Tottenham Hotspur have their first win under Igor Tudor as they defeated Atletico Madrid 3-2 in the Champions League, with Xavi Simons running the show.
It was not enough to send the team through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but it was a much-needed confidence boost for the Lilywhites.
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Xavi Simons netted twice, and Randal Kolo Muani also found the back of the net on a very encouraging evening for the North London club.
The Spurs News now assesses the players’ performances, and there were two stars who joined Simons on a match rating of nine.
Guglielmo Vicario – 7
Guglielmo Vicario made a few impressive saves against Atletico and certainly made up for his error against Liverpool from the weekend.
The Italian goalkeeper made a particularly impressive stop to deny a Cristian Romero deflection from heading into Spurs’ net, showing cat-like reactions.
Pedro Porro – 6
Pedro Porro played in a right midfield role against Atleti and was often a threat down that side for Spurs.
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He did manage to complete just 15 of his 26 passes, though, which brings his rating down.
Cristian Romero – 6
Romero looked back to his best against Atletico, making 10 defensive contributions and playing in his usual aggressive manner.
Micky van de Ven – 6
Micky van de Ven had a mixed evening, making some good defensive actions, but he was partly at fault for Julian Alvarez’s goal.
Radu Dragusin – 5
Radu Dragusin played in an unusual role as a right-back, and he did look rather uncomfortable. Diego Simeone’s side had a fair amount of joy down his side.
Djed Spence – 7
Djed Spence was heavily involved in the match with 58 touches; however, defensively, he had a few issues, winning just two of his nine duels.
Archie Gray – 9
Archie Gray very much looks like he’s becoming a key player for Spurs and bossed the middle of the park.
The 20-year-old assisted Xavi Simons’ goal with some impressive work to win the ball and set up the Dutch attacker.
Pape Matar Sarr – 7
Pape Matar Sarr is another player who is growing in confidence towards the latter stages of the season and did all the basics well for Spurs.
Xavi Simons – 9
Simons was possibly Spurs’ best player on the night, and he very much deserved his two goals, one of which was a cracking effort from range.
The 22-year-old also managed five key passes, 77 touches and completed four dribbles against the Spanish side.
Mathys Tel – 9
Mathys Tel produced his best Tottenham performance so far, looking like the team’s most lively attacker in the first half.
The French youth international has not had it easy in a Spurs shirt; however, he could be a very useful player in the latter stages of the season.
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Randal Kolo Muani – 7
Randal Kolo Muani looked strong up front for Spurs and scored the opening goal of the game with an impressive header. A very encouraging display.