The referee’s whistle has sounded for the final time at the City Ground, indicating the end of the contest between Spurs and Nottingham Fores. Let’s take a look at our Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham player ratings.
Postecoglou named a changed eleven from Spurs’ last Premier League outing against Liverpool, where his side lost 6-3. This afternoon, Udogie, Bentancur, and Brennan Johnson all came into the side for Pedro Porro, Maddison, and Yves Bissouma.
Ange Postecoglou was hoping his Tottenham side would continue the Tottenham Hotspur tradition of the last 16 Boxing Day matches, where they have avoided defeat.
However, a win was not going to come easily as the Lilywhites went to the City Ground to face an in-form Nottingham Forest side that currently occupies fourth place.
With his main centre-backs and goalkeeper still out injured, the Australian tactician had to continue with his makeshift back four of Gray, Dragusin, and backup goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Fraser Forster: Fraser Forster had a quiet first half as he did not really have to make many saves. However, in the second half, he was called into action a lot more and he rose to the occasion quite well. The problem is not with his shot-stopping ability but with his footwork. On that front, he was still tidy. 6
Djed Spence: This was far from his best performance in a Tottenham shirt. Spence seemed to struggle against Hudson-Odoi, and going forward, he lacked any bit of cutting edge. His first-half display was poor, and his second-half display was just as poor. A red card at the end summed up his performance. 2
Radu Dragusin: Dragusin looked to have dealt with Chris Wood quite well in this one. The Romanian centre-back limited the number of chances the New Zealand centre-forward had, which is quite good for his confidence. It was not all good for Spurs and the centre-back on the injury front, as he picked up a late injury and had to be substituted. 5
Archie Gray: Gray had a rather quiet game in this one. Despite being the one who played Elanga onside for the goal, Gray made no errors leading to a goal and had a quiet afternoon, which is good for a centre-back. 5
Destiny Udogie: Udogie looked decent defensively as he seemed to deal with the threat Elanga posed on the right. However, he was a tad too high up the pitch when Forest broke for their goal. Going forward, Udogie had no impact once again. 4
Rodrigo Bentancur: This was a poor display from Bentancur, who was included to add a bit of energy and freshness into Spurs’ game. Instead, he looked just as leggy and was non-existent. I cannot even point out one thing he did in the game. 3
Pape Matar Sarr: Sarr looked a shadow of himself in this game. He did not contribute much to the defensive side of things, nor did he have any impact at the top end of the pitch. The two holding midfielders had really poor games, which is not ideal, especially against a counter-attacking side. 3
Dejan Kulusevski: Kulusevski tried to make things work as the ten, but nothing really came together for Spurs and their number ten. Despite going down early, you would expect Spurs to push harder and create more in the second half. However, that was not the case as Forest shut things down and kept Deki quiet as well. 4
Brennan Johnson: Most of Spurs’ best chances fell to this man, but he failed to convert any of them. The best of the lot came in the second half after he created a bit of space in the box with some nice close control, but his effort was saved once more. 4
Dominic Solanke: Solanke failed to have an effect at the top of the pitch where it really matters. You cannot fault him too much, though, as he lacked sufficient help from the creative players. He had three shots, and all were off target. 3
Heung-min Son: The inconsistency in his performances this season was on display once more here. He really did not do much in this game. He had a few half chances, went quiet, and was subbed off. Not his best game. 2
Substitutes:
Lucas Bergvall: Came on in place of Bentancur and honestly tried to have an impact on this game, but it bore no fruits in the end. It was a like-for-like replacement in terms of their performances. Rating: 4
James Maddison: James Maddison came on in place of Sarr, took a few shots, made a few tackles, and tried to create chances but could not penetrate a resolute Forest defense. Rating: 4
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