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Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Hoffenheim: Mikey Moore brace earns De Zerbi's men comfortable victory

· Sam Bunce; VAVEL com · 2026-08-15T17:05:03+00:00 · nguồn gốc

After a huge summer outlay, admittedly offset by outgoings, Tottenham are bidding to begin afresh with an Italian head coach at the helm, urging for even more business this summer. Mikey Moore may discover his future lies elsewhere by the end of the transfer window if Tottenham lodge bids for established wingers to add to the squad, but his performance warrants some rethinking. Roberto De Zerbi is expected to implement his usual daring and expansive style this season, hoping to at least assuage the disgruntlement in this area of North London, and show why he may be a good fit. For what it's worth in a largely insignificant friendly, there was evidence of the advantages and the tension that arises from De Zerbi's bold methods. Story of the Match Mathys Tel and youngster Moore gave snapshots of their impetus, stretching the pitch on the flanks, and Andy Robertson underlapped the former, fizzing in a cross towards Richarlison, who had a certain goal taken off his toe by Albian Hajdari. Lucas Bergvall was baiting the press and living dangerously when he, somewhat fortuitously, escaped a swarm of defenders, and the Swede showed the value his attributes can bring. Christian Ilzer's visitors conjured a few warning signs with some productive possession, as Adam Hlozek's strike was blazed over the bar, lacking the composure to test Antonín Kinsky after 15 minutes. Hlozek, who featured in Czechia's World Cup squad, almost made amends for missing that opportunity when he gradually approached shooting range on the edge of the area. A positive run from midfield culminated in some trickery and a curled effort onto the crossbar, using back-pedalling defender Jan Paul van Hecke to pick his spot. Bergvall Stakes His Claim Standout Bergvall continued to stake his claim for a stable place in De Zerbi's ranks, after receiving bids from Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United this summer and at one point set on searching for a new chapter. The deepest-lying midfielder in this passage found a corridor of space to glide past the contingent of blue shirts into opposing territory, and he forced the first save from captain Oliver Baumann. Formerly of West Ham United, visiting right-back Vladimír Coufal spun without looking at the ball and planted his hands on Marco Senesi, impeding the new signing from meeting his header. Stuart Atwell deemed this soft and opted against awarding a penalty before the first hydration break. Moore smartly delivered early across the face of goal to establish greater control, with Tel and Richarlison lunging to apply the finishing touch, but the ball agonisingly flashed past them both at the back post. Akin to the start of proceedings, Robertson was on hand for another threatening ball into the box towards Richarlison, as Scotland's captain continued subtly interchanging with Tel. Club-record signing Sandro Tonali shifted it on to Robertson well, and Richarlison swept his left-footed effort past Baumann in the 35th minute for the opening goal. Despite losing Bazoumana Touré to Newcastle United and Andrej Kramarić to injury, Hoffenheim looked inventive and were knocking on the door for an equaliser before the interval. Adam Daghim's shot called Kinsky into action, saving comfortably to his bottom right once the German side aggressively prompted errors from the hosts. Their best chance then came from Wouter Burger's sumptuous glancing header, which crept wide of the left post. Moore's Second-Half Brace The away side made wholesale changes at half-time, with all ten outfield players replaced by head coach Ilzer, who will oversee Hoffenheim in the Europa League in the upcoming season. Patrick Wimmer had his shot saved by Kinsky before Mats Rots prodded his effort narrowly wide to build on the momentum their teammates gathered. Tel evaded a handful of challenges and sent in a timely delivery to Moore, who appeared in front of Tristan Spranger and tucked his finish away to double the advantage. Wimmer's wild second strike sailed over the bar, wasting a well-crafted move by Hoffenheim, and Tottenham's intensity was almost rewarded with a third goal. Baumann spilled the ball in the box and Richarlison almost bundled it into the net, although the referee had already decided the striker committed a foul. Hoffenheim fashioned further chances in their pursuit of cutting the two-goal deficit. Max Moerstedt turned and forced Kinsky to sharply stick his leg out at his near post to deny the substitute striker. With energy still left in the tank, Tel darted inside and showed great agility, yet his final product in front of goal seemed inferior to the service he provided to his teammates. The Frenchman added to his earlier assist when his piece of ingenuity allowed him to find Moore, who slotted between the legs of the defender and wheeled away in celebration with ten minutes left. Eyes On The Premier League Tottenham were resounding winners and held on to a clean sheet to cap off an unbeaten pre-season. Their attention turns to the fast approaching competitive campaign under De Zerbi, who seeks to steer Tottenham clear of another damning finish near the drop zone. The Lilywhites host Hoffenheim at their training ground behind closed doors tomorrow at midday, an outing De Zerbi will save to assess the remaining senior players ahead of their Premier League curtain raiser away at Brentford on August 22, having named a raft of youngsters on the bench.