Tottenham player ratings at Newcastle: Spurs survive and advance

Tottenham didn’t play a great match against Newcastle, but they did enough to win. Read on to discover how each Spurs player performed.

Opening the Premier League campaign away from home is always tricky. Tottenham faced the added difficulty of going to Newcastle after a World Cup. As such, Mauricio Pochettino had to field a makeshift lineup. Fortunately for the Argentine gaffer, Spurs managed to earn all three points.

It wasn’t a vintage performance, but that wasn’t the goal. All that mattered to Tottenham on the day was getting a victory. They accomplished that by gutting out the match against a plucky Newcastle side.

Predictably some players put in excellent shifts while others looked a step or two off the pace. We start by evaluating Pochettino’s centre backs.

The Central Defence

Jan Vertonghen-8.5

It was an excellent start to the season for the Belgian defender. He opened the scoring with a nice header that barely got over the line. That isn’t Vertonghen’s strong suit by any means, but it was nice to see him convert the chance.

More importantly, he was Pochettino’s best centre back on the day. He made crucial challenges when his club really needed him to stand up. Vertonghen also distributed the ball coolly from the back to help set up Tottenham’s attack. He’s a world-class defender and this was exactly the sort of performance Spurs want to see from him this season.

Davinson Sanchez-6.5

It was the young Colombian who was at fault for Newcastle’s equalizer in the first half. He lost Joselu and allowed the burly centre forward to get a free header on goal. That error could have easily cost Spurs two points.

On the other hand, Sanchez was surprisingly active on the other end of the pitch. He was a real danger man on set pieces and was a little unlucky not to score. That doesn’t make up for his glaring defensive error, but it does help boost his player rating.