Tottenham Hotspur edged past Sydney FC 4, 2 on penalties after a 1, 1 draw in the Sydney Super Cup at Allianz Stadium. Roberto De Zerbi's side controlled long spells before surviving a late surge from the host team.
Mathys Tel opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a stunning effort. The young forward curled a direct free-kick beyond the reach of the goalkeeper into the top corner.
De Zerbi rotated his side at the interval, handing debuts to summer arrivals Andrew Robertson and Sandro Tonali. Both players brought immediate composure to the Tottenham midfield and defense.
Tottenham almost doubled their advantage four minutes into the second half. Substitute Lucá Williams-Barnett made an instant impact, rattling the crossbar with a striking effort from distance.
Sydney FC equalized ten minutes after the break through Takahiro Sekine. The winger pounced on an accidental mistake by Spurs defender Kōta Takai to slot home from close range.
Midfielder Mateus Fernandes missed out on the matchday squad altogether. Reports confirmed the player was merely rested for fatigue management rather than suffering an injury concern.
With the scores remaining level at full time, the match went straight to a penalty shootout. Williams-Barnett impudently chipped in a Panenka penalty, while both Tonali and Robertson converted their spot-kicks.
Martin Dúbravka saved Popovic's kick to hand Tottenham the advantage. Despite Jamie Donley seeing his effort saved, Sydney missed another attempt to seal Spurs' victory in Australia.
"I think we played well, especially in the first half, " De Zerbi said after the match. "In the second half, we changed many players, but good quality of play and good performances today."
"We have to manage the minutes we give to the players, " De Zerbi added regarding his rotation. "The young players are doing very well, they give us more solutions."
