Mikey Moore Shines as Spurs Begin New Era with Victory
Tottenham walked back into their home stadium for the first time since dodging relegation in May and played like a team intent on leaving that trauma behind. A 3-0 pre-season win over Hoffenheim will not erase what came before, but it did offer something Spurs fans have been craving all summer: signs of a plan, and a few genuine sparks of excitement.
Richarlison struck first, Mikey Moore added two more, and Roberto De Zerbi’s side stayed unbeaten in pre-season. It felt routine on the scoreboard. It was anything but routine in its implications.
Moore and Bergvall answer the noise
If this was supposed to be a gentle tune-up, no one told Moore.
The 19-year-old has spent the last week hovering on the brink of a loan to Cologne. That move is now on hold, and on this evidence De Zerbi has every reason to think twice before letting him go. Moore came on after the break, scored twice, and left the pitch looking like a player who belongs in the Premier League conversation, not just the loan market.
His first goal brought barely a flicker of emotion. Tel drove into space down the right and drilled the ball across; Moore arrived where a proper No 9 should be, tapping in with a simple finish and a muted celebration. Job done.
The second felt different. Again Tel picked him out, this time with a clever pass into the box. Moore’s touch was light, his finish even lighter, guided past the keeper with real composure. He celebrated that one, and you could see why. It was the sort of goal that makes a head coach pause a planned outgoing and ask: are we sure?
His future remains unresolved. Spurs have not decided where he will play his football this season. Performances like this make that decision far more complicated.
Lucas Bergvall knows that feeling. Two months ago, it looked like he might be heading out of north London altogether. Newcastle and Nottingham Forest circled, sensing an opportunity around a talented midfielder frustrated by a lack of minutes.
De Zerbi stepped in. He has been clear he wants Bergvall to stay and has spoken directly to the player about his role. The response has been steady, not spectacular, but this display in the heart of midfield will have encouraged the head coach.
Bergvall moved the ball with authority, pressed with intent and looked like someone who now trusts that he has a place in this project. Whether that remains true after deadline day is still an open question, but for now, both he and Moore are making their arguments on the pitch.
Robertson wastes no time staking his claim
Andy Robertson did not leave Liverpool to wind down. He left to play.
On this evidence, he will be doing plenty of that in north London.
Stationed on the left, the Scotland captain delivered the kind of performance Spurs have been crying out for from that flank: aggressive, relentless, and full of quality. Cross after cross flew into the Hoffenheim box, and it was no surprise that the breakthrough came from his boot.
Robertson found a pocket of space, glanced up, and whipped in a trademark delivery. Richarlison attacked it and buried the header. One chance, one goal, and a reminder that an elite left-back changes the entire dynamic of an attack.
When he arrived, much of the talk centred on his influence in the dressing room, his experience, his medals. Against Hoffenheim, he showed the on-field edge that made him so valuable at Liverpool.
Destiny Udogie has yet to feature in pre-season and there are lingering concerns over his fitness. Robertson has not waited around. On this form, he is the clear favourite to start at Brentford on the opening weekend, and Udogie may find that winning his place back from a 32-year-old with this level of intensity is no simple task.
Kinsky seizes the gloves
At the other end, Antonin Kinsky quietly underlined a different kind of shift.
Spurs kept a clean sheet, and that was not just down to Hoffenheim’s wastefulness. Kinsky made several important stops, stood tall when the visitors threatened to break through, and dealt calmly with everything thrown into his area.
He looked assured with the ball at his feet, comfortable stepping into the role De Zerbi demands from his goalkeeper. Crosses? Claimed. Shots? Beaten away. Nerves? Nowhere to be seen.
That matters because of what came before. Seven months ago, Kinsky endured a nightmare in Madrid, a performance that could have buried a young keeper. Instead, he has fought his way back and now stands as Spurs’ new No 1 in all but name.
Guglielmo Vicario was absent, with Juventus monitoring the Italy international. The door opened. Kinsky walked straight through it.
Missing faces, looming questions
For all the positives, the team sheet carried a few worrying absences. Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Mateus Fernandes all sat this one out, and their names will be watched closely in the coming days.
Spurs will see Hoffenheim again on Sunday in a behind-closed-doors game at the training ground, a final rehearsal before the real thing begins. Supporters will hope at least some of those missing pieces reappear.
Four new signings – Robertson, Sandro Tonali, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Sensi – all made their home debuts and helped maintain an unbeaten pre-season. The scars of May have not vanished, but the mood has shifted. There is energy, structure, and competition for places.
Next up: Brentford away, the Premier League curtain-raiser, live under the cameras. Spurs have shown flashes of what they want to be. The question now is simple: when the points start to count, can De Zerbi’s side turn these promising rehearsals into something far more substantial?
