Hoffenheim 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur: Player ratings as Son double guides Spurs past gritty hosts

Tottenham Hotspur overcame a spirited Hoffenheim 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday. After three winless fixtures in the competition, Spurs returned to winning ways with a narrow victory against the Bundesliga side. James Maddison fired them in front after three minutes into the kick-off, before Son Heung-Min doubled their advantage a while later. Anton Sach pulled one back for the hosts in the 68th minute, but Son made it 3-1shortly after to restore their two-goal advantage. David Ntusu further reduced the gap for the Bundesliga side with a late goal but they fell short of finding the all-important equalizer. Here are the player ratings:

Hoffenheim Player Ratings vs Tottenham Hotspur

Goalkeeper

Oliver Baumann – 6.5

Made two saves but was ultimately beaten thrice by a superior Spurs team.

Defenders

Pavel Kaderabek – 7.5

Made excellent recoveries and timed his tackles to perfection.

Kevin Akpoguma – 7

Passed the ball around well and looked solid in defense.

Stanley N’Soki – 7.5

Made a staggering eight recoveries while completing 91% of his passes too.

David Jurasek – 7.5

Bagged the assist for Stach’s goal.

Midfielders

Anton Stach – 8

Pulled one back for the hosts after the hour mark.

Finn Ole Becker – 7

Looked to get Hoffenheim forward with a series of long balls.

Adam Hlozek – 6

Ran into a stonewall everytime he attempted to make a shot.

Tom Bischof – 7.5

A menacing presence in attack for the home side.

Forwards

Andrej Kramaric – 7.5

Assisted their second goal in the closing stages.

Max Moerstedt – 7

Created two good chances.

Substitutes

David Mokwa – 8

Added a second goal to reduce the deficit further.

Arthur Chaves – 6

Couldn’t really get involved much.

Florian Micheler – 6

Came on to see a few minutes off the bench.

Manager

Christian Ilzer – 6.5

Should be proud of his side’s fighting spirit.

Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings vs Hoffenheim

Goalkeeper

Brandon Austin – 7

Came through for Spurs with some key saves but got beaten late on.

Defenders

Archie Gray – 7

Made crunch tackles and a few recoveries.

Ben Davies – 7

With six clearances, the Welshman showed excellent vision.

Radu Dragusin – 7

Three clearances and four blocked shots for a solid display in defense.

Pedro Porro – 7.5

Put things on a plate for Maddison to score.

Midfielders

James Maddison – 8.5

Fired Spurs in front after only three minutes with a clinical effort.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 7

A thorn in Hoffenheim’s flesh with five clearances and three interceptions.

Lucas Bergvall – 7

Made excellent recoveries.

Forwards

Richarlison – 6

Totally anemic in the opening stanza and hardly any better after the break too.

Dejan Kulusevski – 6.5

Uncharacteristically toothless in the night.Heung-min Son – 8.5

The Korean made it 2-0 just before half-time with a sweet strike.

Substitutes

Mikey Moore – 6.5

Bagged the assist for Son’s second goal.

Will Lankshear – 5

Came on to see a few minutes but struggled to make any impact.

Callum Olusesi – N/A

Was brought on in the penultimate minute of normal time.

Manager

Ange Postecoglu – 7

Will be relieved to see that his side was able to see the game off at the end when Hoffenheim were threatening to come back into it.