Roberto De Zerbi was left visibly frustrated after Tottenham defender Kevin Danso was shown a red card just three minutes after coming on as a substitute during Spurs’ pre-season clash with Chelsea in the Sydney Super Cup.
Chelsea and Tottenham met at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, with both managers naming strong line-ups featuring a mix of established stars and young talents. Spurs’ summer signings Andrew Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali all started for De Zerbi’s side.
Tottenham took the lead in the 17th minute when Tonali fired home from outside the box to score his first goal since his big-money move from Newcastle United. Chelsea responded quickly, however, as Estevao headed in an equaliser four minutes later.
After the break, De Zerbi introduced Kevin Danso and Richarlison, but Danso’s cameo ended almost immediately. The Austrian defender was dismissed after bringing down João Pedro, who had raced clear on goal, with the referee judging the challenge denied a clear scoring opportunity.
Television cameras caught De Zerbi looking visibly disappointed after the sending-off, reacting to the costly mistake from his defender.
Despite playing with 10 men, Tottenham grabbed a dramatic late winner. Richarlison pounced on a rebound after Jamie Donley’s effort struck the post, firing home in stoppage time to seal a 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
Leave a Reply