LONDON — The Tottenham vs Manchester United player ratings were a lot of fun to dish out as two Premier League powers went all out for the win and Spurs’ midfield duo were key in delivering the victory.
It was Spurs who prevailed as Pape Matar Sarr and an own goal gave them victory after a great second half display full of passion and grit on Ange Postecoglou’s home debut as Tottenham boss.
Erik ten Hag and Manchester United had plenty of chances but they still have a huge imbalance to their team, especially in midfield, to sort out.
Below you will find out marks out of 10 and analysis on each player.
Tottenham player ratings
Guglielmo Vicario: 8 – Made a good stop to deny Rashford in the first half and a sensational close-range save to deny Casemiro’s powerful header in the second. Another brilliant save late on to deny Varane’s header (very similar to Casemiro’s effort) and he didn’t know the flag had gone up. What a great home debut.
Pedro Porro: 7 – Spanked the crossbar with a wonderful hit just before the break. Offered plenty of attacking threat down the right. Still needs to brush up on his defending a little but a very good display.
Cristian Romero: 7 – As robust as ever defensively but did slip and allow Casemiro to have a free header on target which Vicario saved. A little erratic when jumping out from the back but his partnership with Micky van de Ven is still developing.
Micky van de Ven: 7 – A little shaky on the ball early on and Rashford got behind him and Romero on a few occasions but improved as the game went on and got better on the ball.
Destiny Udogie: 8 – Brilliant energy from left back, got forward well and stepped high defensively. Already a big fans favorite.
Pape Matar Sarr: 9 – What a performance. Scored his goal with a tidy finish after a back post run, won the ball back on so many occasions and never stopped running. Still only 20 years old.
Sarr puts Tottenham in front of Manchester United
Pape Matar Sarr opens the scoring for Tottenham in the second half to go up 1-0 over Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Yves Bissouma: 9 – Alongside Sarr he won the ball back time and time again. Fantastic defensive display and he got forward too. Spurs smothered United in midfield.
Dejan Kulusevski: 8 – Brilliant wing play for Sarr’s goal and was a constant threat on the counter. He’s getting back towards his best.
James Maddison: 7.5 – The only reason he isn’t getting an 8 is because on a few occasions he slowed down counters instead of being more direct. Classy on the ball and always wanted it. Proper playmaker.
Heung-min Son: 8 – Never stopped running and always wanted the ball on the left flank. Almost scored an incredible goal as he dribbled into the box but Shaw’s block denied him. Moved to a central role in the second half when Richarlison went off.
Richarlison: 7 – Worked hard in the lone roll up top and a little unlucky to be subbed off. Didn’t get many chances but was always ready to pounce.
Substitutions
Ivan Perisic: 7 – Helped calm things down and his pass which led to the second goal was beautiful.
Ben Davies: 7 – Used his experience to defend well and involved in the second goal.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 6 – Worked hard to shore things up in midfield late on.
Manor Solomon: 7 – Some lovely flicks and runs. He could become a starter.
Emerson Royal: N/A
Manchester United player ratings
Andre Onana: 6 – Great distribution but didn’t actually have that much to do in terms of shot-stopping. One good stop down low to deny Udogie.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 5 – Had a really tough time stopping Son’s runs and caught out of position in the second half before he was subbed off.
Raphael Varane: 5 – Tough battle with Richarlison and wasn’t able to get on the ball and calm things down. It was all very frantic at the back for United.
Lisandro Martinez: 5 – A couple of tackles which almost gave away penalty kicks and like Varane, never looked comfortable as Spurs pressed high.
Luke Shaw: 6 – Kulusevski got past him too easily for the first goal. Tried to get on the ball but never really had the chance to get out of his own half. Didn’t have much help in front of him.
Casemiro: 6 – Saw a header well saved by Vicario and lost the midfield battle to Sarr and Bissouma. Not getting much help from Mount and Fernandes alongside him.
Antony: 6 – Hit the post with a shot in the second half but booked in the first half and subbed off in the second. Got in good areas but couldn’t quite pick the right pass.
Bruno Fernandes: 5 – Moments after clipping in a ridiculous rabona cross, missed an absolute sitter of a header in the first half at 0-0. Booked for dissent. Frustrated figure throughout. Looks lost in a deeper role.
Mason Mount: 4 – Barely had a kick. Unable to impact the game playing just ahead of Casemiro and Spurs ran all over him. Needs to be playing further forward to have an impact.
Alejandro Garnacho: 4 – Rarely got in the game. Isolated on the left flank and didn’t help Shaw out defensively.
Marcus Rashford: 6 – Sent a header over and denied when one-on-one with Vicario. Kept making the runs centrally but nobody found him.
Substitutions
Christian Eriksen: 6 – Got on the ball whenever he could and got a warm reception from the Spurs fans.
Diogo Dalot: 6 – Tried his best to shore things up defensively while also adding something in attack.
Jadon Sancho: 6 – Did his best to inject some life into United’s attack and had a few efforts deflected wide.
Anthony Martial: N/A
Facundo Pellistri: N/A
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