Credit: Imago

Carla Devine

Thu 6 March 2025 19:58, UK

Tottenham crashed to an embarrassing defeat against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday, and it could have been even worse.

A Lucas Bergvall own goal in the 18th minute was enough for Spurs to leave the Netherlands with a 1-0 defeat ahead of the round of 16 second leg back in North London next week.

Tottenham were better in the second half but were still below their expected levels and were unable to find an equaliser for Ange Postecoglou.

Here, Tottenham News rates each Spurs player’s performance out of 10.

Guglielmo Vicario – 6

The goal conceded wasn’t really Vicario’s fault and there was little he could do as it looped over him. A crucial save in the second half kept his side in the tie.

Djed Spence – 6

Spence took a bit of time to get into the game but once he did, he performed 13 defensive actions and won the most duels on the evening to keep his side in the game. Needed to show more quality throughout though.

Archie Gray stands out for Tottenham

Archie Gray – 7

He may be one of the youngest in the squad, but he showed what he could do in the Europa League and winning 100 per cent of his duels shows his commitment to the game.

Kevin Danso – 7

Another one who took a bit of time to settle into proceedings but eventually put in a good defensive performance, making 19 defensive actions.

Destiny Udogie (off for Pedro Porro, 71′) – 6

The defender put in a fairly solid display at the back, but similar to his teammates, did not do enough throughout the game.

Lucas Bergvall – 4

Bergvall, although unfortunate, was responsible for his side going behind which set the tone of the game. During the remainder of the evening, the midfielder did a bit better and got stuck in but struggled to get up to his expected standards.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 5

Bentancur lost the majority of his duels and also offered little going forward for Tottenham. For too much of the game, he was invisible. His yellow card in the second half also means Postecoglou will be forced to cope without him in the second leg.

James Maddison (off for Pape Matar Sarr, 71′) – 5

Although he didn’t do too much wrong, for a player of his level he has to show a lot higher standards and stand up when his side needs him to. The fact Postecoglou was forced to pull him off, speaks volumes.

Brennan Johnson – 4

For a player who has shown better standards of late, Johnson did not deliver in the Europa League. The 23-year-old had 43 touches in the game, none of which were in the opposition box with his accuracy fairly off too.

Postecoglou drags Mathys Tel off at half-time

Mathys Tel (off for Wilson Odobert, 46′) – 3

Postecoglou was forced to bring the 19-year-old off at half-time as Spurs struggled to get going at the top end of the pitch in the first-half. The striker had 14 touches of the ball, none of which were in the opposition’s box and lost 50 per cent of his duels. Just not up to the mark.

Son Heung-min (off for Dominic Solanke, 71′) – 4

Another player who was miles away from the levels you would have expected. With just one touch in the opposition box and one successful dribble, it’s easy to see why Son has come under criticism this term.

Substitutions

Wilson Odobert (on for Mathys Tel, 46′) – 5

Odobert hasn’t had much game time for Spurs this season so expecting too much of an impact may have been optimistic, but he didn’t do too much wrong either.

Pedro Porro (on for Destiny Udogie, 71′) – 5

Dominic Solanke (on for Son Heung-min, 71′, off for Dane Scarlett, 91′) – 4

When Solanke came on, you would have expected him to make a bit more of an impact but he didn’t do much. It was unfortunate that he went off injured again in another huge blow.

Pape Matar Sarr (on for James Maddison, 71′) – 5

Dane Scarlett (on for Dominic Solanke, 91′) – N/A