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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Tottenham player ratings vs Aston Villa: Rash Cristian Romero costly again as Richarlison woes continue

Tottenham's hopes of a Europa League spot were dealt a serious blow as they went down to a meek 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Goals from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz either side of the interval put the hosts in control but Spurs set up a nervy finish after Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot a minute from time after he was brought down by Emi Martinez.

The result moved Villa level on points with sixth-placed Spurs but both clubs are just two points clear of Brighton, having played three games more.

Dan Kilpatrick was at Villa Park to rate the Spurs players...

Fraser Forster - 6

Kept Spurs in the game with smart saves to deny Leon Bailey and then Emi Buendia at 1-0, but should have done better for Luiz's free-kick, which he could only palm into the roof of the net.

Emerson Royal - 6

Stood up well to the pace of Bailey and directness of Alex Moreno, and made a couple of important challenges.

Cristian Romero - 4

Flew into a tackle ahead of Villa's opening goal, leaving him playing catch up, and gave away the free-kick for their second.

Clement Lenglet - 5

Repeatedly lost possession in the face of Villa's press in the first half. More comfortable when stepping out of defence with the ball.

Pedro Porro - 5

Loose with the ball in his own half. Better going forward, as usual, but failed to carve out any real openings.

Aston Villa claimed a 2-1 win over Spurs on Saturday (Getty Images)

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 6

Created Spurs' first chance of the game, which Kane fired straight at Emi Martinez, with some fine pressing and worked hard in the midfield.

Oliver Skipp - 4

Struggled against Villa's well-organised, pressing midfield and was withdrawn early.

Ben Davies - 5

Beaten by Leon Bailey for Villa's opening goal and failed to make an impact at either end.

Heung-min Son - 5

Could not beat the offside trap and finishing was mixed when he did get in shooting positions.

Richarlison - 4

Struggled to stay onside on the rare occasions Spurs threatened in the final third, and looked off the pace generally.

Richarlison was again off the pace for Spurs (Action Images via Reuters)

Harry Kane - 6

Uncharacteristically squandered Spurs' best chance from open play when he fired straight at Martinez but won the penalty and made no mistake from the spot.

Substitutes

Yves Bissouma (Skipp 62') - 7

It said a lot that on his first appearance since February he was one of Spurs' better players.

Dejan Kulusevski (Richarlison 62') - 6

Flashed an effort agonisingly wide of the far post but made the wrong decision in a good position in stoppage-time.

Arnaut Danjuma (Porro 81) - 5

Had limited time to make an impression at wing-back.

Ivan Perisic (Davies 90') - N/A

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