Spurs continued their pre-season preparations on Wednesday with a 1-3 victory away at League One side MK Dons, who proved to be good opposition as Nuno continues to shape the team and implement his tactics on the squad.
Goals from Heung-min Son, Dele Alli and Lucas Moura secured the victory, however Alfie Whiteman was denied a clean sheet through a freak goal from John Freeman which looped luckily into the far corner.
We picked out three positives that we thought stood out in the game, with friendlies against Chelsea and Arsenal just around the corner.
Alfie Whiteman
Young goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman had a shaky start as he gave away a penalty by taking out Scott Twine – but he made amends for the foul by saving Matt O’Riley’s penalty.
👏 An impressive pre-season for Alfie Whiteman so far. pic.twitter.com/FhW56ZcKDb
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 29, 2021
The 22-year-old also impressed by making a number of eye-catching stops, including one from a free-kick – but his distribution was also particularly notable, including on one occasion when he caught out the home-side defence by finding Steven Bergwijn who made an excellent run beyond the last-man.
Whiteman also impressed against Leyton Orient and Colchester United – pretty much confirming Joe Hart’s exit with Pierluigi Gollini already signed up from Atalanta.
Frightening pace up-front and the return of the press
The high-tempo pressing game appeared to return as Nuno opted to start Heung-min Son, Lucas Moura and Bergwijn in a front-three with Dele Alli just behind leading the first line of defence very effectively.
Superb goal between Dele Alli, Sonny & Moura. Free flowing. #THFC #COYS pic.twitter.com/qKG8IxBcDc
— The Spurs Web (@thespursweb) July 28, 2021
The 25-year-old Englishman was given the captain’s armband for the game, and without trying to fill fans who weren’t at the ground with too much hope that he will come good again, it was an impressive performance and he was vital in putting Spurs on the front foot.
Dele was constantly shouting instructions not just to his younger less experienced teammates, but the likes of Son, Lucas and Bergwijn too, and they all benefitted as time and time again the ball was one deep into the Dons territory.
The pace of the front three caused the home side issues all game and all three goals came about due to the lightning speed in attack that was impossible to defend against.
Trust in Nile John
Central midfielder Nile John made his breakthrough into the first team in the second-half of last season, appearing once off the bench in the Europa League, but regularly training with the senior squad.
💪 90 minutes in the tank for Nile John! pic.twitter.com/0xmMiIJnlV
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 29, 2021
Against MK Dons, the 18-year-old was given the opportunity to play the entire 90 minutes, and despite not having too much of an impact on the game, he didn’t really put a foot wrong either.
After showing flashes of brilliance against the other two teams we have faced in pre-season so far, Nuno clearly trusts the youngster, and should he continue to develop at the same rate he is now, he could save the club from making an expensive transfer to replace the outgoing backup midfielders Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko.