Tottenham player ratings vs Aston Villa - Mathys Tel scores on full debut but four players struggle
Tottenham lost 2-1 at Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday evening and here are our Spurs player ratings.
Ange Postecoglou's players were coming into the game after their meek surrender at Liverpool as they followed up back-to-back victories and clean sheets against Elfsborg and Brentford by losing 4-0 at Anfield in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg. Spurs took on Unai Emery's Villa in the FA Cup with 11 players unavailable.
Postecoglou brought Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Mathys Tel and 17-year-old Mikey Moore into his starting line-up for the game at Vila Park, with Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr dropped to a bench that had two goalkeeper on it with the lack of numbers available. Villa had only seven substitutes on their bench, albeit with new signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.
Villa took the lead within just 57 seconds. Jacob Ramsey ran into the left-hand side of the box and Antonin Kinsky made a complete mess of his save and the ball squirmed behind him and into the net.
Spurs upped their efforts in the second but conceded again when Pedro Porro made a mess of clearing Donyell Malen's low ball and it fell for Morgan Rogers to smash into the roof of the net. Tel did hit one back in added time on his full debut getting a foot to Dejan Kulusevski's curling cross to divert it past Emiliano Martinez.
Here are our Tottenham player ratings:
Antonin Kinsky
Completely messed up his early attempt to save Ramsey's shot and deflected it behind him and into the net. Saved well from Bailey 15 minutes in and again before the half hour mark. Used his shoulder to save from Ramsey before the hour mark. Couldn't do much about Rogers' close range finish. Saved from Ramsey with 15 minutes to go. Made up for his early error really with so many saves to keep the score down. 7
Pedro Porro
Caught upfield for the first Villa goal and them made a mess of clearing Malen's low ball, presenting it to Rogers to smash home. He did tee up Danso for a second half effort. He needed to be more disciplined at times but it's just not in his game. 4
Kevin Danso
Took a blow to the head from Rashford's elbow after the United man's introduction. Hooked a shot wide with 12 minutes to go but still one of Spurs' better players. 6
Archie Gray
Again yet asked to try to do a job as a centre-back and he had a tough night with the space the midfield left in front of the defence. Made a big tackle on Rashford late on and took a big kick for it. 5
Djed Spence
Struggled to find any real rhythm with Tel down the left. Made a couple of defensive interceptions but wasn't able to impact the game going forward as much as he would have liked. 6
Lucas Bergvall
Never stopped running but looked tired and lacking in quality at times. 5
Rodrigo Bentancur
Struggled as the more defensive of the three midfielders in a central trio that was anonymous in the first half. 4
Dejan Kulusevksi
Sent Moore away to tee Son for a big first half opportunity. Curled in the cross that Tell scored from in added time. Not one of his best performances but he still provided two big moments for what should have been two goals. 6
Mikey Moore
Set up Son for a huge chance midway through the first half but it's a big ask of a 17-year-old to start these big physical games when he should really be coming on as an impact sub right now. Hooked again at half-time. 4
Son Heung-min
Hit his shot at Martinez when unmarked from Moore's first half pass. Had another shot blocked early in the second half. Spurs needed quality from their skipper in key moments and it wasn't there. 4
Mathys Tel
Struggled to make any real impact for much of the game, with loose touches and passes but kept plugging away and touched home a goal on his full debut in added time to bump up his score by a couple of marks. 6
Subs
Yves Bissouma
The midfield looked slightly better with him on in the second half. 6
Pape Matar Sarr
Came on for Bentancur for the final 10 minutes or so. N/A
Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here fo r in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.
Want breaking and top Tottenham stories sent straight to you? Join our Spurs WhatsApp community by clicking this link. If you're curious you can check out our privacy policy here.