Tottenham Unbeaten Preseason Finale with Williams-Barnett Shine
Tottenham Hotspur signed off an unbeaten preseason with a 2-2 draw against TSG Hoffenheim in a behind-closed-doors run-out at their training ground – a far looser, more experimental exercise than the sharp 3-0 win over the same opponents a day earlier.
Roberto De Zerbi ripped up yesterday’s teamsheet and went with a heavily rotated side. The performance reflected it: part fitness drill, part tactical experiment, part academy showcase. The result still kept Spurs’ summer record clean.
Penalty scare, quick response
Hoffenheim struck first. Their aggressive press, already a feature of the previous meeting, went straight for Tottenham’s weaker links in possession: right-back Tye Hall and goalkeeper Brandon Austin.
The opening goal came from exactly that pressure. James Maddison, dropping deep to receive from Austin, was caught on the ball by Leon Avdullahu. In trying to recover, Maddison dragged the winger down in the box. Adam Hlozek stepped up and buried the penalty.
Spurs shook it off quickly.
Mateus Fernandes, who started quietly as a passer but was sharp in the final third, worked a short corner routine and whipped in a teasing cross. Ben Davies met it with a firm header to level the match.
The momentum flipped. Luca Williams-Barnett, again the liveliest attacker in lilywhite, began to torment Vladimir Coufal. Instead of running into blind alleys as he has in earlier preseason outings, the teenager picked his moments and his passes. After a brilliant Pape Matar Sarr dribble to evade Albian Hajdari, Sarr slipped a reverse ball into the box and Williams-Barnett passed it first time into the far corner. Calm finish, 2-1 Spurs at the break.
De Zerbi’s ‘Frankensquad’ experiment
On paper, the starting XI looked like a coaching thought experiment. Central midfielders everywhere, no recognised striker, Maddison as a false nine, Sarr nominally at No 10, Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur deeper, with Williams-Barnett and Damola Ajayi out wide.
It looked chaotic on the teamsheet. On the pitch, De Zerbi still kept his familiar 4-2-3-1 shape. The issue was more about roles than formation.
Maddison drifted constantly into deeper pockets, searching for touches and angles. Sarr did the same at times, leaving Spurs without a real focal point up front. It wasn’t slick, but it did what De Zerbi needed: minutes in the legs of returning players, touches on the ball, combinations under pressure.
The selection also underlined the lack of a fit, natural centre-forward for this game, and the coach’s determination to see as many midfield options as possible before the real stuff starts.
Maddison rusty, but back
Maddison’s name on the teamsheet was the headline before kick-off. His actual display was a reminder that match sharpness doesn’t arrive on command.
He drifted in and out, producing the odd clever pass but never truly grabbing the game. The penalty he conceded summed up his afternoon: the instinct to drop deep and help build play was there, but the touch and awareness under pressure were a step off.
Spurs will bank the 45 minutes and move on. The quality is obvious; the sharpness will need time.
Fernandes opens up the pitch
If Maddison was rusty, Fernandes grew into the game.
Early on, his best work came around the box: a low cross that flashed just in front of an onrushing Sarr, then the smart one-two from a short corner that led to Davies’ goal. After the interval, with Hoffenheim stretched, his full passing range emerged.
He pinged crossfield balls from touchline to touchline, mixing driven diagonals with looping switches that forced Hoffenheim to keep shuffling across the pitch. For a Spurs side that often lacked that kind of incisive distribution last season, his ability to break lines and change angles looked significant. Just as important, he went the full 90, a big tick for his fitness heading into the campaign.
Austin stands tall under pressure
Hoffenheim’s high press repeatedly tried to isolate Austin, waiting for him to pass into midfield before springing the trap. That tactic produced the penalty, but across the 90 minutes Tottenham’s third-choice keeper did plenty to repair the damage.
He reacted sharply to keep out a Nathan De Cat flick at the near post, then stood up well to deny Adam Daghim one-on-one. With Martin Dubravka and Antonin Kinsky also in the building, Spurs may not boast a single undisputed elite goalkeeper, but they do have a deep, balanced group behind Guglielmo Vicario.
Austin’s display under sustained pressure only underlined that.
Williams-Barnett makes his case
Among all the returning seniors and tactical tweaks, Williams-Barnett stole the show.
He repeatedly skinned Coufal, but the real progress lay in what came next. Instead of putting his head down and chasing the spectacular, he picked out teammates with crisp, intelligent passes. His decision-making in the final third has clearly sharpened over the course of the tour.
The goal capped it. Timing, composure, technique – he passed the ball into the net rather than snatching at it. Performances like this won’t send him out on loan yet. They might do the opposite: force De Zerbi to find him minutes with the senior side, especially given the thin depth chart in attacking areas.
Defensive concern: where is Micky van de Ven?
While many absentees finally reappeared – Maddison, Sarr, Bentancur, Souza, Ajayi, with Kevin Danso and Fernandes getting more minutes – one name remains conspicuously missing.
Micky van de Ven has not played a single minute of preseason.
He returned late after the World Cup with Netherlands, but others in similar situations have already featured. Given his injury history, the longer the silence stretches, the more it feels like a problem rather than a precaution. Spurs can’t afford to start the season without their quickest defender and one of their most important pieces in build-up.
Academy doors swing open
De Zerbi’s commitment to the academy has been a running theme this summer, but this match pushed even deeper into the youth ranks.
On the bench sat 15-year-old Mikel Jack, son of former Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Kelvin Jack, without even a squad number assigned. Reiss Elliot-Parris and Miracle Adewole both got on the pitch for the first time in Lilywhite at senior level.
Neither 18-year-old changed the game, which was never the point. The value lay in the experience: stepping into a first-team environment, feeling the tempo, understanding the demands. For a club that prides itself on a pathway from academy to first team, these are the small but vital steps.
Fitness first, result second
The pattern of substitutions told the real story of the day.
Maddison was withdrawn at half-time for Elliot-Parris, a natural striker. Souza and Ajayi, both returning from injury, came off around the 70-minute mark. Sarr and Williams-Barnett played most of the game before making way. Fernandes stayed on to the final whistle.
It was a controlled, deliberate management of minutes, aimed squarely at ensuring key players hit the opening weekend with a strong base. With no European football and largely one game a week on the horizon, Spurs are building towards a season where freshness and intensity could be their edge.
The only blemish came when Valentin Gendry lashed home a second-half volley to level it at 2-2 – a reminder that this was still a contest, not just a conditioning drill.
Unbeaten, fitter, with new faces emerging and old ones edging back to their best. The question now is simple: does this carefully built platform launch Tottenham into something serious, or is this as good as it gets in August?
