Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Southampton

Spurs started their Premier League season with an emphatic 4-1 victory against Southampton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

There was a carnival atmosphere in N17 with fans enjoying the warm weather, a productive transfer window and the clubs first Saturday 3pm home in two years.

However, the mood was punctured when James Ward Prowse- often Spurs nemesis- fired Saints into an early lead in the 12th minute.

Moussa Djenepo got the better of Emerson Royal on the left-hand side before cutting back to Ward Prowse on the edge on the area. His half volley left Hugo Lloris with no chance.

While the early goal may have sent shockwaves through the home support, it wasn’t the case for the players. Spurs nearly created openings on several occasions before finally finding a breakthrough on the 21st minute.

Dejan Kulusevski produced a wonderful cross from the right-hand side which was headed home by Ryan Sessegnon.

Tottenham were now on the ascendency and 10 minutes later they were in the lead. Heung Min-Son swung in a cross from the left-hand side which was glanced into the net by Eric Dier. The goal was his first since May 2019.

Spurs were now in total control and created further chances from Son, Ben Davies, and Harry Kane. However, Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu ensured that his team went into half time only 2-1 down.

The second half began with Southampton attempting to limit the opponents time on the ball. However, the Southampton defence shot themselves in the foot on the hour mark.

Emerson Royal was allowed to casually run into the left-hand side of the area. His weak cross along the six-yard box was comically turned into his own net by Mohammed Salisu to put Spurs 3-1 up.

Then, two minutes later, Tottenham put the game to beyond doubt. Royal got behind the Southampton defence again before playing in Kulusevski. Kulusevski then curled his shot past the Southampton keeper to make it 4-1.

Tottenham remained in complete control for the remaining 25 minutes with Southampton defending deep to prevent anymore damage.

Antonio Conte told BBC Sport after the game Antonio Conte told BBC Sport

"We won three important points, but the most important thing was the way we got three points - with really good football, with the ball, without the ball, with important pressure," said Conte. "The way we decided to win the ball after we lost it was another important aspect.”

"We are working to implement football knowledge over the last season. We have seen this team has seven months of work on its back."

In the end it was an easy start to the campaign for Tottenham. It was especially pleasing that result came off the back of quiet performances from Son and Kane.

In recent years Spurs have been overly reliant on the two. It is perhaps a sign that this team can now win games convincingly even if their two talismans aren’t firing.

Spurs now travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea next Sunday. The game should provide a clue into how far Spurs have really come.

LINEUPS:  TOTTENHAM:  Lloris, Romero, Dier, Davies, Emerson, Sessegnon, Bentacur, Hojbjerg, Kulusevski, Son, Kane   SOUTHAMPTON:   Bazunu, Djenepo, Salisu, Bednarek, Valery, Walker-Peters, Romeu, Lavia, Ward-Prowse,  Armstrong, Aribo.

Glasgow Rangers 1-2 Totteham Hotspur

Tottenham stepped up their pre-season preparations with a trip to Glasgow to play a Rangers side who have become used to taking big scalps at Ibrox.

Rangers started brightly, moving the ball around well in possession and giving Spurs very little time to settle on the ball.

However, it was Spurs who created the first chance of the game. Christian Romero fired a pass in Harry Kane in the midfield. In typical fashion he turned and set Dejan Kulusevski off with a sublime through ball down the right-hand side.

The Swedish international then combined with Heung Min Son before forcing a good save from Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal.

Rangers then had several half-chances before finding the breakthrough on the 24th minute.

Rabbi Matondo beat Ryan Sessegnon on the right wing before pulling the ball back to James Tavernier. His brilliant flick found an open Antonio Čolak who tapped in to make it 1-0.

Spurs should have been level a minute later when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg missed a golden opportunity.

It was the first of several chances that Spurs passed up due to poor finishing or great goalkeeping. First, Romero missed a free header from a corner. Then, Son set up Kane only for McGregor to deny Spurs again.

On the balance of chances Spurs were unlucky to go into the break 1-0 down. However, Rangers- a week away from the beginning of their SFL campaign- were still capable of carrying a threat.

The second half started much the same way. Davinson Sanchez put through Ryan Sessegnon only for McGregor to save well again.

It was becoming clear that only a moment of magic was going to do against the former Scottish number 1. In the 50th minute, the equaliser finally came.

Kulusevski broke up a Rangers attack and set Son away. The Korean carried the ball up the pitch before passing to Kane on the corner of the 18-yard box.

Kane sized up Connor Goldson before cutting inside him and unleashing a sensational strike into the top right-hand corner.  

Spurs sensed blood and on the 56th minute that strutted into a 2-1 lead. Hojbjerg picked up a loose ball in midfield before quickly passing forward to Son.

Son combined once again with Kane before the England captain half-volleyed past the Rangers keeper.

Both teams then made several changes with new signings Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perišić, Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet making their debuts for Spurs.

Rather surprisingly, the Scottish crowd also applauded Kane, the England captain, off the pitch. Maybe in recognition of his performance but it certainly drew surprise of many after the game.

Then, Rangers nearly equalised. An out swinging corner was met by Goldson whose header back should have been put away by James Sands.

Fortunately for Spurs, his header was straight at Forster in the Spurs goal. Forster, the former Celtic man, then took glee in slowing the game down, much to the disgust of the Ibrox crowd.

The game then petered out, giving Spurs a satisfying 2-1 win to remain undefeated in pre-season.

Antonio Conte told the post-match press conference: “Today was to improve. We created a lot of chances to score, especially in the first half..and we didn’t score. But I understand that we are working, the players are also a bit tired because pre-season is about making fitness to a high level”.

He continued “But I am happy because of the tactical aspects. We conceded a goal that we could avoid but I am delighted with the attitude, the will and the desire the players are showing me in this pre-season”.

The game celebrated Walter Tull, who was the first black outfield player to play in the football league.

He played for both Rangers and Spurs before joining the army at the beginning of the first world war. Tull died in combat at the battle of Bapaume in March 1918

LINEUPS:  RANGERS: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Barišić, Lundstram, Kamara, Matondo, Lawrence, Kent, Čolak TOTTENHAM:  Lloris, Romero, Dier, Sanchez, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon, Kulusevski, Kane, Son

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Sevilla FC

Tottenham’s last game of their Korean tour took them to Suwon where 44,000 enthusiastic fans packed into the World Cup Stadium.

They came up against a strong and aggressive Sevilla side who looked puncture the feel-good nature of the last week.

Sevilla were the better team for much of a fiery first half that saw them keep the ball brilliantly in possession and pressing the Spurs defence whenever they tried to play out from the back.

Spurs were reduced to a long-range effort from Heung Min Son before Harry Kane had a goal rightly chalked off for offside.

Sevilla should have opened the scoring twice. Eric Lamela, playing his former side for the first time, hit the post from a shot on the edge of the Spurs box.

Then, Rafa Mir latched onto a sloppy back pass from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Luckily for the Dane, Mir could only slice his shot wide of Hugo Lloris near post.

The game then turned ugly when Gonzalo Montiel hacked down Son. Words were exchanged before Son reacted poorly by shoving Montiel resulting in a mass shoving match between the two sides.

Rather amusingly it was Lamela, known to be a wind-up merchant in his Spurs days, who eventually succeeded in diffusing the row.

The second half started with Sevilla in controlled possession. This was until the 50th minute when Rodrigo Bentacur won the ball for Spurs high up the pitch.

He played a smart pass to Son, who beat two mean before setting up Kane for a neat finish to give Spurs a 1-0 lead.

Sevilla did not panic. Their high pressing finally paid off in the 64th minute. Quick two touch football around the 18-yard box allowed Luisimi Cruz to set up Ivan Rakitic for a long range drive that left Lloris with no chance.

Sevilla then had a brilliant chance to take the lead in the 74th minute. Brandon Austin, now in the Spurs goal, played a poor pass into the centre on the pitch.

The ball was quickly played forward to Ivan Romero who luckily pulled his shot wide of the keepers’ right-hand post.

The rest of the game petered out without much incident which left both teams with a satisfying 1-1 draw.

When asked about their time in Korea, Antonio Conte said “We have enjoyed to stay here, we played two friendly games, maybe the first game is a friendly, today was a real game.”

“But for us, in my strategy it is very important to have this type of game in the middle of the work. For me, they were a bit tired. But they have to think, they have to collaborate and build a union. They had a good response in a real game, and Sevilla was a real game.”

Spurs will now return home after a successful tour of Korea. They will travel to Ibrox on Saturday to play Rangers.

LINEUPS:  SEVILLA:  Dmitrović, Montiel, Carmona, Rekik, Acuña, Jordán, Fernando, Lamela, Gómez, Ocampos, Mir  TOTTENHAM:  Lloris, Romero,  Dier, Sanchez, Lucas, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Sessegnon, Richarlison, Kane, Son

K-League All Stars 3-6 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham started their pre-season with a highly entertaining 6-3 victory against the K-League All Stars.

The spectacle was played in front of an enthusiastic 66,000 crowd in Seoul World Cup stadium. The venue is famous for the opening 2002 World cup match which saw Senegal beat France 1-0, the then reigning world champions.

The opening 20 minutes of the match was an even affair. Possibly due to Antonio Conte’s brutal preseason training regime and a K-League squad who are halfway through their domestic season.

The deadlock was finally broken when Eric Dier made a driving run through the K-League midfield. Dier then played a one, two with the returning Bryan Gil before unleashing a left footed shot that screamed into the top corner.

This did not deter a K-League team who then created several half chances before finally equalising at the stroke of half time.

A beautiful cross from the left-hand side of the pitch was met by Gue-Sung Cho. His late run split the spurs centre backs before heading past Brandon Austin to make it 1-1.

Conte made six changes at half time with Hugo Lloris, Japhet Tanganga, Matt Doherty, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Papa Mata Sarr and Harry Kane replacing Austin, Christian Romero, Ryan Sessegnon, Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentacur and Bryan Gil.

Kane’s impact was instant when his dangerous low cross was turned into his own net by Jin-Hyuk Kim to give the tourists a 2-1 lead.

Then, Heung Min Son entered the fray to a hero’s welcome that is normally reserved for rock stars and royalty.

Conte later admitted he held the substitution back a few minutes so Son could get the reception he deserved.

However, the carnival atmosphere was slightly reduced when the K-League All Stars equalised again in the 52nd minute.

Neat play down Spurs left side gave Dutch born, South African international Lars Veldwijk the space to fire home on the edge of the box to make it 2-2.

Kane then got his second goal of the game in 54th minute with a low drive from 25 yards out. The shot nestled into the bottom corner to make it 3-2 to Spurs.

In the 68th minute, Spurs were awarded a penalty when Jun Amano inexplicably handled a routine clearance in the box.

Kane, the regular Spurs penalty taker, handed Son the opportunity to get on the scoresheet in front of his home crowd.

The five-time, Asian footballer of the year, then calmly chipped the ball straight down the middle of the goal to give Spurs a 4-2 lead.

Just when it looked like Spurs were going to run away with the game, a catalogue of errors gave the K-League a way back into the match.

First, Davinson Sanchez made a clumsy tackle on Amano on the edge of the box. The Japanese international then made amends with a free kick that beat a poor two-man wall and Lloris at his near post to make it 4-3.

With 19 minutes to go this exhibition was headed for a grandstand finish. However, on 75th minute, Spurs restored their two-goal lead.

New signing Richarlison played a great through ball to Son who appeared to be clear one on one with the keeper.

However, Dong Min Kim hauled Son down on the edge of the box. Although it was a friendly, the referee had no choice to send Kim off after denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Kane, now clearly enjoying himself, then stepped up and scored his first free kick since 2014. Much like that day against Aston Villa, his shot took a massive deflection before beating the keeper to make it 5-3.

In the 85th minute, Son put the game beyond doubt. Capitalising on a poor cross field pass before rounding the centre back and goalkeeper before slotting home the last goal of the game to make it 6-3.

After the game, Conte told @Spursoffical: “I think it was funny, for the people. To play in front 60,000 people is amazing. For sure, it was exciting.”

“For the first game I have seen good positive things, other things we can improve. We are starting the season; we have to deliver physically. The level of the players is not so high at this moment.”

“We have to try to work. But at the same time, try to get some minutes in all the players of the squad.”

The match was more than just a victory for Spurs. According to Alasdair Gold, the match was the biggest streamed sporting event in Korean history, with two million watching the match online.

Spurs continue their pre-season tour in Korea when they play Sevilla in Suwon on Saturday.

LINEUPS:  K-League All Stars: HW Cho, Kim, Bulthuis, Jeong, Park, Kim, Paik, Palocevic, Kwon, G Cho, Lee. Tottenham: Austin, Romero, Dier, Sanchez, Emerson, Bentacur, Skipp, Sessegnon, Gil, Richarlison, Lucas Moura

West Essex 2-1 Ilford FC

West Essex won a hard-fought encounter against Ilford at Wadham Lodge on Friday evening to improve their hopes of a top ten finish in the Premier Division of the Essex Senior League.

Ilford nearly surprised 91 home fans with their first attack from kick-off. However, Tony Da Silva scuffed his attempted volley into the grateful arms of Kacper Ignatiuk, the West Essex keeper.

Despite the early chance, the next 44 minutes were typical of an end of season, mid table clash, with both teams struggling to create.

This changed at the stroke of half time when Cameron Gray put West Essex 1-0 up on his 201st appearance for the club. David Bell’s pinpoint cross was headed home after the Ilford centre backs failed to track Gray’s late run.

After the break, Ilford put the home side under sustained pressure. In the 65th minute, they thought they had a deserved equaliser, but the goal was ruled offside.

West Essex weathered the storm, and in the 75th minute were awarded a penalty. Samrat Gill was fouled in the box and Reece Clarke drilled his penalty straight down the middle to make it 2-0.

Then, in the 87th minute, Ilford set up a grandstand finish. A corner caused chaos in the box before the ball fell to their captain, Jordan Fisher, who headed home from close range.

Finally, with seconds remaining, Ilford spurned a chance to nick a draw when Da Silva blazed his effort over the bar.

Teams: West Essex:  Ignatiuk; Hardy, Lamb, Okuguni, Gray, Dame, Lo-Seye, Wazola, Clarke, Bell, Gill. Ilford:  Kuzsel; Sharpe, Ahmetaj, Vieira, Racine, Fisher, Harpon, Da Silva, Scarlett, Lazaris, Gomes.