Tottenham rounded off their pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over London rivals Chelsea.
Richarlison scored with virtually the last kick of the game at Accor Stadium to seal an impressive win for 10-man Spurs as their unbeaten start to the summer continued.
After defeating MK Dons 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hotspur Way last month, Spurs began their tour with a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Auckland FC at Eden Park.
A frustrating 1-1 draw with Sydney FC, after which Roberto De Zerbi’s side won a penalty shootout 4-2, provided a few lessons before Tottenham then stunned Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea despite Kevin Danso’s quick-fire dismissal.
Spurs will now return to north London as they prepare to host LaLiga side Getafe this weekend before a double-header of friendlies against Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim.
After a week Down Under, De Zerbi will have learned a great deal about his squad heading into a first full season in charge.
Kinsky underlines his No1 credentials
Tottenham decided to put their faith in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky earlier this summer when they offered him a new long-term contract.
Kinsky’s performances towards the end of last season proved integral to keeping Spurs in the Premier League.
With first-choice ‘keeper Guglielmo Vicario set to move on, De Zerbi decided to promote from within by handing Kinsky an opportunity to be Spurs’ No1 heading into the new campaign.
The Czech international, who displayed remarkable resilience to bounce back after a mistake-ridden performance away to Atletico Madrid in March, has taken great confidence from De Zerbi’s decision, and he underlined his credentials with an impressive display against Chelsea.
Down to 10 men, Tottenham were on the back foot as Chelsea pressed for a second goal after the break.
Chance after chance fell Chelsea’s way, but Kinsky pulled off several excellent stops - including one to tip Estevao’s effort on to the crossbar - as Spurs kept themselves in the game before striking late.
While many of Spurs’ senior stars are still getting up to speed, Kinsky looks poised to hit the ground running when the Premier League returns later this month.
New-look defence needs time
Despite taking a 36-man squad on tour, De Zerbi will have been left frustrated at the number of players who were unable to feature regularly.
While there were some invaluable opportunities for the club’s youngsters, it was not really until the final game of the trip that De Zerbi was able to name a starting lineup that in some way resembled the team which will likely play against Brentford on the opening weekend.
Nowhere was the squad’s staggered returns, owing to injury risk and the World Cup, felt more than in defence, where De Zerbi was constantly left needing to chop and change.
Without Djed Spence or Pedro Porro, De Zerbi filtered through a number of different solutions at right-back, while new signing Jan Paul van Hecke played just 46 minutes across the tour.
Destiny Udogie’s fitness issues meant he did not feature at all, while Andy Robertson looked rusty as he started for the first time in a Spurs shirt against Chelsea.
There were also no minutes for Micky van de Ven, and De Zerbi will be concerned that he does not have much time to try to build a defensive unit that he can rely on.
Tel could offer solution amid winger search
Spurs are in the market for attacking reinforcements before the close of the transfer window, with De Zerbi teasing last week that a deal for an unnamed attacker was nearing completion.
It seems unlikely that Spurs won’t add another winger to their ranks before the summer is out, but Mathys Tel’s performances on tour will at least have given his manager something to think about.
Despite struggling for minutes last season, Tel remained one of Spurs’ most effective attacking threats.
His four league strikes ranked him joint-third in an admittedly goal-shy Spurs team, but he proved himself capable of taking on the onus in attack.
This season, Tel will be aiming to kick on and showcase his talents. De Zerbi likes him, as evidenced by the fact that he tried to sign him while manager of Marseille, and after a couple of promising pre-season displays, the Frenchman will hope to have caught the attention.
An impressive cameo off the bench against Auckland was backed up by a superb free-kick to give Spurs the lead against Sydney, and it was notable how much the team suffered once he was taken off.
Tel has the ability to really develop his attacking output if De Zerbi wants to work with him on arriving more frequently into goal-scoring positions.
Spurs have mainly looked to the transfer market to solve the issues in their squad, but in Tel they have a player who has so much more to give if De Zerbi is willing to be patient.
