Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Tyneside to take on Newcastle United at St. James’ Park hoping to come away with maximum points from their season-opener. Spurs got off to a great start when Jan Vertonghen scored in the 8th minute. The Magpies took just 3 minutes to equalise courtesy of Joselu’s header. However, the North Londoners took the lead once again through Dele Alli’s well-placed header in the 18th minute.
The home side fought hard and hit the bar a couple of times in the second half, but Mauricio Pochettino’s players defended resolutely to bag the three points on the day.
Let’s take a look at how each Tottenham player has performed during the match against the Magpies.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 7/10
The French World Cup winner made a few excellent clearances to give his defenders some respite. Despite Newcastle’s dominance, he was mostly untested and had a good game in between the sticks for Spurs.
RB: Serge Aurier – 6/10
His excellent cross to set up Dele Alli’s goal turned out to be the match-winner. However, the Frenchman found it hard dealing with Kenedy’s pace and made a few unfortunate errors while defending, which could have cost his side the victory.
CB: Davinson Sánchez – 8/10
The Colombian put in another outstanding performance at the heart of the Tottenham defence. He was a commanding presence at both ends of the field and once again proved the reason for Spurs rating him so highly.
CB: Jan Vertonghen – 8.5/10
The Belgian defensive ace scored the opening goal of the game with his head and was excellent while defending in his own half. It was another strong showing by one of the best defenders in English football.
LB: Ben Davies – 6.5/10
He provided an outlet down the left flank and did well to keep Matt Ritchie quiet. However, Davies was at fault for allowing the cross in the build-up to the Newcastle goal.
CM: Eric Dier – 6/10
He worked hard and did the dirty work for Spurs in midfield. The English midfielder was guilty of making some rash challenges and got cautioned for his antics.
CM: Moussa Sissoko – 6.5/10
The Frenchman had a solid game as he tried to justify his worth to the Tottenham faithful. He made a few good runs into the Magpies box but was mostly ineffective going forward.
RM: Lucas Moura – 6/10
The Brazilian tried his best to score a goal, but his efforts were mostly wasteful in the first half. He will be hoping for better days in a Spurs shirt.
CAM: Christian Eriksen – 7.5/10
The Dutch midfielder was at the heart of every Spurs attack. He dictated the play well and set up a few great chances for his teammates.
LM: Dele Alli – 8/10
The Englishman found great joy while operating down the left wing and caused a lot of problems for the Newcastle defence. His smart finish turned out to be the match-winner.
ST: Harry Kane – 5/10
The golden boot winner of the 2018 FIFA World Cup looked tired and jaded during the game. Maybe, it was a game too soon for him and Spurs shouldn’t have rushed him back.
Substitutes
Mousa Dembele – 7/10
He retained the ball well after coming on and helped his teammates see out the victory.
Heung-Min Son – N/A
The South-Korean hardly had any time to make an impact.
Luke Amos – N/A
He came off the bench to run the clock down.
