Tottenham: Vinicius, Winks, Dominate Player Ratings, Ludogorets
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Substitutes and Coach
Pierre Højbjerg – 7
Pierre Højbjerg came on the pitch for the last 30 minutes for Tanguy Ndombele and did what Pierre Højbjerg does, immediately demanding the ball. In just 29 minutes of action Pierre Højbjerg had 42 touches, 41 passes, and a yellow card. A regularly active night for the Dane and it was Højbjerg’s defense set up the final goal. It was Pierre Højbjerg pressuring the ball and knocking it free for Dele to pounce and cross the ball into the box. While it was a bit surprising to see Pierre Højbjerg come on, Tanguy Ndombele needed the rest for Sunday and Pierre Højbjerg seems to be machine so it must be okay.
Jack Clarke – 6
Jack Clarke was the first young player off the bench, coming on for Gareth Bale with a bit more than 20 minutes to play. Maybe it was the right-wing position on the evening, as Bale was not great, but neither was Clarke. Clarke looked a bit more hesitant than he has in previous outings almost like he was overthinking and trying to do too much. Of the young players on the pitch, Clarke did the least, but we know he has more in him from previous outings.
Alfie Whiteman – 7
Whereas Joe Hart did not get a rating as he did not do anything, Alfie Whiteman stepped on the pitch and things got immediately interesting. Okay, Ludogorets had a corner kick, there only corner and the ball was in Spurs box, so that has to count for interesting on the night. Whiteman called loudly for the ball on the corner and then two handed it down and grabbed it off the bounce. While you do not want to see the loose handle, Whiteman was never flustered on the play and did fine with his one-big moment.
Harvey White – N/A
Speaking of big moments, when Whiteman came on, he also came on with Harvey White and Dane Scarlett. White clearly had seen the action from the bench and came on highly active and working to get on the ball like Pierre Højbjerg was doing. White completed all 10 of his passes in his 9 minutes of action and had a shot wiz by the post. A decent run out for the young midfielder.
Dane Scarlett – N/A
Dane Scarlett coming on with White and Whiteman was a particularly important moment for Spurs, as Scarlett became the youngest person ever to play for the Tottenham senior team at just 16 years of age. Coming off a terrible leg injury last season, Scarlett has come on leaps and bounds and has a knack for finding the net. Scarlett managed to get in on goal only to have his attempt blocked by Iliev and deny the young man a dream debut. The young lad only had 8 touches, but one was a shot on target, which tells us about all we need to know about the future goal scoring star.
Jose Mourinho – 9
Mourinho had a clear game plan for this match and it looked nothing like the plan from Manchester City on the weekend. He used his athletic defenders to essentially keep the ball away from Ludogorets and dominate the match. His inclusion of several ‘fringe’ players is helping to get the best out of his talent. Mourinho has this team starting to click and it is exciting to see from the most experience player through to the youth.
There are the ratings, what did you think, how did the team perform?