The curtains have been drawn over the first half of Europa League action in Istanbul, and it’s time for player ratings, with Spurs trailing to Galatasaray 3-1 subject to goals from Yunus Akgun, Will Lankshear, and Osimhen.
Galatasaray vs Tottenham in Europa League
Tottenham travel to Turkey looking to make it three wins in three, although victory away at Galatasaray is no easy feat. With starting centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven ruled out due to injury, Ange Postecoglou‘s men will have a tough task keeping the Turkish champions quiet.
Spurs’ opponents currently sit top of the Turkish top flight, as well as also having an unbeaten start in their continental campaign. Undoubtedly, they will be desperate to continue that streak with what would be a famous win over Spurs, having never beaten the English side before.
Over the duration of the first half, we analysed each player’s individual performance, rating them on a scale of 1-10. Let’s see how Spurs fared in the opening forty-five of the Europa League match.
Spurs first-half player ratings vs Galatasaray
Fraser Forster: The veteran goalkeeper was just beaten by an unstoppable strike after five minutes, getting fingertips to it. He was incredibly shaky on the ball throughout the half, gifting the hosts an abundance of opportunities to score. However, he made a few decent saves that kept the scoreline from being a cricket score. 4.
Pedro Porro: The Spaniard was really poor in the opening forty-five, losing possession cheaply on a number of occasions, and he was bypassed too often by Galatasaray’s left side. 3.
Radu Dragusin: The Romanian had a half to forget as his heavy touch led to Osimhen’s first goal and it was a certainly poor lapse in judgement from the centre-half. Not only that, he lost possession so many times. An awful, awful performance so far, on and off the ball. 2.
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Ben Davies: Davies’ first-half display on the ball wasn’t particularly assuring, as he felt the full effects of the host’s press. He didn’t make any real mistakes though. 5.
Archie Gray: Another start for Gray at left-back tonight, and his versatility is proving important to Postecoglou’s rotation. He played a huge part in Spurs’ opening goal, delivering a beautifully lofted ball through to Johnson. He was one of Spurs’ brightest players in what was a gloomy first-half display. 7.
Yves Bissouma: Easily Spurs’ best midfielder, which just shows the standard of Spurs’ midfield so far today. 5.
Lucas Bergvall: Filling in for fellow Swede Kulusevski, arguably Spurs’ most influential player this season, Bergvall will be keen to impress tonight. He didn’t start too well, as he gave up possession on multiple occasions and honestly, it was quite clear that the 18-year-old is still very raw. He looked very out of his depth, unfortunately. 3.
James Maddison: Struggled to keep possession as he was targeted by Galatasaray’s midfield, who didn’t allow him time to play his usual way. It’s been a below-par performance, to say the least from him. 3.
Brennan Johnson: Brennan has undoubtedly made that right-wing position his as he starts yet another game. He unselfishly assisted Lankshear with a deft touch, however he wasn’t too heavily involved after that. 5.
Will Lankshear: It’s a second senior start for the 19-year-old, and it was certainly one to remember as the youngster scored Spurs’ equaliser! What a moment for him. Outside that, the striker received very little service. 7.