Tottenham player ratings vs Brentford - Xavi Simons magic as Romero and Van de Ven dominate

Here are our Tottenham Hotspur player ratings after their victory against Brentford on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League

Tottenham beat Thomas Frank's former employers Brentford 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League and here are our Spurs player ratings.

The draw at St James' Park was the fourth game in a row in which Tottenham have failed to register a shot on target in the first half. Xavi Simons did not start any of those four matches and Spurs had not won a single one of the nine matches the £51million Dutchman has been named on the bench for instead of the starting line-up.

Frank finally put the 22-year-old midfielder back in the line-up ahead of Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Gray in the midfield and it proved to be the spark Spurs needed.

Xavi soon made an impact with an assist just 25 minutes in. The Dutchman raced on a ball over the top from Pedro Porro before cushioning a pass perfectly across the six-yard box into Richarlison's stride to fire home.

Xavi then underlined why he should have been starting games with his first goal for Tottenham. The Dutchman lost the ball initially but won it back in his own half and ran all the way to the Brentford box and slotted it inside the left-hand post.

Spurs had further chances in the second half with Caoimhin Kelleher called into action on a numerous occasions. In all they had 15 shots, with seven on target, but couldn't add to their first-half strikes.

Here are our Spurs player ratings from the match:

Guglielmo Vicario

Big cheer when his name was read out before kick off in the team. Saved from Thiago early in the game and didn't have anything else to do. Swept up well to keep the clean sheet. 7

Pedro Porro

Played a lovely ball over the top into Xavi's run for the opening goal. Never stopped running, defending well and getting into the Bretford third at the back post to keep them occupied. 8

Cristian Romero

His seventh yellow card in 15 Premier League game came for a wild first half lunge which was almost a scissors tackle. Otherwise he was superb, cutting out so much. The captain made a great tackle to stop Thiago right in front of goal before celebrating and then having a go at Kudus for a bit of showboating on the halfway line that led to a quick throw and Brentford breaking for the chance. 8

Micky van de Ven

Got better and better as the game wore on, with an inch-perfect sliding challenge to stop Thiago scoring on the hour mark. Dominant for most of the game with his pace and power. 9

Djed Spence

A solid first half gave way to a really strong second period with plenty of threat going forward. Still needs to improve his crossing, although he did find Sarr with a low ball late on. Had a chance himself when he seized on to a loose ball but was denied by Kelleher. 8

Rodrigo Bentancur

Started the game with a loose bit of control while running with the ball but improved hugely as the game wore on and a lot of Brentford's movement in the middle came to an end with him. 7

Archie Gray

Launched into a string of strong sliding tackles in an energetic, tidy display. Picked up a yellow card in the 76th minute for a mistimed challenge. Looked to move to the left of a back three late in the game. 7

Mohammed Kudus

Had the beating of his man constantly, had one shot saved but also lost the ball a number of times including with a bit of showboating that got him a rocket from Romero after it led to a Brentford chance. Had the ball in the net but Odobert was offside. A reasonable performance but he could be some much better with a clinical edge. 7

Xavi Simons

Back in the team and was instantly linking up the midfield with the attack in the central 10 position. Fired a shot over in the first 15 minutes before cushioning a perfect pass for Richarlison's goal. Then netted his first goal for the club after initially losing the ball in his own half before winning it back and race up the pitch to slot the ball inside the left-hand post. Involved in everything good that Spurs did in the second half as well. Got the full 90 minutes into his legs and was still creating openings late in the match. 9

Randal Kolo Muani

Worked hard down the left and beat his man on a few occasions while also pressing high up the pitch. Another thankless performance without much to feast on himself. 7

Richarlison

Had an early shot blocked in the Brentford box by Romero. A loose touch on 23 minutes allowed Brentford to break for a Thiago chance. He made up for it just two minutes later with his fourth goal in six games, firing home Xavi's pass on the run. Held the ball up well in the second half and set up Xavi for a second half chance. 7

Subs

Joao Palhinha

Straight into the action with some big challenges and progressive passes. 7

Wilson Odobert

Showed plenty of endeavour after coming on but was offside for Kudus' ruled out goal and hesitated during a late break when Spurs could have added a third. 6

Pape Matar Sarr

Could have got Spurs' third only for the ball to get stuck under his feet, giving time for Kelleher to set himself. 6

Kevin Danso

Made a mess of one moment soon after coming on for Romero but defended well after that. 6