Tottenham player ratings vs Villarreal – Micky van de Ven superb, 4/10 star embarrassing
Tottenham got their European campaign up and running with a victory as they beat Villarreal 1-0 on Tuesday night.
The Lilywhites will be hopeful of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League this term, and they got off to the perfect start against their Spanish visitors.
Thomas Frank raised eyebrows with his Tottenham team selection for the encounter, with Joao Palhinha left on the bench despite his excellent start to the new campaign.
Nevertheless, the N17 outfit got the job done at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and with that in mind, Tottenham News rates the performance of every Spurs player out of 10.
Micky van de Ven an 8/10 for Tottenham
Micky van de Ven has been crucial for Tottenham since his move from Wolfsburg back in 2023, and he turned in a typically impressive display on Tuesday night.
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The Netherlands international made several crucial interventions at the start of the second half as the visitors began the second period on the front foot, and he played a vital role in Frank’s side notching their fourth clean sheet from six competitive outings.
The 24-year-old’s pace is invaluable to the backline, but he displayed excellent composure on the ball as usual against Villarreal, as he completed 93% of his passes across the 90 minutes.
Van de Ven marshalled the rearguard well for the hosts and was fully deserving of an impressive 8/10 rating.
Richarlison embarrassing in 4/10 showing
Richarlison has enjoyed a resurgence at Tottenham in the last few weeks, but his performance against Villarreal was arguably a step backwards.
The Brazilian’s decision-making let him down on countless occasions as he failed to hold the ball up effectively for his side.
He came under scrutiny once again in the first half, when he went down easily under a challenge inside the Villarreal box, and rightly saw his appeals for a penalty waved away.
It was yet another embarrassing moment from the 28-year-old, who cannot keep being afforded chances to impress time and again.
Richarlison struggled all night at the top of the pitch, and was worthy of little more than a 4/10 rating.
Tottenham player ratings vs Villarreal
Guglielmo Vicario – 7
Pedro Porro – 7
Cristian Romero – 7
Micky van de Ven – 8
Djed Spence – 6
Lucas Bergvall – 7
Rodrigo Bentancur – 6
Pape Sarr – 6
Mohammed Kudus – 7
Richarlison – 4
Xavi Simons – 6
Substitutes
Joao Palhinha – 6
Destiny Udogie – 6
Brennan Johnson – 6
Randal Kolo Muani – 6
Kevin Danso – N/A