Some Tottenham Hotspur players shone while others faltered as Thomas Frank’s team secured a first point in almost a month against Newcastle.
It looked as though Tottenham Hotspur were heading for another defeat, with Newcastle United twice taking the lead during Tuesday night’s fixture.
However, Cristian Romero returned from his suspension in style as he scored the initial equaliser and did so again in stoppage time.
The Argentine can be proud of his attacking contributions, and there were other players who had an impact, although not always for the right reason. Here are the three winners and losers from Tottenham’s 2-2 draw at Newcastle United.
Cristian Romero is competing with Micky van de Ven
Romero and Micky van de Ven work as a team when it comes to defending. However, in bizarre fashion, the pair look to be challenging each other to be the club’s top scorer at the end of the season.
It was the Spurs captain’s night against Newcastle as he levelled the score with a fine header. This was a significant moment for Romero, who has struggled to find the target with some of his aerial shots this season, unlike van de Ven, who cannot stop scoring.
Tottenham fell behind again, only for Romero to respond once more, and this time he was even more impressive. The World Cup-winning defender attempted an overhead kick, and while his contact with the ball was not the cleanest, it did the job. He can sleep well tonight knowing he did everything in his power to drive Spurs towards victory.
Mohammed Kudus got another Tottenham goal contribution
Mohammed Kudus was one of a very small number of players who delivered when Spurs were defeated by Fulham last Saturday. He scored a very good goal, and so it was no surprise when he was named in the starting lineup against Newcastle.
The right winger did not have his strongest performance by any means, as he struggled to cause the home side any problems for much of the game.
This changed towards the end of the game as Kudus played a really nice cross to Romero to get Tottenham their opening goal. It is encouraging to see him being involved in goals more frequently.
Guglielmo Vicario is no longer the talking point at Tottenham
There have been some low moments for Guglielmo Vicario during his time in North London, and Saturday provided one of the worst yet. The Spurs shot-stopper made a schoolboy error and was berated by his own team’s supporters.
Although the Italian conceded the same number of goals against Newcastle as he did in that game, there are positives to be taken.
Vicario was not responsible for either of the two goals, with one being the result of poor defending and the other a penalty kick. He will be glad that the dialogue around Tottenham has drifted elsewhere as he looks to get back in form.
Now, let’s take a look at the three losers from Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham…
Pedro Porro was off the pace against Newcastle
Vicario was the most unpopular player at Spurs on Saturday night, but Pedro Porro was a close second after he appeared to react in anger at the supporters following the game.
Frustration towards Vicario might have calmed down, but there will be no love lost between Porro and the Tottenham fans after a poor display from the defender.
His lack of pace proved costly as he was beaten in a footrace, which led to Newcastle’s opening goal. Porro was just as poor at the other end of the pitch, successfully completing just one of his seven crosses. It was an unconvincing performance from the Spaniard.
Rodrigo Bentancur almost cost Tottenham a point
Say what you want about the VAR decision to send Thomas Bramall to the pitchside monitor, but what was Rodrigo Bentancur thinking?
The midfielder had no intention of attempting to win the ball, and it seemed he had already given up on winning an aerial duel against Dan Burn. As a result, he put his arms around the England defender and gave VAR the opportunity to make a decision against him.
Plenty has been said about Joao Palhinha being a duel winner and not a possession-based player. However, it is hard to see how Bentancur is any better at bringing control to Tottenham. He has been shocking this season and is continuing to be handed starts because of who he is, rather than what he actually offers to the team.
Destiny Udogie still has a point to prove
The final player to complete the losers section is Destiny Udogie. The left-back did not have as many responsibilities as Porro on the opposite side of defence, but he still struggled with the task at hand.
Udogie won two of his nine overall duels, and his defensive contributions were lacking in every department except for recoveries.
The Italian did nothing at the other end of the pitch and has not done a good job at convincing Thomas Frank that he should start ahead of Djed Spence.
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