Tottenham 1-0 Man Utd player ratings: Maddison hits the mark as Spurs end seven-game home winless streak | OneFootball

Two of England’s struggling ‘big six’ football clubs faced off in North London this afternoon.

As they approached this weekend’s match, Tottenham sat in 14th place, having earned just three points from their last six matches, and winless in their last seven Premier League home games (D2 L5), their longest such run in the competition since going eight without a win from March to October 2008. Manchester United, meanwhile, was one position above them, with seven points from 18 available.

Both are going through respective injury crises, with Spurs missing 11 players and United without up to eight following the recent blow of influential forward Amad Diallo being ruled out for the remainder of the season. This has changed the showdown into a potentially balanced match, with goals anticipated after their recent dramatic eight-goal encounter in the League Cup, which included some notable goalkeeping mistakes.

We didn’t witness an end-to-end goalscoring affair, but Tottenham secured a narrow yet much-needed victory. James Maddison scored the only goal after 13 minutes of play.

This win for Spurs marked a significant moment, as Manchester United suffered their 12th defeat in 25 Premier League games this season (W8 D5), their highest number of losses in the first 25 matches of a league campaign since 1973-74, when they were last relegated from the top flight.

Additionally, this victory was Tottenham’s first in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since November, when they faced Aston Villa. It was also only the second time in their last 28 home league games that they managed to keep a clean sheet, with the last instance occurring against Everton in August.

Tottenham player ratings

Guglielmo Vicario: 81%

Playing his first Premier League game since that incredible 4-0 win over Man City in late November, he returned after missing 12 matches following ankle surgery. Understandably somewhat rusty, Vicario was forced into making six saves, all coming inside the penalty box.

Djed Spence: 69%

Named player of the match by Gary Neville after delivering a strong performance on Tottenham’s left flank, Spence ranked first in several team metrics: duels won (6), final third entries (8), sprints (22), and successful dribbles (2).

Ben Davies: 65%

Produced a crucial intervention early in the game when he was positioned in the right place to stop a Diogo Dalot cross-shot from reaching Rasmus Hojlund. Despite being the only Spurs player booked by the referee, Davies won four aerial duels, more than any of his teammates, and was responsible for three successful offside traps.

Kevin Danso: 65%

Kevin Danso, on loan from Lens, made a solid Premier League debut. With Tottenham’s key defenders, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, still sidelined, Danso stepped into central defence and completed 78 minutes. During the match, the Frenchman recorded two interceptions but was unable to successfully win his only attempted tackle.

Pedro Porro: 68%

This was somewhat of a return to form for Porro, who ended up creating three goalscoring opportunities (albeit, none would be classified as a ‘big chance’). From a defensive standpoint, the Spanish full-back registered two interceptions and won two tackles.

Rodrigo Bentancur: 46%

Bentancur came off with about 12 minutes of normal time remaining. He struggled in the midfield, winning three of seven duels, failing to complete a single take-on, and was dribbled past once.

Lucas Bergvall: 46%

His effort on goal ultimately led to Spurs taking the lead. Bergvall, demonstrating maturity beyond his years, left the field just after the hour mark. Before his departure, he completed 34 of his 38 passes, achieving an impressive 89.5% accuracy. He also created one chance and had a passing accuracy of 92.9% into the final third.

Son Heung-Min: 44%

Son has now gone five Premier League home appearances without scoring, marking his fourth consecutive game without a goal. Despite this dry spell, he showed determination in the match against United, attempting three shots on goal, though none were on target. He did manage to create four chances, but none were classified as big chances. Son successfully completed half of his four attempted take-ons.

James Maddison: 69%

Maddison finally scored his first Premier League goal against Manchester United (on his 12th appearance against them in the competition). The playmaker, who has frequently been in and out of Tottenham’s starting lineup, was in the right position to slot the ball home after Onana could only deflect a Lucas Bergvall effort into his path. He’s now been directly involved in 11 goals in 16 Premier League starts this season (eight goals and three assists).

Dejan Kulusevski: 61%

This was an understated performance from Tottenham’s creator-in-chief, as Kulusevski only created one scoring chance and finished with a passing accuracy of 76.2%. Of his four attempts on goal, only one hit the target.

Mathys Tel: 62%

Tel had ample opportunities to score on his Premier League debut, registering seven attempts on goal, three of which were on target, resulting in an expected goals (xG) score of 0.67. This was slightly lower than the goalscorer Maddison, who had an xG of 0.72. Additionally, the Bayern Munich loanee struggled in duels, winning just three out of thirteen, and he completed only one out of four take-on attempts.

Man Utd player ratings

André Onana: 70%

Another error from the much-maligned goalkeeper, who couldn’t keep hold of a Lucas Bergvall shot, only able to parry it into James Maddison’s feet. Maddison subsequently put Spurs in front from mere yards out.

Noussair Mazraoui: 60%

He was one of only two Manchester United players to create a significant goal-scoring opportunity. Mazraoui made two interceptions that helped retain possession. However, it wasn’t all positive, as the Moroccan defender was dribbled past five times, more than any other player in red.

Harry Maguire: 57%

This was a subdued outing for Maguire, who has grown into his role since re-establishing himself in Man United’s first team. Nothing summed up this atypical performance more than him winning 50% of his aerial duels.

Matthijs de Ligt: 65%

The busiest of the three Man Utd centre-backs with nine clearances made. De Ligt also blocked four shots while having a 100% tackle success rate (3/3).

Diogo Dalot: 59%

He started the game promisingly, often finding himself in Tottenham’s final third. However, as the contest progressed and Spurs took control, Dalot’s influence slowly waned, culminating in him being dispossessed once in his own half.

Bruno Fernandes: 75%

Frustration often gets the better of Fernandes, but it comes from a good place, as he wants to see his team succeed more than anyone else. He was one of the few Manchester United players to create a big chance, and only Alejandro Garnacho, with 10 touches, had more touches in the opposition box than Fernandes, who had 5. This is especially notable considering his deep-lying role in this disjointed team.

Casemiro: 68%

A far cry from the dominating defensive midfielder who was routinely declared the best in his position across European competitions, Casemiro was the only Manchester United player not to complete the match, coming off in the 91st minute. That said, he was dribbled past on four occasions, which diminished the impact of his four tackles won from seven attempts. He won 11 duels out of 18, and despite having the second-most touches (75) of any Red Devil, he posted a meagre 83.3% passing accuracy.

Patrick Dorgu: 60%

Dorgu faced a tough introduction to Premier League football, as he was immediately put on the back foot. However, he rose to the challenge by winning three fouls and successfully completing all four of his attempted tackles. Unfortunately, he was unable to contribute to the attack, as he created no chances and completed only two passes into the final third.

Alejandro Garnacho: 58%

On another day, Garnacho would have scored. He had four attempts, three of which were on target, but Vicario made the necessary saves. Garnacho also created one chance for his teammates, but he was unsuccessful in his only take-on attempt.

Joshua Zirkzee: 54%

Zirkzee was the hero the last time United played in North London. He was the only player from United to successfully complete a take-on, succeeding in two of his five attempts. However, none of his two shots on goal were on target.

Rasmus Højlund: 45%

In the end, Højlund saw two of his three attempts on goal hit the target, but he finished with an xG score of 0.11, which was the lowest of any Manchester United player who had at least two shots on goal.

How do Squawka player ratings work?

Squawka’s new player rating system is wholly stats-based. Player scores are based on the numbers they put up across a range of on-ball events, from goals scored to tackles won.

We tailored each score to the players’ respective positions using extensive research and expertise. For example, forwards are rated on metrics like shots on target, touches in the opposition box, and big chances created. Meanwhile, centre-backs are rewarded for winning aerial duels, making blocks, successful long-range passes, etc.

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