Player Ratings for Tottenham Hotspur Victory over Newcastle

Tottenham Strikers

Erik Lamela – 6.5

While still not on ‘on form’ Erik Lamela played better on Saturday than he has in about a month. Lamela did well picking up the ball between the lines and turning to attack with pace. Lamela is most effective running with the ball at his feet towards defenders and the goal and we saw some of that today. Unlucky not to have both a goal and an assist, but headers were not Spurs forte today. For Tottenham to compete for the title, they need more from Lamela.

Lucas Moura – 6

Speaking of needing more, after being a true game changer midweek versus Watford, Lucas Moura wasn’t nearly as effective or threatening on Saturday. The touch and quick burst displayed midweek just wasn’t there. This could have been offset with some quality finishing, but Moura missed a gilded edge header from the six. In Moura’s defense he is not a center striker and has been most effective for Tottenham playing off a target or coming in off the wings. Like Lamela, we have seen and need more from Moura to compete for silverware.

Heung-Min Son – 7.5

The Premier League Man of the Match – the second game running for Spurs – Heung-Min Son looked a step slow in the first half but kept grinding away and pushing the Newcastle defense. In the first half, Son wasn’t finding space and thus didn’t see as much of the ball as the team needs right now. However, in the second half, Son was a workhorse, moving back and forth between the lines to pick up the ball and move with it. Ultimately, all the grafting paid dividends, when his 5th shot of the game and first officially on goal slipped by Dubravka for the game winner.

Much like Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son is coming through when Spurs need it most and finding ways to influence games even when not at his best. Another shared trait with Kane is Son’s clear belief that he can score at anytime from anwhere on the pitch. This belief is translated into a willingness to shoot on site from just about anywhere – a trait which most top-class strikers possess – and the exact trait that led to Spurs goals. You have to shoot to score and Son did is just enough. Maybe Son was a bit lucky on the goal, but several other Spurs were unlucky to not find the net so it seems to have balanced out.

Substitutes – 7

To the surprise of some Fernando Llorente started the game on the bench. It was clear from the off, Mauricio Pochettino wanted his strongest XI on the pitch and Llorente, even after all these injuries is not part of that group. What he is, however, is a big target who can cause some havoc and create opportunities off of long balls – exactly how Tottenham scored. Yes, Llorente missed a good opportunity, which he seemed to blame on the sun; and frankly fluffed a second chance, on an open net late in the match – after Dubravka had gone to ground to nick the ball from Son. That said, Llorente did his job, which was to create an opportunity and that’s just what Spurs needed.

Danny Rose came on to provide width and more attack on the left and he did that fine for the time he was in the game. Eric Dier came on even later, with the idea of sealing the victory. Given Spurs scored two minutes after Rose came on and then held on for the six minutes Dier played, it was a job done for both players.

Coaching – 8

Mauricio Pochettino went for it from the off with his strongest XI and the most attacking options he can put on the field at once. Spurs controlled possession and created chances, but just couldn’t finish. He showed patience with this approach into the second half, but then made a tactical change. When Llorente came on, Spurs went from a 4-3-3 to more of a 3-5-2 with Llorente and Son up front.

This was the second time this week, we’ve seen Pochettino take advantage of the flexibility that comes from having three strong center-halves. This gave Spurs defenders a target for the long balls as Newcastle was playing too deep to get space behind. Given the goal and victory that resulted, it was a great move for Pochettino and Spurs.

What’s Next

Spurs have a rare week off and won’t play again until next Sunday when Tottenham host Leicester City at Wembley before hosting Borussia Dortmund in the first Round of 16 Champions League tilt. The rest should help a stretched squad that is still short two of its top stars in Kane and Dele Alli.