Tottenham exorcise Newcastle demons: Spurs player ratings

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 13: Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his sides second goal with Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 13: Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his sides second goal with Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Tottenham player Mousa Dembele in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Tottenham player Mousa Dembele in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

Mousa Dembele-8.5

This was one of those matches that Dembele really controlled from the midfield. It may not have been his flashiest performance, but his steady play in the middle of the pitch allowed his teammates to control the match for long periods of time.

Dembele really provided massive support to Davies and Walker-Peters on multiple occasions. His ability to cover their defensive mistakes simply does wonders for their ability to get forward. Specifically, he allowed Walker-Peters to function as a right-sided forward for long stretches of the match.

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It’s fair to wonder why he can’t dribble the ball all the way into the final third, but it’s better to appreciate what he does provide Spurs. The presence of a true box-to-box midfielder is a luxury in Pochettino’s starting XI.

Eric Dier-7

Many Spurs fans on social media seemed to think that Dier played better than I did. I didn’t think he was poor on the afternoon, but he’s still struggling to readjust to life further forward on the pitch.

Specifically, he gave the ball away too much for my liking. It’s not as if he’s expected to attempt risky, incisive forward passes. His job is simply to keep the ball moving and ticking at a healthy rate. Since that’s all he’d asked to do, I’m expecting near perfection. He fell quite short of that standard on Sunday.