Tottenham Hotspur continued their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw against Sydney FC at the Allianz Stadium.
Roberto De Zerbi named an intriguing Spurs XI which included midfielder Lucas Bergvall despite strong interest from several Premier League sides, while there was no place in the 25-man squad for £85million signing Mateus Fernandes.
On a chilly evening in Sydney, Mathys Tel was a livewire in the opening phases of the contest and the Frenchman broke the deadlock on 29 minutes with a delightful free-kick that bent over the wall and into the top corner.
Spurs fashioned plenty of opportunities in the opening half but only had one goal to show for their efforts, and they were pegged back early in the second half when Kota Takai inadvertently played a pass into the path of Sydney's Takahiro Sekine, who dispatched the ball beyond Martin Dubravka.
De Zerbi awarded minutes to a raft of academy players including Mason Melia, Tyler Tingey and Harry Byrne as Andy Robertson and Sandro Tonali featured in a Spurs side that boasted a youthful complexion in the latter stages.
With the game edging towards an unwanted penalty shootout, highly-rated prospect Luca Williams-Barnett did his utmost to win the match for Tottenham, carving several chances of his own by showcasing excellent control and agility before firing at goal, but he was unable to force a breakthrough.
The prodigious midfielder stepped up and confidently dispatched the first spot-kick, with Tonali, Robertson and Dane Scarlett slotting home their penalties to keep their Sydney Super Cup dream alive.
Sydney FC v Tottenham Match Stats
Sydney FC | Tottenham Hotspur | |
42% | Possession | 58% |
0.73 | Expected Goals | 1.43 |
7 | Shots | 18 |
3 | Shots on Target | 5 |
2 | Big Chances | 6 |
4 | Goalkeeper Saves | 2 |
0 | Corners | 7 |
484 | Total Passes | 667 |
87% | Pass Accuracy | 91% |
12/19 | Tackles | 5/9 |
25 | Clearances | 0 |
1 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
Sydney FC v Tottenham Timeline
29' - Goal Tottenham Scored by Mathys Tel.
37' - Yellow card for Alexandar Popovic (SYD).
46' - Kota Takai replaced Ben Davies, Sandro Tonali replaced Lucas Bergvall, Luca Williams-Barnet replaced Mathys Tel.
55' - Goal Sydney. Scored by Takahiro Sekine.
65' - Yang Min-Hyuk replaced Manor Solomon, Dane Scarlett replaced Richarlison, Andy Robertson replaced Tye Hall, Mason Melia replaced Conor Gallagher.
66' - Jamie Donley replaced Archie Gray.
78' - Tyler Tingey replaced Malachi Hardy, Harry Byrne replaced Rio Kyerematen.
