the one in space, but his improvised flick did not make its way to Dominic Solanke. He then found himself in space once more in Eddie Howe’s side’s box following a fast break, where he was one v one with a Newcastle defender, but he pulled his effort wide. 6.5.

Dominic Solanke – The centre-forward has struggled to affect proceedings at the top of the pitch, with Newcastle defenders tight and physical. His hold-up play has been poor, with Solanke often failing to make it stick. 4.

Wilson Odobert – The winger showed his pace early on when he ran in behind the Newcastle defence from Spurs’ right. He hit the byline and cut the ball back to Xavi Simons, who did not make the most of it. Aside from that, a quiet first half overall. The injury situation only got worse as Simons was forced off after picking up a knock. He was later replaced by Mathys Tel. 5.

Substitutes

Mathys Tel – The Frenchman came in for Odobert after he picked up an injury late in the first half and went straight to the right of Tottenham’s attack. 5.