
1-0, min. 21, Doherty. 1-1, min. 46, Mendy.
Tottenham Hotspur and OGC Nice played out a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of the Premier League's resumption.
Spurs led in the first half through Matt Doherty, but his strike was cancelled out by Antoine Mendy, who was also at fault for the opener.
The Lilywhites face Brentford next on Boxing Day.
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Story of the match
Antonio Conte named a much-changed Spurs side, with Davinson Sanchez captaining the team.
Bryan Gil had a big chance to impress alongside academy player Harvey White, with Dejan Kulusevski leading the line.
Oliver Skipp and Djed Spence missed out with illness for Spurs.
Former Gunner Nicholas Pepe returned to North London with Nice to face his former rivals, with Kasper Schmeichel between the sticks and Ross Barkley in midfield also familiar faces in the French outfit's starting 11.
Gil pressed Schmeichel early on in the tie, but the former Leicester goalkeeper was able to retain possession.
Emerson Royal played the ball into Kulusevski, but the ball got caught under the Swede's foot.
Schmeichel was fortunate to not be made to pay when he flapped at a corner and almost turned it in, instead it fell to Gil, who volleyed over.
Fraser Forster was on hand to deny Pepe a goal on the break for the visitors, as Nice broke down the left hand side and played Pepe in, only to see his effort palmed away.
Gil, who had seen a lot of the ball early on, flicked the ball onto Kulusevski in a dangerous area, but it was just too far in front of Tottenham's number 21.
Spurs pressure pays off
White played the ball into Kulusevski in Tottenham's best chance of the game so far as the tie approached the 15 minute mark, but he opted to pass rather than shoot and it was cut out.
Kulusevski had a free kick in a dangerous area for Spurs, but it was easily saved by Schmeichel.
Matt Doherty lobbed a pass into Kulusevski, but the ball was cut out by Pablo Rosario.
Japhet Tanganga drove at the Nice defence and skipped a few challenges, but he was eventually dispossessed.
Gil put the ball into a promising position for Conte's side, but it was cleared by Dante.
Doherty skipped a challenge well but then hesitated, which denied him the opportunity to shoot from inside the box, as Nice cleared their lines.
He did not have to wait long for his second chance, as he smashed home the opener after 21 minutes.
It was an error by Mendy which allowed Doherty to shoot from Kulusevksi's through ball, but Irishman took the chance well to score.
Clement Lenglet fouled Pepe in a dangerous area, which allowed the Fenchman the chance to take a free kick from the edge of the box, which he fired at the wall.
Barkley did the same soon after, but his set piece saw the ball come back to the former Everton midfielder, which he then fired into the side netting.
Sanchez made an important block to deny Pepe, who had started the game brightly for Les Aiglons.
Gil cut in from the left hand side at the other end, and his effort was deflected behind for a corner which Spurs could not capitalise on.
White thought he was in on goal after sliding to win the ball in the box, but the referee gave a foul to Favre's side, much to his dismay.
Khephren Thuram then fired wide for Nice from range.
Doherty combined with Gil once again on the left-hand side as the first half approached its conclusion, but Schmeichel was equal to his effort from a tight angle.
Yves Bissouma shot from the edge of the area after Gil won the ball back for the hosts, but the former Brighton man saw his shot go inches wide of the post.
The Malian made an important contribution at the other end to prevent a cross from being played into the Tottenham box.
Spurs led at the break in an even contest which had seen both teams have openings.
It was Doherty's strike that meant that Conte's Lilywhites went into the interval ahead however.
Nice's response
Mendy had the equaliser for Nice almost immediately after the restart, slotting home after Tottenham failed to clear their lines from a corner won after Pepe struck the post.
Kulusevski nearly had an immediate response for Spurs, as he shot from the edge of the area, which Schmeichel palmed away and claimed with White looking to tap the rebound home.
Substitute Pape Matar Sarr looked to advance with the ball, and should have picked out Kulusevski, but waited to long too pick out his man and the opportunity went.
Barkley was on the end of a cross but could not quite connect with it, in a really good chance for the visitors, but Royal came away with the ball.
The Brazilian had a chance to do better than Barkley when he flicked the ball on, but it was a comfortable save for Schmeichel.
Kulusevski played the ball into Royal soon after, as Tottenham seemed to switch the bulk of their attacks to the right-hand side after the break, but the resulting cross was poor and easily cut out.
Melvin Bard tracked back well to head a lofted pass out of play which would have played Emerson in on the right flank.
Thuram had another strike at goal from range, but this time his effort was well wide of the target.
As the game headed into the final 20 minutes, Spurs were struggling to break their opposite number down.
White had a golden chance to change that though, which he passed up on.
Royal shot and the save went straight to the youngster, who fired wide despite the goal gaping.
Gil skipped several challenges to get himself into a promising position, but his pass was too strong for Heung-Min Son, who had just replaced Royal.
Billal Brahimi had a chance to score an unlikely late winner for Nice, but he fired miles over the bar.
Sarr shot from range for Tottenham, but it was easily saved by Schemichel.
Full time saw an even game finish 1-1, which in truth lost momentum slightly as both sides made several changes.
Tottenham turn their attention to a return to Premier League action, as do Nice with Ligue 1.
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Player of the match
In a game where he had a lot to prove, Bryan Gil impressed.
He hounded Nice's backline constantly and made driving runs that caused the visitors problems.
While he may have had more joy in the first half than the second, it was a display which showed a lot of promise.
The Spaniard will hope to carry that on in the competitive season.



