A new season at the snazziest modern stadium in England and something extremely welcome for Tottenham. A home win over domestic opposition. There were only four of them last season; three in the Premier League with the final one – over Everton on the last day – helping them to avoid relegation.
Had they lost that, this Carabao Cup fixture against Charlton would also have been played in the Championship. Spurs needed this tonic for another reason – to begin the clean-up operation after Saturday’s awful 3-0 defeat at Brentford. The season could not have started any worse.
With no European football, a decent cup run or runs are imperative and Spurs got themselves up and running in this competition on a night when everything came together perfectly. For a good while, it looked as though Mikey Moore was going to be the headline act. The homegrown 19-year-old broke the deadlock with a vicious drive from the edge of the area; it was the purity of the strike that made it.
Spurs were 3-0 up with further goals from Dominic Solanke and the substitute, Kevin Danso, when Roberto Di Zerbi sent on his £75m signing from Manchester City for his debut. It would be a devastating cameo from Sávio, something to wet the whistle for bigger challenges ahead. It took him just 11 minutes to score and it was a lovely goal – a glide inside from the right and a fizzing low shot into the near corner.
Sávio once again showcased his skills when slicing inside, putting one Charlton defender down with a feint and getting away from another. The shot hit his teammate, Ben Davies, and went in. Charlton would have the last word when another substitute, Lloyd Jones, headed home from a corner.
The major takeaway was the sense of possibility brought by Sávio. De Zerbi has been honest about how his team have not been ready to start the Premier League season – a result of injuries, players returning late from the World Cup and a pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia that was sub-optimal, to say the least. The sense with his selection was of the calvary returning.
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