The half-time whistle has blown between Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal in Thomas Frank’s first Champions League tie as Spurs boss, and the player ratings are in.
Tottenham Hotspur lead Villarreal at the break in their opening UEFA Champions League tie, with an own goal separating the two sides.
We’ve rated every Tottenham player from 1 to 10 based on their first-half performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham half-time player ratings vs Villarreal
Guglielmo Vicario – Has not been tested much in this tie so far, as the majority of Villarreal’s shots have been put wide. 6.
Pedro Porro – The Spanish international looks to have been handed a more conservative role in this tie, with Thomas Frank instead preferring Porro to do most of his creative work from deep. He has not been threatened much on his wing. 7.
Cristian Romero – The Argentine has had little to do defensively all game, with Villarreal offering little threat in attack. He did have a nervy moment when he misjudged the bounce of a long ball, which allowed the Spaniards to get a shot away, but it was wide. 7.
Micky Van de Ven – The Dutchman has had a quiet evening, and he has not had to use his recovery pace, with his main focus being to help in the build-up with his passing. 7.
Djed Spence – Spence once more continues to be preferred over Udogie, and he looks like the full-back with the licence to be more adventurous. His positioning high up has led to Villarreal having a few chances, with Pepe coming close in the opening 15 minutes. 6.
Rodrigo Bentancur – Bentancur is the one holding the fort in midfield with Palhinha dropped to the bench. The Uruguayan has done so expertly, shielding the back four, keeping things ticking with his passing, while also bombing forward when necessary. A good all-round display. 8.
Lucas Bergvall – It was the perfect start for Bergvall, whose cross led to Tottenham’s opening goal after the Villarreal goalkeeper made a mess of his delivery into the box, scoring an own goal in the process. As usual, Bergvall continues to justify his selection, with his relentless pressing a hallmark of his first-half performance. 8.
Pape Matar Sarr – The Senegalese international is deeper than Bergvall in this Frank setup, but he still has the licence to go forward. He has made some good runs from deep when Porro has looked to go long. He had an effort from range saved when he shot from outside the box. 7.
Xavi Simons – Once more, the Dutchman has been deployed off the left and looked lively throughout the opening forty-five. He let fly when the ball popped up to him on the edge of the box, though he could not keep it down, and later went close after combining neatly with Bergvall and Kudus. He has not been afraid to drop deep to create from those areas, but his evening was slightly marred by a first-half booking. 7.
Richarlison – The Brazilian forward has not had a real sniff at goal so far, and it is not entirely his fault, with his teammates yet to provide him with genuine goalscoring opportunities. He did, however, pick up a needless first-half booking, and while he finally managed a shot late in the half, his effort was deflected wide. 6.
Mohammed Kudus – It was a quiet opening to the game from Kudus, but as time wore on, he grew into it and created a few good chances with his sharp and precise dribbling off the Spurs’ right. 7.