55 days later and Tottenham Hotspur are finally back competing, as the Spurs faced Leyton Orient at The Breyer Group Stadium in their opening pre-season game ahead of the 2021 / 22 campaign. 

This was Nuno Espírito Santo's first game in charge of Spurs, and although there was not a set style of play due to all the substitutions made in the game, the 'Lilywhites' have started a new era. 

Story of the game

Spurs showed two different XIs in the first and second half respectively, but in the opening 45 minutes, the team coached by Espírito Santo showcased some of its biggest stars along with a couple of young talents. 

In the first half was pure domination by the visiting team and right before the break, a great pass by Lucas Moura to Dane Scarlett gave the lead to Spurs.

This was Scarlett's first ever goal with the senior squad at only 17 years-old. 

Nile John, Kallum Cesay, Maksim Paskotsi and Scarlett were the four academy players who started the game for Tottenham Hotspur, along with the likes of Joe Hart, Eric Dier, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Harry Winks, Moura, Steven Bergwjin and Dele Alli. 

In the second half 11 substitutions were made, as an entire new group led by Troy Parrott and Jack Clarke took the pitch.

The level and intensity of the 'Lilywhites' dropped significantly, which led them to concede the equalizer in the 72nd minute thanks to a great left-footed finish by Ruel Sotiriou.

Reactions

Joe Hart, who is the oldest player in the Spurs squad for the pre-season friendly, reacted to the performance by some of the team's younger players, and highlighted John and Scarlett.

"There is a real solid core coming through at Spurs. Dane Scarlett is a star and so is Nile John," he said. ''There's a super talent in Dane, and Nile is also impressing.''

Hart gave a lot of confidence to the Spurs back-line while on goal, and as as the team's captain, Eric Dier also gave a boost to some of the younger players in the line-up. 

One game down, and now Tottenham Hotspur will face Colchester and MK Dons in the following weeks prior to competing in the Mind Series pre-season tournament against Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively. 

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