Wednesday’s clash against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup gave Tottenham Hotspur a sight of what life in the Championship may well have been like had they actually suffered relegation last season.
Indeed, as they welcomed the second-tier side to north London in midweek, they were not met with much resistance as Roberto De Zerbi’s charges swept the Addicks to one side, comprehensively beating Nathan Jones’ men 5-1.
It took the Lilywhites a little while to get going but once Mikey Moore had broken the deadlock, the floodgates seemed to open.
Further goals from Dominic Solanke, Kevin Danso, Savio and Ben Davies sealed the rout and Spurs’ passage into the next round of the cup.
How Mikey Moore staked his claim against Charlton
This has been an interesting summer for Moore. At one stage, it looked as though the teenager was heading out on loan and indeed he may still do so.
After all, his performance against Brentford at the weekend simply wasn’t up to scratch. Then again, whose display was actually encouraging?
Hauled off on 68 minutes, he left the field having missed two big chances. He also failed to provide a key pass as Spurs hunted for their first goal of the new campaign.
Well, when the cup came around in midweek, he put in a performance to savour. Indeed, it was Moore who scored Tottenham’s first goal of the new season when he cut inside from the right and hammered the ball past goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks. It was simply too powerful for the Charlton stopper to get his hands on.
It wasn’t long before Moore was involved again, this time on hand to provide an assist for Solanke’s first goal of the new campaign.
It was a captivating performance from the 19-year-old who ended up carving the visitors to shreds. Moore performed a whopping 26 carries, seven of which were progressive. He attempted eight dribbles with three proving to be successful.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
So, the question now is what will De Zerbi do with the youngster in the final few days of the transfer window? He was well below par in the Premier League a few days ago but was devastating against lower league opposition.
A loan move would still be the smart call. After all, they’ve just signed a player who looks like he is levels above the teen.
Spurs may have found their new Son vs Charlton
This was a great night for plenty on the Spurs team. Mateus Fernandes’ first competitive start went about as well as it could have done, supplying an assist.
After a rocky debut last weekend, Jan Paul van Hecke was also a rock at the back, winning all four of his defensive duels. It was great to see Solanke get back on the scoresheet too after a troubling 2025/26 campaign.
Yet, Moore aside, the biggest positive was undoubtedly the impact of Savio from the bench. The Brazilian only officially became a Tottenham player on Tuesday but in a 20 minute or so cameo, was scintillating from the right flank.
Speaking after the player arrived this week, De Zerbi set the winger a challenge; to score more goals. “If you analyse the best wingers in the world they score 10-15 goals a season and he has the qualities. Maybe it is a habit and he had to get the habit. We need to increase his chances to score,” the Italian said.
Well, what a response Savio sent to his manager on his Spurs debut. Within ten minutes, the 22-year-old had found the net in clinical fashion.
There was something of a Heung-min Son vibe to his play, albeit from the opposite side that Sonny used to operate. It was chaotic, it was frantic, it was busy, but all in the right way.
Like Son, he was always looking to get at his man and he found the net in a similarly classy fashion to the South Korean. Savio darted inside, checked past his man and then slammed the ball in at the near post.
It was a phenomenal piece of play that ended with a cracking finish. How Spurs could have done with that last season.
|
Savio vs Charlton |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
19 |
|
Touches |
11 |
|
Accurate passes |
3/5 (75) |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Shots |
2 |
|
Key passes |
2 |
|
Carries |
6 |
|
Progressive carries |
4 |
|
Duels won |
1/2 |
If that wasn’t enough, the new arrival also had a hand in the final goal of the game, Tottenham’s fifth. At first glance, it looked as though the former Man City man had found the net himself. He certainly celebrated like it.
The ball rolled into the bottom corner after the winger had found space inside the penalty area and he raced away to the corner flag before uprooting it from the ground. The replays, however, showed that the final touch came off Davies.
Savio will no doubt have tougher tests in Spurs colours but if he plays like that more often, he will quickly become a fan favourite.
Son may well have only left a year ago but their wide options without him looked rather bleak. The Brazilian is on course to change that.
