Player ratings from Tottenham’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Coventry City
Tottenham Hotspur left it late this evening in the Carabao Cup, scoring twice in the last 10 minutes to overturn a one-goal deficit and book their place in the fourth round.
Let’s take a look at how the individual players got on:
Fraser Forster – 3 – Gave the ball away in a dangerous area within 30 seconds. The opposite problem to Vicario, Forster seemed determined to punch every set-piece away, no matter how unlikely he was to succeed. Almost gave Coventry a goal when he clattered into Dragusin at the back.
Archie Gray – 5 – Looked comfortable on the ball and inverted well off that right side, but left Spurs open a little at the back at times. One of the better performers on a woeful night.
Radu Dragusin – 4 – Looks comfortable on the ball but nervous as soon as someone tests his pace in behind. He thrived for Romania in a low block in the summer, and that is perhaps why. Got in a right muddle when he crashed into Forster at the back, almost handing Coventry a goal.
Ben Davies – 4 – Similarly to Dragusin, he is not built to hold such a high line. Captain for the day but it’s never a good sign when your captain seems so nervous on and off the ball. To his credit, he blocked a certain open goal in the second-half to keep the score at 0-0.
Destiny Udogie – 7 – At times, he looked like the only player of real first-team quality. Played some nice give-and-goes around the corners and was a constant threat down the left. Blocked a certain goal at the other end and generally defended very well. Somehow, he was taken off at half-time!
Rodrigo Bentancur – 5 – Spurs really needed him to dictate the speed of the game (fast) this evening against lower-league opposition, but he drifted in and out at the most leisurely of paces. Left a void in midfield that Coventry exploited for their goal. Did pop up with an assist for the winner though.
Pape Matar Sarr – 4 – As always, Sarr was full of running and used his long stride to break the lines a few times, but his final ball simply was not up to scratch this evening. He looks a solid player in the central third, then completely lost in the final third.
Lucas Bergvall – 5 – Looked really nervous on the ball in the first 15 minutes, then grew into the game. Seemed a lot more confident carrying the ball at his feet than making those final passes to unlock the defence. Tottenham needed more of the latter.
Wilson Odobert – 5 – Only lasted 15 minutes before coming off injured. In that time, he struggled to get on the front foot and looked nervous with the ball at his feet.
Dominic Solanke – 5 – The ball wouldn’t stick for Solanke this evening. The Spurs squad created absolutely nothing for him, and when he wandered to find the ball himself, he often lost it soon after. Had a couple of bright moments in the second half before coming off.
Timo Werner – 3 – A shocking performance. A senior player with Werner’s experience should not be a weak link on a night like this. Gave the ball away time and time again, his crosses lacked any real meaning, and he didn’t danger the Coventry goal at all.
Substitutes:
Brennan Johnson – 6 – Came on for the injured Odobert. You just want to see him get the ball down and take his man on one-v-one, but he seems to lack the confidence to even try at the moment. Took his chance when it eventually came to score the winner though, so huge credit there.
Djed Spence – 7 – A right-footed on the left always looks a bit clunky, but Spence made the most of his chance with some great runs. Some hard work at the byline almost set up a goal for Kulusevski before Spence poked home an equaliser of his own. He should have really started tonight.
James Maddison – 6 – Came on and added a lot more creativity, albeit without unlocking the door himself. You feel Spurs would have been more comfortable had he started.
Heung-min Son – 5 – Added a bit more zip down the left and showed some nice interplay with the likes of Maddison, but didn’t make much difference in the grand scheme of things.
Dejan Kulusevski – 7.5 – Tottenham’s best player by a long way, and he only played 20 minutes. Full of creativity and danger in the final third. Almost scored himself, then assisted Spence for the equaliser. All the good moves went through him.
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