Opinion: Tottenham player ratings from the 1-1 friendly draw with Nice

Tottenham Hotspur were back in action this evening against Nice for their final friendly before the Premier League season restarts on Boxing Day.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players got on (These ratings are within the context of a mid-season friendly):

Fraser Forster – 6 – Made a couple of routine saves from Barkley and Pepe, and knocked the ball around well with his feet, but that was the extent of his involvement in the game really.

Emerson Royal – 5 – Emerson wasn’t too involved in his first game back this mid-season, with one driving run down the centre of the pitch being the highlight. It was Tanganga who got forward more down the right.

Japhet Tanganga – 7 – Really impressed by how well he stepped up and defended on the front foot, winning the ball higher up the pitch and driving Spurs forward. Seemed like a decent audition to be Cristian Romero’s understudy, considering the similar style of play.

Davinson Sanchez – 5 – Captain for the evening. It seems like Sanchez puts in similar performances whenever he plays these days. For every piece of class or comfortable defending, there is a slip or lapse in concentration.

Clement Lenglet – 7 – Underlapped very well this evening, getting beyond Matt Doherty and trying to cross the ball in early. So comfortable on the ball and read the game well off the ball too.

Matt Doherty – 8 – This man just can’t stop scoring. That’s four goals in three friendlies this mid-season. He also generally played very well this evening, linking up nicely down the left with Bryan Gil and looking a constant threat. Surely a guaranteed starter against Brentford. One mistake at the back led to Nice’s equaliser though, as he struggled to defend against Pepe.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6 – Nice to see him back in the midfield after returning from the World Cup. Looked a little sloppy on the ball at times and didn’t dictate play as he usually does, but I’m sure he will get sharper over the next week. Went off at half-time.

Yves Bissouma – 7.5 – Tottenham’s best midfielder on the night. Bissouma dropped into the pockets to collect the ball and seemed to be able to consistently shift his body to find that half-yard of space between the lines. Dictated Tottenham’s play this evening which was nice to see.

Harvey White – 6.5 – Drifted in and out of the game, but the ball tended to stick when Spurs found him. He plays the back-to-goal side of the game very well, collecting it and bringing others into play. His work rate is also very impressive. You can tell it means a lot to wear the shirt.

Dejan Kulusevski – 7.5 – Wasn’t at his best this evening, but still looked class on the ball at times. It felt like he was playing within himself just a little with the season about to start up again. Got the assist for Doherty’s goal.

Bryan Gil – 6.5 – Better off the ball than on it this evening – and that isn’t so much a dig. His work rate and pressing is second to none in the Spurs squad. This kid is non-stop! On the ball, he always seems to angle himself away from goal due to his lack of strength to hold the defender off.

Substitutes: 

Pape Matar Sarr – 7 – Looked really calm and assured on the ball in the second half. Those long legs cover a lot of ground in a short space of time, and Sarr managed to turn possession over well a couple of times. I would love to see him loaned out to a Premier League club.

Eric Dier – 5 – Came on in the second half to get some minutes back in the legs.

Ben Davies – 5 – Back from the World Cup to get minutes off the bench.

Heung-min Son – 5 – The mask was still on for Sonny as he returned from South Korea duty.

Romaine Mundle – 5 – Came on to cover at left-wing-back for the final 20 minutes.

Alfie Devine – N/A

Will Lankshear – N/A

Related Topics