Tottenham beat Sydney FC on penalties to earn their third victory of pre-season after being held to a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes during which Mathys Tel scored a stunning free-kick.
Tel found the top-right corner with a wonderful strike from 25 yards in the 29th minute in Sydney, but the A-League side equalised after half-time through Takahiro Sekine before Martin Dubravka saved a penalty in the shoot-out, which allowed Dane Scarlett to net the winner.
Tottenham are interested in signing Manchester City winger Savinho and Tel, who only signed for the club permanently this summer in a £30m deal from Bayern Munich, appeared to respond to those transfer links with a stand-out 45-minute display off the left.
Roberto De Zerbi rested a host of his stars, including Mateus Fernandes, but started midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who Sky Sports News understands wants to leave the club this summer, for his first pre-season minutes before he was replaced at the break by club-record signing Sandro Tonali.
Andy Robertson made his first Spurs appearance as a second-half substitute, being handed the captain’s armband and impressing in a 25-minute cameo by setting up two chances and having a shot saved before tucking away a penalty.
The key moments from Sydney
- 15: SPURS DOMINANT! Tottenham enjoy 80 per cent possession in the opening 15 minutes.
- 29: GOAL! Tel strikes a stunning free-kick into the top-right corner from 25 yards.
- 36: WOODWORK! Gallagher goes close to adding Spurs’ second, sending a shot against the right post.
- 40: DUBRAVKA GETS LUCKY! Sydney’s Macallister tries to lob Dubravka from the halfway line and his effort drops wide.
- 46: SUBS! Tonali comes on for Spurs at half-time as one of three changes.
- 47: CROSSBAR! Spurs sub Williams-Barnett hits the crossbar with a close-range shot.
- 55: EQUALISER! Sydney level things up as Spurs sub Takai’s interception plays Sekine in on goal to score.
- 65: ROBERTSON! The former Liverpool left-back makes his first Spurs appearance and wears the captain’s armband.
- 70: WHAT A MISS! Yang denies Robertson an assist, turning his low cross wide from close range.
- PENALTIES! Dubravka makes a big save in the shoot-out before Scarlett wins it.
What we learned from Spurs’ friendly with Sydney…
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
Tel responds to Savinho news – Spurs are after a new left winger and Man City’s Savinho could be another high-profile addition to De Zerbi’s squad. But Tel provided a reminder of his talents. His stunning free-kick stole the show but he was also Spurs’ brightest attacker in the game. If Savinho and Tel are Spurs’ two left-wing options, it shows real depth in that area.
Robertson looks energised on debut – He only got 25 minutes, but Robertson made a real impact on his first Spurs outing. The left-back should have had two assists but Min-Hyeok Yang missed from close range. De Zerbi’s full-backs in this game were very attacking and often had good goalscoring chances, is the Scot in line for a new wave of attacking influence in the Premier League?
Richarlison challenges for the ball
Gray could be important for De Zerbi – When the team news came out, it was a surprise to see Archie Gray named as captain for the second pre-season game in a row. More experienced players such as Conor Gallagher, Richarlison and Ben Davies also started, but it was the young midfielder with the armband. Despite all the talk about Fernandes and Tonali coming in, is Gray the final piece of that three-man midfield, on the basis of that vote of confidence from De Zerbi?
Where are Spurs’ goals coming from? Yes, it’s only pre-season. But you look at the Spurs attack and wonder where the goals are coming from. Spurs were wasteful against Sydney – with Gallagher missing three big first-half chances and substitute Yang missing two more after coming on. Richarlison was anonymous in his 60-minute display, while the likes of Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Mohammad Kudus, Xavi Simons and Dejan Kulusevski are still out injured. De Zerbi has made loads of signings in defence and midfield, but more still needs to be done up front.
July 22: Tottenham 1-0 MK Dons – Spurs training ground
July 26: Tottenham 2-0 Auckland FC
July 29: Tottenham 1-1 Sydney FC (4-2 on pens) – Sydney
August 1: Tottenham vs Chelsea – Sydney, 10.45am
August 8: Tottenham vs Getafe – Spurs training ground (behind closed doors), 3pm
August 15: Tottenham vs Hoffenheim – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 3pm
August 16: Tottenham vs Hoffenheim – Spurs training ground (behind closed doors), 12pm