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Tottenham player ratings v Aston Villa: Ndombele makes dream debut for Spurs

By Rucker Haringey

Tottenham Hotspur's French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele celebrates scoring the team's first goal during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on August 10, 2019. (Photo by Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur's French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele celebrates scoring the team's first goal during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on August 10, 2019. (Photo by Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham didn’t enjoy a comfortable win over Aston Villa on Saturday, but Tanguy Ndombele absolutely aced his debut for Spurs. 

For roughly an hour, it looked as if Aston Villa were going to stun Tottenham in their return to the Premier League. Unfortunately for the Villains, Tanguy Ndombele’s electric strike past Tom Heaton seemed to wake up Spurs. In the end, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad emerged with a quality 3-1 victory.

It wasn’t a work of art for Tottenham, but they’ll happily take the three points and switch their focus to Manchester City next weekend. Spurs will need to play much better football to topple the defending champions.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t some standout performances. Read on to get an idea of how each of Pochettino’s men performed in their Premier League opener.

Hugo Lloris-6

There wasn’t much the Frenchman could have done to keep Jack McGinn’s stunning goal out of the back of the net. Aside from the Villa goal, he really wasn’t troubled in the slightest. Lloris would have liked a clean sheet, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Kyle Walker-Peters-7

There were certainly concerns present about the young right back heading into the match. He deserves credit for putting in a solid shift. It was important that he avoided to make any grievous errors on defence.

Offensively, he was a positive force stretching Villa down Tottenham’s right hand side. One of his forays into the box could easily have produced a goal. Walker-Peters will have much tougher tests in the future, but he didn’t hurt his reputation on Saturday.

Danny Rose-5

Rose played the fixture with a lot of energy, but you’d be hard pressed to point out much that he did right. He deserves credit for trying to stop McGinn’s run towards goal in the first half, but he made a mess of the challenge in the end.

The Englishman tried to make up for it by pushing forward, but his lack of skill on the ball made those efforts largely wasteful. It was a forgettable match for Rose.

Davinson Sanchez-5.5

Sanchez was the defender caught out of position to give Villa the lead in the ninth minute. To his credit, the Colombian bounced back nicely after that positional error. Spurs fans need to remember he’s still a very young player. His best football is well in front of him.

Toby Alderweireld-6

Alderweireld might have been able to do more to help keep a clean sheet, but he played a perfectly adequate match. Not much about his efforts were either commendable or worthy of criticism.

Moussa Sissoko-6

If Sissoko could find a way to finish a scoring chance it would certainly help his case. Unfortunately for Spurs, he continues to look utterly lost in front of goal. Credit the physical midfielder for creating chances down the right hand side, but his lack of quality in the final third is mystifying.

Tanguy Ndombele-8.5

Ndombele arrived at Tottenham with high expectations and he exceeded them on his debut. His stunning volley that brought his club to level terms was certainly his best moment of the match, but it wasn’t his only highlight. Particularly in the second half, he asked a lot of questions of Villa’s defence in the middle of the pitch. Look for him to quickly become a fan favourite for Spurs fans.

Harry Winks-5

Winks did a good job of shielding his centre backs, but his inability to make anything happen on the offensive end of the pitch made him an easy choice to substitute first in the second half. If Spurs stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation they went with in the second half he may find himself on the bench.

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