Conte's approach and Skipp injury blow
Antonio Conte perhaps sprung a bit of a surprise with his Tottenham team against Rangers after naming all but one of the side that finished last campaign away to Norwich. Mixing things up in the first two summer friendlies against Team K League and Sevilla, the 52-year-old didn't do that at Ibrox as he reverted to his preferred XI.
He may simply have been sending a message out to everyone else that this is his Spurs XI and they need to prove to him exactly why they should be in his strongest lineup. His decision meant that new signings Fraser Forster, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison were all subs, with the bench looking so much stronger than last season and highlighting the good work the club have done in the transfer market this summer.
Conte did have a couple of injury blows to contend with, however, as Ben Davies and Oliver Skipp did not make the trip to Glasgow. The former was absent through the ankle issue he sustained against Sevilla one week ago, with the latter carrying a minor issue, not associated with the pelvic problem that ended his 2022/23 season early.
READ MORE: Tottenham second half ratings: Kane and Son shine as Bissouma, Perisic, Lenglet and Spence debut
Both are key players in Conte's squad and he will have his fingers crossed that the duo are back to full fitness very soon with the new campaign edging ever closer. In the case of Skipp, it's the last thing he needs at present after missing near enough the second part of last term.
Wing-back woes evident early on
As far as starts to a match go, Tottenham were right at it from the first whistle as they flew out of the traps. Having a couple of good attacks early on, the Lilywhites had a brilliant opportunity just past the five-minute mark to really test Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal.
Following an attack down the left, Emerson Royal found himself in a very good position in the area but for some reason he elected against having a shot. Instead, he opted to pass the ball and it culminated with a good chance wasted in such a promising area.
The same then happened again right at the end of the first half, with the Brazilian this time trying to pass to Rodrigo Bentancur when he really could have got his shot away once again. The opportunities and lack of decisiveness was a reminder of Spurs' struggles in the wing-back areas last campaign, something Conte will be hoping is no longer a problem in 2022/23.
With Spence and Perisic brought in to provide some real quality on either side, we could potentially see a big improvement there and see Conte's system really tick in the process.
Missed opportunities
Emerson wasn't the only player guilty of not taking an opportunity in the first half at Ibrox, with a number of the side missing really good openings. Spurs' slick play in the final third saw Dejan Kulusevski find himself in acres of space down the right on a couple of occasions, only for the Swede to cut in on his favoured left foot and subsequently see the chance gone with the angle closed down.
Falling 1-0 behind following Antonio Colak's strike from close range, the Lilywhites really should have been level immediately after but Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg shot wide from the edge of the box after he had been played in with the team having three on one. Not longer after Cristian Romero headed over from point-blank range, although to be fair to the player, Eric Dier's flick-on from Son Heung-min's corner was coming at him at some pace.
Harry Kane also had a chance on goal after Son had played him through with a neat flick but McGregor managed to keep his low effort out. While it will have pleased Conte that they were the superior side and had created chance after chance, their wastefulness in the opening 45 minutes will not have gone down well with him at all.
Thankfully Kane stepped up minutes after the restart and netted two brilliant strikes to ensure Tottenham remain unbeaten in pre-season so far.
Angry Kulusevski
Seeing plenty of the ball in the first half and causing problems for Rangers, Kulusevski was not happy at all 10 minutes after the break as he was given up a yellow card. Running into the box and going past defender John Souttar, the January addition went to ground and believed he should have had a penalty.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case and he instead received a yellow card for simulation while he was laying on the ground. The Sweden international was not impressed and quickly got to his feet to remonstrate with the referee, with Kane going over and holding the player back to stop him getting into more trouble.
Rangers fans make feelings clear
Introducing his substitutes at different stages in the second half, Conte brought four of his players on at the same time with twenty minutes to go. Forster was the first of the quartet to come on, making his Spurs debut in the process after Covid stopped him from playing in South Korea.
A huge hit during his time across Glasgow at Celtic Park, Rangers fans made their feelings known to the shot-stopper as he was booed loudly when entering the pitch. It's fair to say he definitely expected it when coming on, with the ex-Southampton man having a wry smile on his face when Hugo Lloris was running across to the touchline.
It was a different kind of reception for Kane and Son when they exited the pitch, however, as they both received ovations from the home faithful. Summer signing Spence was another of the quartet to come on for the closing stages at Ibrox as he took Kane's place, which subsequently saw Lucas Moura move from right wing-back into the attack.
The new arrival made an instant impact seconds later as he used his pace to get back and produce a fine tackle on Ryan Kent in the box with the winger in a promising position. That will have impressed Conte, his coaching staff and also his new teammates.
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