Spurs took too long to wake up against an ever-impressive Nottingham Forest side on Monday night.
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Tottenham Hotspur jubilation in Europe was short lived over the Easter break as high-flying Nottingham Forest provided a humbling reminder of the ever-present issues in North London for Ange Postecoglou.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s impressive Forest side found themselves 2-0 up after just 16 minutes thanks to goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, with the hosts doing little to stop that happening. There was little toil from Postecoglou’s side in front of a frustrated Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but a late Richarlison header did make for a frantic injury time hunt for an equaliser.
Those efforts were all too late as Forest left the capital with all three points and a return to third place. Here’s how the Tottenham Hotspur players rated in the 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham Hotspur player ratings
GK - Guglielmo Vicario, 3
Not good. Got a hand on the Anderson shot, which indicates he probably should’ve stopped it despite the deflection. Then was a silly boy when flying out to try and punch the ball in before Wood headed home, leaving the goal open.
LB - Pedro Porro, 6
Did find himself in dangerous positions on the edge of the Nottingham Forest box but needed 75 minutes to get his deliveries warmed up. Eventually put one plum on Richarlison’s head, which was missed, before doing the same shortly after - which the Brazilian scored from.
CB - Cristian Romero, 5
Chris Wood made both the World Cup winner and Van de Ven look a league below as he nipped in easily to nod home a Nottingham Forest second. Did make one good tackle before being hooked at half time.
CB - Micky Van de Ven, 4
Looked stuck in mud for the Wood goal, the centre-back needs to be so much more alert than that. Taken off at the break as Postecoglou swapped out both his centre backs in a planned change.
RB - Djed Spence, 7
A constant threat when running forward, keeping Nicolas Dominguez guessing when he cut in. Just lacked the creative flair to make those bombarding runs lead to good Spurs chances.
CM - Rodrigo Bentancur, 6
The best of the midfield trio. Wily at times as he got in the way to break up some Forest moves and tried to get things going. Was skipped past so easily by Callum Hudson-Odoi in the second half, as the stadium sighed.
CM - Pape Sarr, 4
Found himself getting forwards more than usual, but doesn’t quite seem to have the skill set to play that sort of position. More needed from him.
CM - Dejan Kulusevski, 5
Could’ve been more lively on the edge of the box to pinch the loose ball before Elliot Anderson smashed it home. Generally sluggish at times compared to the Forest team but unlucky not to score with a brilliant flicked header in the second half, cleared off the line superbly by Harry Toffolo.
Spurs wingers Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert pack pace but no punch
LW - Mathys Tel, 6
Tenacious early on but saw his influence fade. Lashed a good opportunity well wide after a mistake from Neco Williams when he should have just calmly slotted in.
ST - Richarlison, 6
Felt hard done by at multiple moments when Nottingham Forest players grappled with his shirt but would have been better off just getting on with it. Did carry an aerial threat all game and eventually headed home, but that goal could have completed a hat-trick of headers. Needs to be available to receive the ball so much more.
RW - Wilson Odobert, 7
Looked the most likely to create an opening for Spurs with his deliveries into the box. At times, hit with too much pace, but will be frustrated not to have seen a teammate attack them - when Richarlison eventually did, Sarr got in his way.
SUB - Kevin Danso, 7
Had the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium groaning when he passed the ball to the ever-dangerous Anderson after 65 minutes. Was an improvement on the original centre-back pairing with some drive going forwards.
SUB - Ben Davies, 7
Caught unaware by Morgan Gibbs-White moments after coming on but wised up after that with some good challenges to stop dangerous Forest attacks.
SUB - Brennan Johnson, 6
A greater threat when out wide and delivering in than when looking to drive centrally and score himself. Did provide a small uplift when coming on.
SUB - Dominic Solanke, 5
Spurs were crying out for a target man to make himself available but Solanke struggled to be that outlet.
SUB - Lucas Bergvall, 5
A pretty anonymous cameo from the bench.
In other news, Tottenham ready to battle Liverpool for 'role model' Premier League winner.