Tribal Football

Spurs star claims Getafe deserved 'two or three red cards' in friendly battle

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi.
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi.Profimedia

Tottenham maintained their unbeaten preseason record with a 1-1 draw against Getafe on August 8th.

Spurs won 1-0 at home to MK Dons before their tour of Australia and New Zealand - which featured wins over Auckland, Sydney FC and Chelsea.

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A return to London meant a behind-closed-doors friendly against the LaLiga side at the club's Enfield training base.

Conor Gallagher's late goal secured a draw for Roberto De Zerbi in a clash that was anything but friendly, with record signing Sandro Tonali involved in several off the ball clashes.

Getafe's reputation for physical football is well known and new Tottenham star Jan Paul van Hecke felt it went too far for a non-competitive game.

"Sometimes it’s good, But, I thought it was a bit too much from their side,” the Dutch defender - who joined Tottenham from Brighton for £60M in June - told SPURSPLAY at full-time.

 

“Sometimes it’s not necessary, especially in a friendly. I think in a normal game they have maybe two or three red cards, but that’s also maybe the way they play.

“We knew beforehand they can do it, but it’s a friendly, so sometimes you think maybe a bit less.

"But, we need to also be at our top  level, because if you’re not putting in your foot, then they are going to win it."

Spurs take on Hoffenheim in their final preseason outing on August 15th before starting the 2026/27 Premier League campaign at Brentford a week later.

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