Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Sydney Super Cup with a last-gasp winner from Richarlison, despite going down to 10 men early in the second half.
The north Londoners took the lead in the first half through £100million ($134m) summer signing Sandro Tonali, whose effort from outside the box deflected off Chelsea defender Levi Colwill and wrong-footed goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe. Four minutes later, Chelsea were back on level terms through Estevao, after the Brazilian winger lost Andy Robertson at the far post and headed past Antonin Kinsky, who made a couple of outstanding saves in the game.
Kevin Danso came on at half-time for summer signing Jan Paul van Hecke, but was sent off just minutes later. In the 48th minute, he let the ball run through his legs, trying to free some space but only succeeding in giving Joao Pedro a free run on goal. Attempting to make amends, Danso pulled the striker down and was shown a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Spurs fought well to keep the scores level, and even offered some threat on the break, but it looked as though the game would peter out to a draw and penalties. However, Richarlison had the final say with seconds remaining, tapping home from close range after Jamie Donley’s strike rebounded off the post.
The Athletic’s Simon Johnson and Elias Burke assess the action…
How did Spurs look with 11 men?
Speaking to Spurs’ club media before the game, Roberto De Zerbi said, “When you play against a top club at Chelsea’s level, it’s never a friendly,” and the first-half performance gave an insight into what we might expect in their season opener against Brentford.
After leaning heavily on youngsters against Auckland and Sydney, their team against Chelsea was closer to a first-choice line-up. Antonin Kinsky, De Zerbi’s choice for the No 1 shirt this season, made his first start of the tour behind an experienced back line of Andy Robertson, Van Hecke, Ben Davies and Archie Gray, who has worn the captain’s armband for all three games across New Zealand and Australia.
Led by the defence, who went in hard and firm on Chelsea’s attackers, Tottenham upped the intensity against their London rivals. Conor Gallagher, who started in the No 10 role, was booked for a late challenge on Dario Essugo. Still, Spurs were by far the better team in the first period, keeping Xabi Alonso’s side penned in their own half as they zipped passes side-to-side, without the penetration of a line-breaking pass.
But Spurs lost their grip in the second period when Danso was sent off for a ludicrous decision to dummy the ball through his legs, gifting possession to Joao Pedro and dragging him to the floor. There was no mercy from referee Alex King, who handed Danso his marching orders.
Elias Burke
Is Estevao already back…?
The sight of Estevao looking pretty sharp so soon is an early positive to take from Chelsea’s pre-season.
Estevao suffered a grade four hamstring injury against Manchester United in April. In other words, a severe one. He missed the World Cup and there were doubts whether the Brazil international would be back in time for the pre-season tour.
After looking lively as a second-half substitute against Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday night, the 19-year-old got to start against Tottenham.
Not everything he tried came off, but at least he is already getting vital minutes back into his legs. He was certainly too quick for Robertson to score the equaliser in the first half, running in front of the 32-year-old to head home Jamie Gittens’ cross.
It took a brilliant tip onto the bar from Kinsky to deny Estevao just after half-time, and when the goalkeeper denied him again later on, it prompted the winger to hold his head in his hands.
The Chelsea fans gave Estevao a loud round of applause and cheers when he was replaced by Dastan Satpayev in the 70th minute. They clearly liked what they saw.
Chelsea’s opening Premier League game is against Fulham in three weeks. Estevao is being lined up as a key part of Alonso’s attack and on this evidence, he will be ready from day one.
Simon Johnson
How is Sandro Tonali settling in at Spurs?
With De Zerbi carefully managing the minutes of his most prized assets, Tonali had not started a game on tour before this evening, but he gave Spurs fans in Sydney and those watching at home an encouraging insight into what they might expect from their club-record £100m signing.
Lining up on the left side of a midfield pivot with Lucas Bergvall, Tonali was a little rusty in the opening few minutes of the game. As he grew into the game, Tonali showed flashes of his talent and physicality, charging around the pitch and pressing Chelsea players, and connecting with Bergvall and Mathys Tel through nice one-two combinations.
But tidy passing moves are not worth £100m on their own. Tonali will be judged on his ability to control matches with the ball and be destructive without it, but there is also an expectation that he can provide goals from midfield, as he did in the first half against Chelsea.
Tonali was set up well by Manor Solomon, who saw the Italian’s late run from midfield to the edge of the box and laid a pass into his path. Tonali walked onto the ball and attempted to place a shot to Sharman-Lowe’s near post, but his effort hit Colwill and ended up in the other corner.
His job was made tougher in the second half after Danso’s red card, but he was part of a strong unit that limited Chelsea’s chances while posing a threat on the break. Donley replaced him after 80 minutes, an encouraging sign that he and the other senior players who started and played most of the second half are building up match fitness with a few weeks remaining until the start of the season.
Elias Burke
Is Joao Pedro still Chelsea’s main man upfront?
No one should be too surprised that Chelsea have decided to give Joao Pedro a new contract, even if he has only been at the club for 12 months.
He did not get on the scoresheet against Tottenham in Sydney, but his display demonstrated why he is Chelsea’s first-choice centre-forward.
The Athletic broke the news that Chelsea are rewarding Joao Pedro with fresh terms during the second half.
Joao Pedro, who Alonso has declared is ‘very hungry’ for the new season after not being selected for the World Cup, almost scored the winner from close range. However, after a neat shot on the turn from close range, Kinsky produced a fine stop.
There was lots of neat interplay too, while his work rate to press Tottenham defenders was constant. The only thing that stopped the 24-year-old was tired legs, an inevitability at this stage of pre-season.
Chelsea have other forwards on the books, including Liam Delap, who replaced him with 10 minutes remaining, plus new signing Danny Welbeck. But Joao Pedro stands alone in the pecking order.
Simon Johnson