Why Vicario raced across the pitch to talk to Emerson, the Bergvall question and Dominic Solanke
Here are our Tottenham talking points following their 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich to end their pre-season tour in Seoul on Saturday
It’s possible to see that transfers are clearly required to improve Ange Postecoglou’s squad while also acknowledging that his Tottenham side were dead on their feet from the start against Bayern Munich. The two statements are not mutually exclusive.
These have been two deliberately taxing weeks in the heat and humidity of first Tokyo and then South Korea. The temperature has mostly been above 35 degrees Celsius and dips only slightly to around 30 at night for the matches, with the weather experts saying it still feels like 37 with the humidity pushing up towards 70% at night.
You don’t acclimatise unless you live here long enough. It’s draining and two years ago Spurs were in Asia for half the time but still looked leggy in their second game, a 1-1 draw with Sevilla under Antonio Conte. Last summer was too much of a mess of a pre-season to compare due to cancelled matches and opposition dropping out, but it’s been noticeable on this tour how the performances have got more and more tired looking.
hasn’t just been the three senior games but also a behind-closed-doors U21s hour-long game with an early kick-off in Tokyo against Japan’s U20s the previous Thursday. Mostly though it’s been the double sessions nearly every day that have taken it out of the players and Postecoglou had admitted on Friday that his players were showing the effects of the long tour.
Why make them so tired then? It’s an understandable question but it’s like the period of training for a marathon, as you mimic the distance with the longest runs three-quarters of the way through your preparation period before tapering off the training gradually before the big day. In football that fitness of course must then be maintained.
While these modern pre-season tours are mostly aimed towards expanding the global fanbase, serving the current one in Asia and of course making money, managers use them to put players through conditions and training that will make playing 95 minutes-plus in the Premier League feel like a walk in the park.
That’s ultimately the aim of pre-season. The games are simply further training sessions. Tottenham had won every friendly match until Saturday night’s struggle in the Seoul heat. Had they gone through the entire summer with victories, it would not matter a jot. It’s about preparing the team physically and mentally for what lies ahead.
If that means struggling in a friendly or two through fatigue then that’s worth it for the overall goal as you tailor the programme to have players in the perfect condition for the opening match of the season. As Postecoglou pointed out, you don’t get points for winning pre-season matches.
Bayern Munich landed in Seoul on Thursday morning, just over 48 hours before the game, and looked suitably less drained, although they did need to make changes in the second half as they started to feel the heat.
Even Spurs centre-back Radu Dragusin, with only six days under his belt on this tour after returning for the Korea leg, looking brighter than his team-mates.
It’s also worth noting that Dragusin was Spurs’ only available central defender and their only fit left-back, Ben Davies, was playing alongside him. In the second half, midfielder Oliver Skipp and right-back Emerson Royal took on the centre-back roles, with attacking midfielder Jamie Donley coming on at left-back again.
At one point during a brief break in play, Guglielmo Vicario came sprinting out of his goal in order to speak to both Skipp and Emerson, who were on the halfway line. Whatever was said, and it looked like instructions as they were both nodding, Spurs didn’t let much get past them beyond that point.
So knackered players and a makeshift defence, made up for much of the game by midfielders or full-backs, up against the fresher German giants, who had themselves in midweek needed to equalise to grab a 1-1 draw at lower league Duren.
That’s not to say the Tottenham players didn’t make mistakes and leave space for Vincent Kompany’s side to exploit on countless occasions, but much of that was down to their physical condition and the ability of the makeshift defence to deal with it.
Take Archie Gray for example. The 18-year-old has looked cool, calm and composed despite the heat of the previous two tour friendlies and with plenty of running in his legs. In this game, just 20 minutes in, the teenager was bent over with his hands on his thighs trying to gulp in as much air as he possibly could.
The teenager duly made mistakes, misplacing passes in the number six role and struggling to cover the ground in a key position required to keep Bayern at bay.
The Bavarian giants used their quality and freshness to dominate the first half in particular. They only managed one goal when they should have scored more. It was a messy one as well as Vicario misplaced a pass for Djed Spence and it was cut out in the Spurs box. While the Spurs goalkeeper saved the initial shot with his leg, Gabriel Vidovic volleyed the loose ball back through the legs of the Italian.
Misplaced passes from the midfield kept putting Tottenham’s makeshift defence in trouble, but it just about held firm with Pape Matar Sarr later denied at the other end when running through on to an overhit, tired pass from Son Heung-min.
Leon Goretzka doubled Bayern’s lead in the second half after his first shot was again saved by Vicario but he poked home the follow-up. Spurs grabbed a goal back with a powerful effort from Pedro Porro that flew past the keeper and they had chances to share the spoils, Lucas Bergvall in particular with a big opportunity put wide.
There is not too much to be judged from this match for most of the senior players looked out on their feet from the moment it began. Even the super-fit Dejan Kulusevski struggled to keep up with Son and Sarr for that big second half chance. How he managed to later race back to make a vital interception in the second half is anyone’s guess although he looked like he might keel over afterwards.
Son had a similar moment or two when he seemed to be really struggling in the humidity and his pass to Sarr for a big chance in the second period was tired in a moment it needed to be sharp.
After one sprint to the Bayern box, after which he pulled his low cross behind everyone, Brennan Johnson needed to take some time out, slumped over the advertising hoardings before he could continue
From home it might have looked like simply a poor display. It was poor, but inside the stadium, the main reasons for the players’ struggles were clear. It was similar to the opening period of the second half against Team K League on Wednesday when the opposition changed their entire XI and Spurs, who had only switched a couple of players, suddenly looked very leggy.
“I thought it was a tough game for us,” said Postecoglou after Saturday’s defeat. “Fair to say the players are feeling the effects of us working hard for the last 10 days here and we didn’t look really sharp, particularly in that first half and we had to work hard but the players, I think for us, what’s important is I think we’ll get enormous benefit out of the camp we’ve had here and I think we paid a price a little bit tonight for the work we’ve done.”
He added: “I think for us, as I said, the really important thing was that we got 10 days of really good solid training. The guys will feel the benefits of what we’ve done here when we get back.
“Just working hard in this weather day after day, I’ve lived here, I know it can become pretty draining, mentally and physically, but I think for the most part, the players have tried to push through that and we’ll get an enormous benefit from a physical perspective out of the 10 days we were here and from the games.
“I mean, there’s some stuff there that we did really well, other stuff we’ve still got to improve on, but I think it’s allowed us to get a really good base now, fitness wise. So when we get back, we obviously got to integrate two or three other players who are coming back and I’ve got a two week lead-in to freshen them up for the season ahead.”
When asked whether he has any concerns leading into the season after that match, the Australian shot that down.
No, as I just said, pre-season is about getting prepared for a season. We haven’t had Destiny [Udogie] either. I mean, our starting back four, we haven’t had three of those players, which we knew,” he explained.
“So I think what’s more important for me is like I said, we’ve had 10 good days of hard work, which you need to do in pre-season.
“As far as I know, you don’t get points for friendly games. So for me what’s important is that we use these 10 days to go back home and start preparing for the first league game.”
In theory, Spurs should look more like themselves in their second clash with Bayern next Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven likely to be able to play a half each alongside Radu Dragusin after as week’s training to shore up the defence and Destiny Udogie also involved
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Lucas Bergvall controls the ball under pressure from Leon Goretzka during the pre-season friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium
Lucas Bergvall controls the ball under pressure from Leon Goretzka during the pre-season friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium
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It’s possible to see that transfers are clearly required to improve Ange Postecoglou’s squad while also acknowledging that his Tottenham side were dead on their feet from the start against Bayern Munich. The two statements are not mutually exclusive.
These have been two deliberately taxing weeks in the heat and humidity of first Tokyo and then South Korea. The temperature has mostly been above 35 degrees Celsius and dips only slightly to around 30 at night for the matches, with the weather experts saying it still feels like 37 with the humidity pushing up towards 70% at night.
You don’t acclimatise unless you live here long enough. It’s draining and two years ago Spurs were in Asia for half the time but still looked leggy in their second game, a 1-1 draw with Sevilla under Antonio Conte. Last summer was too much of a mess of a pre-season to compare due to cancelled matches and opposition dropping out, but it’s been noticeable on this tour how the performances have got more and more tired looking.
It hasn’t just been the three senior games but also a behind-closed-doors U21s hour-long game with an early kick-off in Tokyo against Japan’s U20s the previous Thursday. Mostly though it’s been the double sessions nearly every day that have taken it out of the players and Postecoglou had admitted on Friday that his players were showing the effects of the long tour.
Why make them so tired then? It’s an understandable question but it’s like the period of training for a marathon, as you mimic the distance with the longest runs three-quarters of the way through your preparation period before tapering off the training gradually before the big day. In football that fitness of course must then be maintained.
While these modern pre-season tours are mostly aimed towards expanding the global fanbase, serving the current one in Asia and of course making money, managers use them to put players through conditions and training that will make playing 95 minutes-plus in the Premier League feel like a walk in the park.
READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou confirms transfer focus for striker who ‘fits mould’ amid Dominic Solanke links
READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou delivers Djed Spence verdict that should excite Tottenham supporters
That’s ultimately the aim of pre-season. The games are simply further training sessions. Tottenham had won every friendly match until Saturday night’s struggle in the Seoul heat. Had they gone through the entire summer with victories, it would not matter a jot. It’s about preparing the team physically and mentally for what lies ahead.
If that means struggling in a friendly or two through fatigue then that’s worth it for the overall goal as you tailor the programme to have players in the perfect condition for the opening match of the season. As Postecoglou pointed out, you don’t get points for winning pre-season matches.
Bayern Munich landed in Seoul on Thursday morning, just over 48 hours before the game, and looked suitably less drained, although they did need to make changes in the second half as they started to feel the heat.
Even Spurs centre-back Radu Dragusin, with only six days under his belt on this tour after returning for the Korea leg, looking brighter than his team-mates.
It’s also worth noting that Dragusin was Spurs’ only available central defender and their only fit left-back, Ben Davies, was playing alongside him. In the second half, midfielder Oliver Skipp and right-back Emerson Royal took on the centre-back roles, with attacking midfielder Jamie Donley coming on at left-back again.
At one point during a brief break in play, Guglielmo Vicario came sprinting out of his goal in order to speak to both Skipp and Emerson, who were on the halfway line. Whatever was said, and it looked like instructions as they were both nodding, Spurs didn’t let much get past them beyond that point.
So knackered players and a makeshift defence, made up for much of the game by midfielders or full-backs, up against the fresher German giants, who had themselves in midweek needed to equalise to grab a 1-1 draw at lower league Duren.
That’s not to say the Tottenham players didn’t make mistakes and leave space for Vincent Kompany’s side to exploit on countless occasions, but much of that was down to their physical condition and the ability of the makeshift defence to deal with it.
Take Archie Gray for example. The 18-year-old has looked cool, calm and composed despite the heat of the previous two tour friendlies and with plenty of running in his legs. In this game, just 20 minutes in, the teenager was bent over with his hands on his thighs trying to gulp in as much air as he possibly could.
The teenager duly made mistakes, misplacing passes in the number six role and struggling to cover the ground in a key position required to keep Bayern at bay.
The Bavarian giants used their quality and freshness to dominate the first half in particular. They only managed one goal when they should have scored more. It was a messy one as well as Vicario misplaced a pass for Djed Spence and it was cut out in the Spurs box. While the Spurs goalkeeper saved the initial shot with his leg, Gabriel Vidovic volleyed the loose ball back through the legs of the Italian.
Misplaced passes from the midfield kept putting Tottenham’s makeshift defence in trouble, but it just about held firm with Pape Matar Sarr later denied at the other end when running through on to an overhit, tired pass from Son Heung-min.
Leon Goretzka doubled Bayern’s lead in the second half after his first shot was again saved by Vicario but he poked home the follow-up. Spurs grabbed a goal back with a powerful effort from Pedro Porro that flew past the keeper and they had chances to share the spoils, Lucas Bergvall in particular with a big opportunity put wide.
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Ange Postecoglou during the pre-season friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium in South Korea
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There is not too much to be judged from this match for most of the senior players looked out on their feet from the moment it began. Even the super-fit Dejan Kulusevski struggled to keep up with Son and Sarr for that big second half chance. How he managed to later race back to make a vital interception in the second half is anyone’s guess although he looked like he might keel over afterwards.
Son had a similar moment or two when he seemed to be really struggling in the humidity and his pass to Sarr for a big chance in the second period was tired in a moment it needed to be sharp.
After one sprint to the Bayern box, after which he pulled his low cross behind everyone, Brennan Johnson needed to take some time out, slumped over the advertising hoardings before he could continue.
From home it might have looked like simply a poor display. It was poor, but inside the stadium, the main reasons for the players’ struggles were clear. It was similar to the opening period of the second half against Team K League on Wednesday when the opposition changed their entire XI and Spurs, who had only switched a couple of players, suddenly looked very leggy.
“I thought it was a tough game for us,” said Postecoglou after Saturday’s defeat. “Fair to say the players are feeling the effects of us working hard for the last 10 days here and we didn’t look really sharp, particularly in that first half and we had to work hard but the players, I think for us, what’s important is I think we’ll get enormous benefit out of the camp we’ve had here and I think we paid a price a little bit tonight for the work we’ve done.”
He added: “I think for us, as I said, the really important thing was that we got 10 days of really good solid training. The guys will feel the benefits of what we’ve done here when we get back.
“Just working hard in this weather day after day, I’ve lived here, I know it can become pretty draining, mentally and physically, but I think for the most part, the players have tried to push through that and we’ll get an enormous benefit from a physical perspective out of the 10 days we were here and from the games.
“I mean, there’s some stuff there that we did really well, other stuff we’ve still got to improve on, but I think it’s allowed us to get a really good base now, fitness wise. So when we get back, we obviously got to integrate two or three other players who are coming back and I’ve got a two week lead-in to freshen them up for the season ahead.”
When asked whether he has any concerns leading into the season after that match, the Australian shot that down.
“No, as I just said, pre-season is about getting prepared for a season. We haven’t had Destiny [Udogie] either. I mean, our starting back four, we haven’t had three of those players, which we knew,” he explained.
“So I think what’s more important for me is like I said, we’ve had 10 good days of hard work, which you need to do in pre-season.
“As far as I know, you don’t get points for friendly games. So for me what’s important is that we use these 10 days to go back home and start preparing for the first league game.”
In theory, Spurs should look more like themselves in their second clash with Bayern next Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven likely to be able to play a half each alongside Radu Dragusin after as week’s training to shore up the defence and Destiny Udogie also involved.
Lucas Bergvall is really making a case to start for Tottenham following a very strong pre-season
Lucas Bergvall is really making a case to start for Tottenham following a very strong pre-season (Image: Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
While Postecoglou won’t be able to use this game to make too many judgements on those who played, he will look across the three matches in Asia and be able to see who will be ready for the season’s start.
Of the senior players, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro have looked the sharpest of the bunch, while James Maddison and Yves Bissouma have been more inconsistent with flashes of their ability but also periods when they struggled to impact games.
Bissouma has been used in the second half of both of Spurs’ matches in Korea meaning his minutes have not been built up yet. Whether that happened because Postecoglou does not believe he was able to handle an hour of football yet or that Archie Gray simply deserved more time in the number six remains to be seen.
The Mali international came straight into the Bayern game in the second period and within moments had let a ball roll under his foot and across the pitch. Postecoglou’s light-hearted jibe to Bissouma after his wonderful goal at QPR that “it’s only a friendly Biss” seems all the more pertinent three games on.
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Lucas Bergvall controls the ball under pressure from Leon Goretzka during the pre-season friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium
Lucas Bergvall controls the ball under pressure from Leon Goretzka during the pre-season friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium
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It’s possible to see that transfers are clearly required to improve Ange Postecoglou’s squad while also acknowledging that his Tottenham side were dead on their feet from the start against Bayern Munich. The two statements are not mutually exclusive.
These have been two deliberately taxing weeks in the heat and humidity of first Tokyo and then South Korea. The temperature has mostly been above 35 degrees Celsius and dips only slightly to around 30 at night for the matches, with the weather experts saying it still feels like 37 with the humidity pushing up towards 70% at night.
You don’t acclimatise unless you live here long enough. It’s draining and two years ago Spurs were in Asia for half the time but still looked leggy in their second game, a 1-1 draw with Sevilla under Antonio Conte. Last summer was too much of a mess of a pre-season to compare due to cancelled matches and opposition dropping out, but it’s been noticeable on this tour how the performances have got more and more tired looking.
It hasn’t just been the three senior games but also a behind-closed-doors U21s hour-long game with an early kick-off in Tokyo against Japan’s U20s the previous Thursday. Mostly though it’s been the double sessions nearly every day that have taken it out of the players and Postecoglou had admitted on Friday that his players were showing the effects of the long tour.
Why make them so tired then? It’s an understandable question but it’s like the period of training for a marathon, as you mimic the distance with the longest runs three-quarters of the way through your preparation period before tapering off the training gradually before the big day. In football that fitness of course must then be maintained.
While these modern pre-season tours are mostly aimed towards expanding the global fanbase, serving the current one in Asia and of course making money, managers use them to put players through conditions and training that will make playing 95 minutes-plus in the Premier League feel like a walk in the park.
READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou confirms transfer focus for striker who ‘fits mould’ amid Dominic Solanke links
READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou delivers Djed Spence verdict that should excite Tottenham supporters
That’s ultimately the aim of pre-season. The games are simply further training sessions. Tottenham had won every friendly match until Saturday night’s struggle in the Seoul heat. Had they gone through the entire summer with victories, it would not matter a jot. It’s about preparing the team physically and mentally for what lies ahead.
If that means struggling in a friendly or two through fatigue then that’s worth it for the overall goal as you tailor the programme to have players in the perfect condition for the opening match of the season. As Postecoglou pointed out, you don’t get points for winning pre-season matches.
Bayern Munich landed in Seoul on Thursday morning, just over 48 hours before the game, and looked suitably less drained, although they did need to make changes in the second half as they started to feel the heat.
Even Spurs centre-back Radu Dragusin, with only six days under his belt on this tour after returning for the Korea leg, looking brighter than his team-mates.
It’s also worth noting that Dragusin was Spurs’ only available central defender and their only fit left-back, Ben Davies, was playing alongside him. In the second half, midfielder Oliver Skipp and right-back Emerson Royal took on the centre-back roles, with attacking midfielder Jamie Donley coming on at left-back again.
At one point during a brief break in play, Guglielmo Vicario came sprinting out of his goal in order to speak to both Skipp and Emerson, who were on the halfway line. Whatever was said, and it looked like instructions as they were both nodding, Spurs didn’t let much get past them beyond that point.
So knackered players and a makeshift defence, made up for much of the game by midfielders or full-backs, up against the fresher German giants, who had themselves in midweek needed to equalise to grab a 1-1 draw at lower league Duren.
That’s not to say the Tottenham players didn’t make mistakes and leave space for Vincent Kompany’s side to exploit on countless occasions, but much of that was down to their physical condition and the ability of the makeshift defence to deal with it.
Take Archie Gray for example. The 18-year-old has looked cool, calm and composed despite the heat of the previous two tour friendlies and with plenty of running in his legs. In this game, just 20 minutes in, the teenager was bent over with his hands on his thighs trying to gulp in as much air as he possibly could.
The teenager duly made mistakes, misplacing passes in the number six role and struggling to cover the ground in a key position required to keep Bayern at bay.
The Bavarian giants used their quality and freshness to dominate the first half in particular. They only managed one goal when they should have scored more. It was a messy one as well as Vicario misplaced a pass for Djed Spence and it was cut out in the Spurs box. While the Spurs goalkeeper saved the initial shot with his leg, Gabriel Vidovic volleyed the loose ball back through the legs of the Italian.
Misplaced passes from the midfield kept putting Tottenham’s makeshift defence in trouble, but it just about held firm with Pape Matar Sarr later denied at the other end when running through on to an overhit, tired pass from Son Heung-min.
Leon Goretzka doubled Bayern’s lead in the second half after his first shot was again saved by Vicario but he poked home the follow-up. Spurs grabbed a goal back with a powerful effort from Pedro Porro that flew past the keeper and they had chances to share the spoils, Lucas Bergvall in particular with a big opportunity put wide.
RELATED ARTICLES
Ange Postecoglou during the pre-season friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich at Seoul World Cup Stadium in South Korea
Every word Ange Postecoglou said on why Tottenham lost to Bayern plus Bergvall and Devine impactfootballlondon
Bergvall has impressed in a Spurs shirt so far
Tottenham second half player ratings vs Bayern Munich – Bergvall and Devine shine, Porro rocketfootballlondon
There is not too much to be judged from this match for most of the senior players looked out on their feet from the moment it began. Even the super-fit Dejan Kulusevski struggled to keep up with Son and Sarr for that big second half chance. How he managed to later race back to make a vital interception in the second half is anyone’s guess although he looked like he might keel over afterwards.
Son had a similar moment or two when he seemed to be really struggling in the humidity and his pass to Sarr for a big chance in the second period was tired in a moment it needed to be sharp.
After one sprint to the Bayern box, after which he pulled his low cross behind everyone, Brennan Johnson needed to take some time out, slumped over the advertising hoardings before he could continue.
From home it might have looked like simply a poor display. It was poor, but inside the stadium, the main reasons for the players’ struggles were clear. It was similar to the opening period of the second half against Team K League on Wednesday when the opposition changed their entire XI and Spurs, who had only switched a couple of players, suddenly looked very leggy.
“I thought it was a tough game for us,” said Postecoglou after Saturday’s defeat. “Fair to say the players are feeling the effects of us working hard for the last 10 days here and we didn’t look really sharp, particularly in that first half and we had to work hard but the players, I think for us, what’s important is I think we’ll get enormous benefit out of the camp we’ve had here and I think we paid a price a little bit tonight for the work we’ve done.”
He added: “I think for us, as I said, the really important thing was that we got 10 days of really good solid training. The guys will feel the benefits of what we’ve done here when we get back.
“Just working hard in this weather day after day, I’ve lived here, I know it can become pretty draining, mentally and physically, but I think for the most part, the players have tried to push through that and we’ll get an enormous benefit from a physical perspective out of the 10 days we were here and from the games.
“I mean, there’s some stuff there that we did really well, other stuff we’ve still got to improve on, but I think it’s allowed us to get a really good base now, fitness wise. So when we get back, we obviously got to integrate two or three other players who are coming back and I’ve got a two week lead-in to freshen them up for the season ahead.”
When asked whether he has any concerns leading into the season after that match, the Australian shot that down.
“No, as I just said, pre-season is about getting prepared for a season. We haven’t had Destiny [Udogie] either. I mean, our starting back four, we haven’t had three of those players, which we knew,” he explained.
“So I think what’s more important for me is like I said, we’ve had 10 good days of hard work, which you need to do in pre-season.
“As far as I know, you don’t get points for friendly games. So for me what’s important is that we use these 10 days to go back home and start preparing for the first league game.”
In theory, Spurs should look more like themselves in their second clash with Bayern next Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven likely to be able to play a half each alongside Radu Dragusin after as week’s training to shore up the defence and Destiny Udogie also involved.
Lucas Bergvall is really making a case to start for Tottenham following a very strong pre-season
Lucas Bergvall is really making a case to start for Tottenham following a very strong pre-season (Image: Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
While Postecoglou won’t be able to use this game to make too many judgements on those who played, he will look across the three matches in Asia and be able to see who will be ready for the season’s start.
Of the senior players, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro have looked the sharpest of the bunch, while James Maddison and Yves Bissouma have been more inconsistent with flashes of their ability but also periods when they struggled to impact games.
Bissouma has been used in the second half of both of Spurs’ matches in Korea meaning his minutes have not been built up yet. Whether that happened because Postecoglou does not believe he was able to handle an hour of football yet or that Archie Gray simply deserved more time in the number six remains to be seen.
The Mali international came straight into the Bayern game in the second period and within moments had let a ball roll under his foot and across the pitch. Postecoglou’s light-hearted jibe to Bissouma after his wonderful goal at QPR that “it’s only a friendly Biss” seems all the more pertinent three games on.
Pape Matar Sarr was more of his usual driving force on Saturday after mixed displays in the previous two games, his fitness always high. Brennan Johnson has not found his rhythm yet. He’s put in some dangerous balls over the tour but his touch has been inconsistent.
One Porro ball in the first half on Saturday was perfect and into his run, but the Wales international ended up sending it out for a goal kick. The second half sprint that led to him needing time to recover against an advertising hoarding only happened because his first touch was poor and the ball flew far, far ahead of him. He was fortunate that the keeper hesitated rather than coming out. In the end, Johnson’s pass was behind Son at the other side of the goal.
Saturday was a big test for Djed Spence. The 23-year-old was handed his first start this pre-season on the day after Postecoglou told football.london that he had a big chance to be a part of his squad this campaign after impressing everyone in recent weeks.
“I think with Djed, for me we got him back into pre-season and weโre judging him on his merits. He’s a Tottenham player. To be fair to him, I think he’s been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he’s trained and his general attitude,” said the Spurs boss. “But a lot of these things are in the players’ hands themselves. They kind of decide their own future in many respects and I think Djed is in that boat.
“I think there’s an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would be definitely somebody who could [contribute] with the attributes he has. I thought last year there was a chance but it didn’t quite work out. For those kind of things, I think
sometimes players really wait for direction when they can really take control of their own direction.”
He added: “Djedโs here. He is a Spurs player. He’s a very good player who fits into our football and so it’s as much about him as it is about me making a decision. As you see right now, he’s been very good pre-season, he’s been very good on the tour. He’s impressed all the coaches, not just myself. For some of them itโs the first time they’ve worked with him and they’ve all been really impressed with him.
“Maybe he’s learned a couple of things over the last couple of years about himself and hopefully we can sort of bear the fruit of that.”
The right-back had to show what he could do on the left. It was a shaky start, with Vicario making a mess of getting a pass to him that he probably should not have called for as he was being closed down.
Then Bayern got in down his side a few times, but to Spence’s credit, after looking too eager to impress, he began to find his composure and cut out a couple of passes down his flank with sliding interceptions in front of Postecoglou which brought praise from the boss.
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