Tottenham Hotspur made it four wins from their first five Premier League games courtesy of two goals in added time from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, but let’s see how the players from both teams fared during the match.
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Tottenham:
The Italian made a stunning save from McAtee in the first half, but aside from that, he had a quiet afternoon. Vicario wasn’t at fault in the slightest for the Sheffield United goal, which was an excellent finish by Gustavo Hamer that went in off the right post.
Pedro Porro – 7
Porro continued to thrive in the inverted role that Ange Postecoglou has favoured with his right-backs this season and created four chances during the match, as Spurs pushed for the opening goal in the first 70 minutes. He won 80% of his ground duels, which kept the home side on the front foot, but could’ve shut down Hamer a little quicker for the goal.
Cristian Romero – 7
The 2022 World Cup winner kept Archer very quiet during the game, making 11 recoveries during the game. He had a 90% pass completion rate which contributed to Spurs’ hefty number of chances created.
Micky van de Ven – 6
One of 12 players who had their name taken during the game, Van de Ven didn’t have his finest game in a Spurs shirt, but was steady in his approach to the game - only misplacing two passes and winning 50% of ground duels against the physical Oli McBurnie.
Destiny Udogie – 7
The flying full back was a constant threat in the game, having 91 touches and only being dispossessed once. He made a brilliant interception for the winning goal, picking off Ahmedhodzic’s pass that was intended for Archer to set up the attack.
Pape Matar Sarr – 7
The young Senegalese has put a run of starts together for the first time in his Tottenham career and is flourishing under Ange Postecoglou. Sarr provided constant running power in the midfield area and allowed Yves Bissouma to go and help with the attacking phases of play, as well as creating two chances himself and having two shots on target.
Yves Bissouma – 8
Bissouma was excellent once again for Spurs, completing the most dribbles in the match (four) and making ten recoveries for his team. The Mali international picked up a booking late into the second half for dissent.
James Maddison – 7
Once again, the creative spark for Spurs. Maddison was involved in most attacks and took risks, something you must do when playing against a low block. The Englishman was fouled three times and had his name taken for dissent.
Dejan Kulusevski – 8
Influencing the game from the right hand side, Kulusevski was a threat all game long, having seven shots and creating two big chances. The 23-year-old was the reason why the visitors didn’t leave with a point after his right-footed effort nestled in the corner to spark bedlam at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Heung-Min Son – 6
After hitting a hat-trick against Burnley in Spurs’ last game, Son found it hard to get into the game. Coming up against three physical centre backs was always going to be a challenging task for the South Korean. He only had 29 touches in the game and was substituted with ten minutes to go.
Manor Solomon – 6
The tricky Israeli, who provided two assists in Spurs’ last PL game against Burnley, was a threat down the left-hand side especially in the first half, but had a quiet second period and picked up a booking for a lazy foul on McBurnie. He was hooked with ten minutes remaining.
Substitutes:
Ivan Perisic – 7
The Croatian only played ten minutes plus stoppage time, but provided the assist from a corner for Richarlison’s equaliser. He also had his name taken late on for a stray elbow on Basham.
Brennan Johnson – 7
Considering he only had 10 touches, the newest summer signing had a positive impact when he came on and thought he had an equaliser. The goal was eventually ruled out for offside.
Richarlison – 9
After speaking openly about his mental state during the week, Richarlison came on with ten minutes to go and completely changed the game for Spurs, scoring a header from a corner and providing a clever assist for the winning goal. Ange Postecoglou will want to see more of this from the Brazilian.
Emerson Royal – N/A
Emerson came on for the added time period only and had nine touches of the ball. He helped his team see the game out in the late, late periods of the game.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – N/A
Hojbjerg entered the field of play at the same time as Emerson and helped his side see the game out in the latter stages.
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Sheffield United:
Wes Foderingham – 7
United’s shot stopper was excellent in the first half, making seven saves and commanding his area. He was however booked for handling outside the area in the first period, rather accidentally. His clean sheet was kept intact until the 98th minute of the game.
Anel Ahmedhodzic – 5
The Bosnian, who is usually excellent for the Blades, didn’t have his finest game in a Sheffield United shirt. Ahmedhodzic won 33% of all duels and completed less than 60% of passes, with one of the misplaced passes allowing Spurs to eventually score the winner.
Chris Basham – 6
The veteran defender commanded the back three excellently for long periods of the match, which made Spurs resort to taking shots from distance. Basham made three recoveries in the game but was the first player to have his name taken for dragging Maddison off the ball.
Jack Robinson – 7
Robinson didn’t see a lot of the ball during the game but was part of the unit that Spurs couldn’t break down for a long period of time. He assisted Hamer’s goal with an excellent long throw into the box and was shown a card just after the hour mark.
Jayden Bogle – 5
The 23-year-old struggled against Solomon in the first half, committing two fouls on the winger during the game. Bogle couldn’t show his attacking qualities during the game due to his team being pinned back by Spurs and was substituted with four minutes remaining.
Vinicius Souza – 7
The summer signing was excellent in midfield, especially in his approach to working in a trio with Hamer and McAtee, allowing those two players to go forward and support the attack where possible. Souza won five of his duels and played the full 90 minutes for the Blades.
James McAtee – 6
The youngster, on loan from Manchester City, had a big chance to open the scoring in the first half which was well saved, but didn’t get on the ball as much as he would’ve liked to, only completing five passes in the 70 minutes he played.
Gustavo Hamer – 7
Hamer, who arrived from Coventry in the summer, has been a breath of fresh air in the Sheffield United midfield. After netting in the Blades last away game at Nottingham Forest, he struck again at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, with a low finish into the far corner which looked to be the smash-and-grab United were after.
Luke Thomas – 5
The former Leicester man struggled to get into the game due to being pushed back by Kulusevski. The 22-year-old had 29 touches in the game, the fewest of any outfield player to play 90 minutes.
Cameron Archer – 5
Signed from Aston Villa in the summer, Archer didn’t receive a lot of service and couldn’t quite make the partnership with McBurnie click during the game. He was shown a yellow card before half-time for stopping Spurs from taking a quick free kick.
Oliver McBurnie – 4
A ‘4’ rating may seem harsh for McBurnie as the Scotsman had a really promising first half in terms of his hold-up play and dragging his team up the pitch into forward areas. However, he was sent off deep into stoppage time due to a totally unnecessary second yellow card, which means he will be missing for Sheffield United’s next league match at home to Newcastle.
Substitutes:
Oliver Norwood – 6
The midfielder came on for James McAtee with 20 minutes to go and was steady in his approach to the game, winning 80% of his duels and playing three passes into the final third.
Tom Davies – 5
As soon as the former Everton man came on it looked like the midfield had lost its balance and shape, something that was so key for Sheffield United during the 97 minutes that were played before the goals went in. Davies played nine minutes plus stoppage time and picked up a yellow card.
Auston Trusty – N/A
Trusty had five touches and played for four minutes plus stoppage time.
