Ex-Spurs Scout: Tottenham player ratings v Liverpool – Udogie dazzles, Richarlison ‘surprises’
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome aboard our brilliant new columnist Bryan King, the former goalkeeper who spent six years as a senior scout at Spurs and 28 years in total in first-team scouting roles. Brian also spent eight years on Everton’s recruitment team and 11 years scouting at Aston Villa across two different spells.
Tottenham scored a 96th-minute winner against nine-man Liverpool on Saturday 30 September, to earn their first victory over the Reds since the 2017/18 season.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were reduced to nine men after Curtis Jones’ straight red in the first half, followed by half-time substitute Diogo Jota’s two yellow card offences during the second.
Despite the disadvantage, it seemed as if the visitors were set to hang on until a 96th-minute Joel Matip own goal broke the travelling supporters’ hearts.
There were plenty of talking points from a match full of controversy. Ex-Spurs scout Bryan King watched on for Tottenham News and has provided his player ratings for the home side.
Guglielmo Vicario – 7/10
“He was very good early on and made two good saves. He stood up well for the follow-up shot from Andrew Robertson.”
Pedro Porro – 7/10
“He got caught a couple of times in the first half over the top. However, he is bright, he gets forward and plays it simple, I like him. He picked up a cheap yellow card for his celebrations, but who wouldn’t celebrate in that situation?
Micky van de Ven – 7/10
“He has got good pace, he makes good runs forward with the ball. However, I thought he could have done better for the Liverpool goal because he didn’t put in much of a challenge on Cody Gakpo.”
Cristian Romero – 7/10
“He defended bravely when he had to, and also demonstrated good pace while making positive runs forward.”
Destiny Udogie – 8/10
“I really like Udogie. He gets forward, he is a little terrier, and his tackling is solid. In the last two weeks, he has played against Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Salah, you’re not going to get better wide players than that and I think he has done well. When he pushes on he is a great option.”
Pape Matar Sarr – 7/10
“He defended well. His block in the first half, that could have been a goal so it was a great challenge, a great saving tackle.”
Yves Bissouma – 7/10
“He was okay, I just think that his build-up was slow. I think he is lucky that he has got what he has got around him. Sarr was probably the better of the two.”
Dejan Kulusevski – 7/10
“He worked hard, he really did. He always provided the option out wide, he got forward and had some good combination play.”
James Maddison – 9/10
“He has got an arrogance about him, he can play and he knows he can play. Some of his passing is unbelievable, especially the pass which led to the first goal, not many would have seen that. He is not afraid to have a shot, he is always looking for the ball and his passing is outstanding. He didn’t look as if he was feeling that injury he picked up against Arsenal at all.”
Son Heung-min – 8/10
“He works so hard, he chases down goalkeeper and defenders, whoever. He took his goal well, it was a great run, he lost his marker, early ball in and a one-touch finish, just like against Arsenal.”
Richarlison – 7/10
“It was a surprise that he played in the wide left position. He created the first goal and also created a good chance during the first half when he got around the full-back and played the ball across the box, it was just a shame there was no one there. I liked his attitude.“
Substitutes
Manor Solomon – 5/10
Oliver Skipp – N/A
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – N/A
Ben Davies – N/A
Alejo Veliz – N/A
In other Tottenham news, Vicario proved during his performance against Liverpool that he still has a lot to learn.