Mateus Fernandes scored a stunning winner mere minutes into his Tottenham debut as Roberto De Zerbi’s side opened their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat of MK Dons.
Spurs have plenty of work to do this summer as they work to bed in a number of fresh faces and return to the upper echelons of the Premier League, and De Zerbi will be encouraged by his side’s first outing.
Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Martin Dubravka all impressed as they played their first minutes in Tottenham colours behind closed doors at Hotspur Way, with Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson watching on from the sidelines.
Tottenham made a lively start to the match as they faced the newly promoted Dons, with Dominic Solanke denied an opener seconds in by Craig MacGillivray.
They would not have to wait much longer for the opener, though. With less than three minutes played, a Mathys Tel corner was punched clear as far as the debutant Fernandes, whose sweet first-time volley rattled in off the post to put Spurs one to the good.
There was plenty more to be impressed with in the opening exchanges. The midfield three of Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Conor Gallagher worked a treat, supported by a typically composed Archie Gray performance. Manor Solomon, returning from a loan spell at Fiorentina, had plenty of joy down the right flank, as did Rio Kyrematen on the opposite flank.
MK Dons offered little going forward, but what few chances they had were defended well by Kota Takai, who missed most of last summer’s pre-season campaign with an injury, and the returning Ben Davies, playing for the first time since breaking his ankle in the spring.
Chances, on the whole, were few and far between, but there was plenty for De Zerbi to smile about as the half-time whistle blew and he lined up ten changes. Young prospects Luca Williams-Barnett, Mikey Moore and Dane Scarlett were among the fresh faces introduced, alongside veterans Richarlison and Martin Dubravka.
The direction of play swung in the Dons' favour with those adjustments made, though they could not find their way through a back line bolstered by the inspired Malachi Hardy.
Both sides had goals ruled out in the second half. Richarlison had the ball in the back of the net after a tidy dinked finish but was denied by the offside flag, while a Dons’ goal from a corner was chalked off for a foul on Dubravka.
The visitors may have been directing traffic, but Spurs had two gilt-edge chances to add a second in the late stages. Richarlison drew a routine parry from MacGillivray with a close-range shot, before Yang Min-Hyeok missed an open goal after latching onto a superb pass from Williams-Barnett.
Dubravka, debuting with a new club for the eighth time in his senior career, also managed to contribute to a positive day for Tottenham debutants, denying a pacey headed effort with a smart parry ten minutes from time.
