Tottenham first-half player ratings vs Elfsborg – 9/10 already for one live wire

The first forty-five minutes of Europa League action in North London has come to an end between Tottenham Hotspur and IF Elfsborg. Let’s take a look at our player ratings:

Micky Van de Ven returns for Tottenham

It’s a welcome return to the starting eleven for Dutchman Micky van de Ven, who has spent the majority of this season watching from the sidelines.

Spurs’ defence has been crying out for help for nearly three months now, and Van de Ven’s absence, alongside fellow defensive stalwart Cristian Romero, has led Spurs to drop as low as 15th in the Premier League, with pressure mounting heavily on the ownership in recent weeks.

Micky returns to the squad at prime time, as a huge league cup semi-final showdown takes place in a week’s time at Anfield, where Spurs must be on their A-game defensively in order to secure their spot in the final.

Over the duration of the first half, we examined each player’s individual performance, rating them on a scale of 1-10. Let’s take a look at our player ratings from the first 45 of Tottenham vs IF Elfsborg.

Tottenham first-half player ratings vs IF Elfsborg

Brandon Austin: Austin was hardly troubled in the first half. 5.

Pedro Porro: Porro was impressive in advanced areas throughout the half, linking up nicely with Moore and Bentancur when he needed to and supplying an abundance of crosses into the box. Some of his crosses were a bit hopeful, though. 6.5.

Micky van de Ven: Micky was a breath of fresh air for that Tottenham defence in the first half, proving how important of an asset he is to Spurs’ defensive stability. It’s not only pace he possesses, as his incredible defensive ability was put to work one or two times by Elfsborg, and he excelled each time. On the ball, he was comfortable too. 8.5.

Ben Davies: Davies had the license to roam in the first forty-five minutes today, as he paraded up the left flank constantly. He linked up nicely with Son at times but was often unlucky to not get decisions to go his way when he appealed for corners and other 50/50 decisions. 6.

Archie Gray: Starting at centre-half today alongside Micky, it’s more minutes in the tank for eighteen-year-old Archie Gray. He didn’t have boatloads to do but he impressively single-handedly dealt with an Elfsborg counter-attack minutes before half-time and looked composed in possession too. 7.

Rodrigo Bentancur: Bentancur was tidy in the first half, keeping it simple in possession and sweeping up defensively when he needed to. It was a much-needed improvement from his display on Sunday, that’s for sure. 7.5.

Pape Sarr: Sarr wasn’t a standout player by any means, and there is room for improvement for the Senegalese international in the second half. 5.

Lucas Bergvall: Bergvall was eager to impress against a side from his home nation, but the Swede started slower than he would’ve liked, giving possession up cheaply at times and not playing like we know he can. 4.5.

Mikey Moore: Moore started promisingly on the right flank, not hesitating to drive at the opposition defence at any opportunity he was given. He drew fouls effortlessly and was a joy to watch throughout the first half. He had a big chance to score but was denied by a great save. 8.

Richarlison: Richarlison was often pedestrian in the first half, waiting for the crosses to find him rather than being proactive out of possession. He didn’t have any clear-cut chances but the opportunities were there, he was just wrongly positioned each time. 4.5.

Heung-min Son: Sonny was incredibly sharp and bright on the left wing for the majority of the first half, playing tricky, intricate football and tormenting the Elfsborg defence with dancing feet and constant crosses into the box. He was instrumental for Tottenham and is beginning to look more and more like the Son we’re used to. 9.

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