View: Tottenham player ratings in Carabao Cup defeat v Fulham
If Ange Postecoglou wants to bring a trophy to Tottenham during his first season with the club, it appears he will now have to pin all of his hopes on the FA Cup, with the club unlikely to lift the Premier League this season.
On Tuesday 29 August, the Australian named a heavily rotated Tottenham side for the short trip across London to Craven Cottage, where they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
It seemed an incredibly strange decision to make. Considering they are without European football this season, supporters would have been keen to go on some runs in the domestic cup competitions and the former Celtic boss’ choice to rest most of his first-team stars will now come under intense scrutiny.
Following a bright start in the Premier League, this comes as the first mark against his name and Postecoglou will want to avoid any further setbacks which could threaten to derail the club’s early season momentum.
Tottenham now have a clear run at both the league and FA Cup and fans will not be tolerant of any more excuses. They will want to see their strongest side named in every single match, after all, their schedule looks very light now.
Here, Tottenham News has provided a player rating for each and every Spurs player who took to the field.
Fraser Forster – 7/10
Could do very little about the goal that he conceded and dealt relatively well with the pressure Fulham put on him when he attempted to play out from the back. In addition to this, he made some fine stops to keep Spurs in the contest. Could have done better during the penalty shoot-out. Overall he made three saves and had a passing accuracy of 73 per cent (Sofascore). While he won’t be replacing Guglielmo Vicario anytime soon, he demonstrated that he is a more than capable number two between the sticks.
Emerson Royal – 6/10
Just like Forster, the Brazillian was not at fault for the goal conceded. As Fulham dominated proceedings in the first half he dealt well with most of what came his way, although was rather ineffective going forward during the second half as Tottenham began to take control. A dive into the stats supports this, as he had no successful dribble attempts and a passing accuracy of just 79 per cent, while he lost the ball 14 times. However, defensively he didn’t put much of a foot wrong, as he won six of his nine ground duels, two of his three aerial duels, made seven clearances and two tackles.
Mick van de Ven – 7/10
Although he left the pitch having scored an own goal, there was very little he could have done about it as Tom Cairney’s cross deflected off of his heel and looped into the net. Apart from this, he was solid, as he dealt with Adama Traore’s pace and made a timely tackle on Raul Jiminez in the dying seconds of the contest as the striker looked to break, which was even more impressive when considering he had been booked. The 22-year-old had a passing accuracy of 96 per cent and made four clearances, one tackle and one interception. Certainly hard to place the blame on him after the defeat.
Davinson Sanchez – 4/10
A night to forget for the Colombian, who was spun inside and out by Cairney in the build-up to Fulham’s goal during the first half. Also missed the crucial penalty during the shoot-out and looked shaky in possession next to his assured defensive partner, who will be desperate to have Cristian Romero next to him once again. Throughout the match, he gave possession away nine times, was dribbled past once, and only won one of his three attempted ground duels and one of his three attempted aerial duels.
Ben Davies – 5/10
Named Spurs captain for the fixture in the absence of Son Heung-Min, the Welshman had a very mediocre evening in which he didn’t do much wrong but also didn’t do much right. He completed 81 per cent of his passes and made one successful dribble from the two that he attempted. In addition, he made two tackles, one interception and one clearance while he also lost possession 15 times and was dribbled past once. Just like Forster, a solid enough performance but not enough to replace Destiny Udogie as a regular starter.
Oliver Skipp – 5/10
Similarly to Davies, the 22-year-old had a very average evening and could not match the levels set by Yves Bissouma so far throughout the season. He only completed 73 per cent of his passes, won just four of his 14 ground duels and was dribbled past three times in addition to giving possession away 12 times. Certainly a drop off in quality from the midfielders who started at the weekend against Bournemouth.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5/10
Missed a massive chance from inside the box which could have changed the outcome for his team. Besides that, he had a slightly better performance than his partner in the middle of the park, Skipp, but it was still nothing to write home about. The Denmark international completed 80 per cent of the passes that he attempted, made two tackles and won three of his five ground duels. Once again, however, a significant drop-off in quality.
Giovani Lo Celso – 6/10
It is hard to judge the Argentina international’s performance as he was hooked off at half-time, but for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, he was certainly one of Spurs’ better players and he was unlucky to be replaced. Due to the Cottagers’ dominance throughout his time on the field, he couldn’t have the impact he would have liked but looked dangerous in moments. He completed 86 per cent of his passes with one of them being key and teed up Richarlison right before the break. James Maddison won’t be looking too much over his shoulder after Lo Celso’s display but in all fairness, the 27-year-old was hardly given a chance.
Manor Solomon – 6/10
Huffed and puffed but struggled to create anything of note against his former side who he spent some time on loan with last season. Solomon did complete 89 per cent of his passes and three of his five dribbles, but unfortunately, none of them came to anything meaningful. He did go close with a curling effort when the score was 1-1, but it was saved well by the home side’s shot-stopper Marek Rodak.
Ivan Perisic – 6/10
Linked up with Richarlison to score Tottenham’s only goal of the match, as he floated in a brilliant cross for the Brazillian to head home. However, he was otherwise anonymous, with that cross being the only accurate one of the five he attempted. As well as this, he lost the ball 12 times and was unsuccessful with any of the four ground duels or four aerial duels that he attempted. Nonetheless, he had a key impact on the game which was very important.
Richarlison – 6/10
Finally ended his goal drought when he nodded home Perisic’s cross at the back post, which will hopefully take some of the pressure off and allow him to start seeing an upturn in his performances. Was quiet apart from the goal and was incredibly wasteful in possession, as he completed just 29 per cent of his passes.
Substitutes
Dane Scarlett – 5/10
A surprise introduction at half-time with Postecoglou clearly keen to get a look at the Tottenham youngster. Although he didn’t have much impact, he looked bright, worked hard, and was unlucky at times. Was successful with his only dribble attempt, both of his ground duels and completed 100 per cent of his passes.
Son Heung-min – 4/10
Came on during the closing stages and didn’t have much time to make an impact. Got his side off to a scoring start during the penalty shoot-out.
Pape Matar Sarr – 4/10
Was brought on at around the same time as Son and didn’t do much to change the game.
Dejan Kulusevski – 4/10
Joined play alongside Sarr and tried to make things happen, but once again, just didn’t have enough time. Scored his penalty.
James Maddison – N/A
Was the last introduction with less than ten minutes of normal time left. Scored his penalty and looked bright with one mazy run into the penalty area.
In other Tottenham news, Harvey White helped the Under-21s maintain their winning start.