Evening Standard
·3. August 2025
Tottenham player ratings vs Newcastle: Kevin Danso stands out as Brennan Johnson sends reminder

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·3. August 2025
The defender created the early goal with a front-foot approach
Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick
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On what will be Heung-min Son's final Tottenham appearance, his farewell dominated proceedings in what was a fairly uneventful game until James Maddison’s injury.
Tottenham started brightly and took an early lead through Brennan Johnson's deflected effort from outside the area.
Despite their early energy, Tottenham were unable to capitalise and were pegged back when Harvey Barnes rifled a shot in off the post to bring Newcastle level.
The second half saw a flurry of changes for both sides, with neither team able to find a winner, with Maddison being taken off on a stretcher overshadowing the final minutes.
Tottenham remain unbeaten under Thomas Frank and end their pre-season preparations with a trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich.
Even though Barnes' equaliser beat Kinsky at his near post, there was nothing he could do about the goal. Otherwise rarely called into action.
Allowed Barnes to cut inside him far too easily for Newcastle’s equaliser. Defensively, Porro is still vulnerable, but Frank will really appreciate his attacking qualities. The Spaniard is the perfect fit for his system.
Thomas Frank loves his defenders to be aggressive and proactive. He'll have thoroughly enjoyed the way Danso won possession to turn the ball over for Tottenham's opening goal.
He's by no means the finished article, but Danso will provide valuable cover for Romero and Van de Ven.
A solid performance from Romero, who dealt well with Newcastle’s physicality. Similarly to Danso, Frank will like how aggressive Romero is when attacking balls into the box and winning back possession high up the pitch.
Newcastle caused Davies problems down the left hand side but the Welshman recovered well and restricted the lively Anthony Gordon. Given Destiny Udogie’s injury, Frank will be glad to be able to call upon Davies.
Wasn’t one of his best performances as Newcastle were able to cut through Tottenham’s midfield fairly easily in the first-half.
Newcastle dominated the midfield battle after a bright start from Tottenham. Still, some more valuable minutes for Gray in his favoured position.
He wasn't quite able to emulate his goalscoring heroics from Thursday's 1-0 win over Arsenal as Newcastle got control of the midfield.
The Welshman opened the scoring with a deflected effort from outside the box but faded as the game wore on. Mobbed by Son following his goal, he will be expected to step up in the South Korean's absence.
Tel is 20 years old, and it shows - all the confidence without the conviction. Plenty of energy and potential, but Frank needs to channel it into something more productive.
This afternoon was hardly ever going to be about Son’s performance, and luckily so, as it was a pretty anonymous showing from the 33-year-old, who was routinely caught offside.
The Dutchman looked assured as Newcastle struggled to create any meaningful chances. Wasn’t tasked with too much, but when called upon he stood up to examination.
There are a lot of questions to be answered in the middle of the park for Tottenham, but Bergvall can certainly be part of the solution. The young Swede tried to wrestle back control of the midfield, but struggled as the game hit a lull in the second-half.
Tottenham lacked an out-and-out forward in the absence of Dominic Solanke and Richarlison did little to suggest he is the answer. The Brazilian struggled to lead the line, but he wasn’t helped by a lack of service.
Newcastle had looked lively on both flanks early on but Spence got to grips with his position well and ensured Tottenham stayed resolute.
Couldn’t turn the tide for Tottenham in the midfield despite an energetic performance. His performance was symptomatic of a lack of quality in the second-half.
A really unfortunate way to end his pre-season as he was stretchered off injured in the 85th minute. The Englishman couldn’t provide the spark to help Tottenham break out of pressure. A few nice touches, but he went missing in a physical affair.
Struggled to impact the game off the bench. Crowded out in a suffocating midfield battle, there wasn’t a lot of space for Kudus to work with.
A difficult cameo for the teenager, who like his team-mates couldn’t find any rhythm in a stop-start game.
Helped Tottenham see out the result with an industrious display. The young Croatian stood up to task without standing out.
Had a late chance as he jigged his way into the area, but having replaced Maddison with just five minuted left to play, there wasn’t enough time for the youngster to find his feet in the game.