Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 IF Elfsborg Player Ratings as academy talents complete homegrown fairytale to send Spurs through to the playoffs

With the final gameday of the Champions League opening stage in the books, it was time for the same in the Europa League where Tottenham Hotspur took on IF Elfsborg at their home ground. Whilst Spurs were well set for the playoff rounds anyway, a good result was needed for the Swedish club to continue their European journey.

As many would have predicted, Spurs came out of the gate rather quickly and ready to get their goals in as soon as possible. Despite scintillating displays from the likes of Heung-min Son and others, Elfsborg did not let up for a long time and kept the home team at bay. Their defensive resilience continued into the second half as well, until academy graduates Dane Scarlett and Oyindamola Ajayi changed the game for the home side.

To complete the trinity, Mikey Moore who had a difficult game at times, also managed to add to the tally, making it an all-academy show for Tottenham Hotspur who qualify for the Europa playoffs with ease. As for Elfsborg, their goal difference means that their journey in European competition comes to an end.

Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings vs IF Elfsborg 

Goalkeeper 

Brandon Austin: 6.5/10- A bit of a nothing game for the goalkeeper who wasn’t called into action for anything other than getting the game started time and again for the hosts. Made a few high claims and was satisfactory with his passing and distribution. 

Defenders 

Ben Davies: 7/10- Combined well with Son off the left and allowed for a very fluid game, moving high up the pitch to supplement the attack. Was more than decent with the ball at his feet and playing out from the back.

Micky van de Ven: 7.5/10- Superb in defense with what little he had to do. Showed his quality on the ball with his progression and carrying along with some unbelievable long-range passes as well. 

Archie Gray: 7/10- Composed and patient in the buildup. Did not have much to do for the majority of the game, barring the odd counter to deal with, and comfortably coasted through large parts, only ever being called into action to initiate the attack from deep. 

Pedro Porro: 7/10- Inverted a lot more than usual getting himself into shooting positions more often than crossing from afar. Did have a few crosses regardless, with some of them more enticing than others. 

Midfielders

Rodrigo Bentancur: 7/10- Conducted play from deep and was also protecting the backline from the rare counterattack and was effective in winning out his duels. Did pop up on the right flank at times as well, but wasn’t at his creative best on the night. 

Pape Matar Sarr: 7/10- Was at his combative best on the night, snatching and battling away in midfield and at other times showed great industry in keeping the ball rolling in the opposition half. Did not have any flaws barring a few miscontrolled touches. 

Lucas Bergvall: 7/10- Given the freedom to play much higher up the field than usual, which saw him combine well with Son off the left. Had excellent pass accuracy as he has been known for and was able to find some of the more intrusive passes into the Elfsborg defense as well. 

Attackers 

Heung-min Son: 8/10- Was on an absolute heater from the start of the game, skinning his man multiple times with relative ease. Seemed like the man to take the game by the scruff of the neck and did exactly that at times. 

Mikey Moore: 6.5/10- Struggled to really get going in the game, despite a few tidy touches. Was rather susceptible to getting outdone physically and having a heavy touch that let the ball get away from him. Did take up good positions and was finally awarded with a goal in the closing seconds of the game. 

Richarlison: 6.5/10- Was not too involved during the buildup but was ever present in the box waiting to latch on to a chance or a mistake. Won a fair few ground and aerial duels and served as an outlet whenever needed. 

Substitutes 

Radu Drăguşin: N/A

Dejan Kuluisevski: N/A

Yves Bissouma: N/A

Dane Scarlett: N/A

Oyindamola Ajayi: N/A

Manager 

Ange Postecoglou: 7.5/10- Deserves a lot of credit for the way he managed the game, implementing the youth players and withdrawing senior players after a certain amount of minutes. Tactically outmatched the opposing manager and deserved all three points. 

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IF Elfsborg Player Ratings vs Tottenham Hotspur 

Goalkeeper 

Isak Pettersson: 7.5/10- Superb whenever he was called into action to deny the opposition. Held firm despite waves of pressure for large parts of the game and was key in repelling numerous attacks and set pieces. 

Defenders 

Terry Yegbe: 7/10- Solid and dominant on the ground and aerially. Locked up the left side of the defense for a time and was a constant thorn in the side of the Spurs attack. Impressed mightily with some of his long throw-ins as well as his distribution with the ball at his feet.

Gustav Henriksson: 7/10- Made some stunning recoveries and was on top of his game for a very long time. Repelled numerous aerial threats and advances and was instrumental in keeping Spurs at bay for more than an hour. 

Sebastian Holmén: 6.5/10- Having massively struggled during the first half, he found some confidence in the second up until the Spurs opener, which could have been avoided for slightly better awareness and agility.

Midfielders

Niklas Hult: 7/10- One of the best players on the visiting side, kept things tight on his end and was key on both ends of the pitch, flying down the wings and getting back into shape to help the defense. Made a key clearance off the line, which was very important.  

Jens Jakob Thomasen: 6.5/10- Put in an industrious shift in midfield to keep things tight and rallying back to help defend as well. Didn’t progress the ball as much with the team opting to play long balls to the front line instead. 

Besfort Zeneli: 7/10- An industrious performance in the heart of midfield. Was handily dealt with on occasion but did not let that discourage him, eventually growing into the game and putting in an admirable performance. 

Simon Hedlund: 5.5/10- Was embarrassed by Son a number of times and well near slid off the pitch trying to guard the Spurs captain at times. Rectified his errors to some extent in the second half but had a largely underwhelming performance. 

Attackers 

Gottfrid Rapp: 6.5/10- One of the few bright sparks in the Elfsborg attack, latching on to long balls and driving at the defense on occasion. Could have found a lot more success had he received a little more support from his teammates. 

Ahmed Qasem: 6/10- Largely uninvolved and did not offer much for his side throughout the game. Had a few passes here and there but was mostly an additional body in the way of the Spurs’ attackers. 

Jalal Abdullai: 6.5/10- Gave it a good go in terms of chasing long balls over the top and trying to make things happen in attack. Really took it to the Spurs defenders from time to time but was drowned out in a wave of them, lacking any real support from the rest of the team. 

Substitutes 

Rami Kaib: N/A

Ludvig Richtner: N/A

Per Frick: N/A

Eggert Aron Guðmundsson: N/A

Emil Holten: N/A

Manager

Oscar Hiljemark: 6.5/10- Prepared and set his side up well to try and defend from the technically superior opposition. Was way too focused on defending and left his substitutions quite late which saw his side collapse after 70 minutes of resilient defending.

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