Newcastle vs Tottenham player ratings: Spurs exit Carabao Cup

Tottenham's woes at St. James' Park continued on Wednesday night, as they exited the Carabao Cup by a 2-0 scoreline.

Thomas Frank unsurprisingly tinkered with his starting XI as we made the long trip north, with the Dane making five changes from the team that downed Everton 3-0 at the weekend. Among those to drop to the bench was Micky van de Ven, so Pedro Porro donned the armband on Tyneside.

Newcastle will inevitably enjoy periods of strong momentum under the lights on home soil, and they were the better side in the opening exchanges. In truth, Spurs had struggled to gain a foothold before Fabian Schär headed home from an avoidable corner, but Frank's men burst into life in the aftermath.

There were some lovely build-up sequences, with Frank's deployment of a 3-2-4-1 structure in settled possession supplying our attack with balance. There was central progression and some sumptuous one-touch play. On another day, Richarlison could've had three, and Xavi Simons' growth into the first half was encouraging.

Hopes of a second-half revival were dented by an Antonín Kinsky misjudgement, which allowed Nick Woltemade to head into an empty net. A killer blow.

Aaron Ramsdale was at least to a pair of fine stops from Pape Matar Sarr and Richarlison in the aftermath, but that was as good as it got for Spurs in the second half. Newcastle were able to see out their victory with relative ease, reducing our chances of a Wembley day out in 2026.

Here are the Spurs player ratings.

Newcastle 2-0 Tottenham Carabao Cup player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Antonín Kinsky (GK): 4/10 – Boy, does he look good with the ball at his feet. Shame about his hands tonight, though. Big error of judgment for Newcastle's second.

Pedro Porro (RB): 6/10 – The skipper produced some lovely nods back to Kinsky, which relieved pressure, and was a useful playmaker from deep. Good battle with Harvey Barnes.

João Palhinha (CB): 7/10 – Did as well as he could in defence, and has looked more dynamic in possession from this role in his two games there compared to when he's stationed in midfield.

Kevin Danso (CB): 6/10 – Not great for both goals, although he would've expected Kinsky to punch away before Woltemade added a second. Had issues dealing with balls in from the left for much of the night.

Djed Spence (LB): 7.5/10 – It's a tough role for Spence, but he escaped pressure brilliantly with some neat touches and lively surges from his position. Lost a bit of aura with the boot mishap before Schär headed in Newcastle's opener.

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