De Zerbi wants Richarlison to stay at Tottenham after 90th-minute winner downs Chelsea in Sydney

Late winner in Sydney

Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-1 in a pre-season friendly at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, with Richarlison scoring a 90th-minute winner after Kevin Danso was sent off early in the second half. More than 80,000 fans watched the first meeting between the London rivals outside the UK. The match was physical from the start: Conor Gallagher was booked for a heavy challenge on Dário Essugo after 10 minutes, Jan Paul van Hecke clattered into João Pedro, and Dominic Solanke and Levi Colwill tussled off the ball. Spurs played the final 42 minutes with 10 men after Danso, who had come on at half-time, lost control of a backpass and lunged headfirst at João Pedro. Richarlison then reacted quickest to tap in after Jamie Donley's shot hit the post in stoppage time.

Richarlison's uncertain future

The Brazilian's goal came amid ongoing speculation about his future. Richarlison, 29, has entered the final year of his contract after joining from Everton in 2022, and has been linked with a move away. After the match, manager Roberto De Zerbi admitted he does not know whether the forward will stay, adding that the club must "respect what he wants to do."

I don't know, I didn't understand well, because sometimes he said to stay, sometimes he leaves, we have to speak. Anyway, there is not any problem, he's a lovely guy.

De Zerbi stressed Richarlison's value to the squad, pointing to his 12 goals last season in a difficult campaign that saw Spurs finish 17th.

For me he's still an important player because it's not so easy to find another striker as Richarlison, because Richarlison scored goals and he knows the way. The new striker, we don't know, the other striker, we don't know. He scored 12 goals last season, not for luck, because he feels the way to score.

The manager added that all of the squad "love him" because he works hard every day.

Pre-season progress

The victory capped an unbeaten three-match tour of New Zealand and Australia. Spurs beat Auckland FC 2-0, drew 1-1 with Sydney FC before winning a penalty shootout, and then edged Chelsea. De Zerbi said the 10-day trip had been "very important" for building team spirit and praised the young players who featured.

I am so happy for the young players because Malachi (Hardy), Rio (Kyerematen), Tye (Hall), Kota (Takai), they have been in this period very important for us, very good players.

He also highlighted the contributions of new signings Sandro Tonali, Andy Robertson and Marco Palestra, as well as Archie Gray, Ben Davies and Lucas Bergvall. De Zerbi said he was particularly pleased with how the team kept its composure after Danso's red card, and he wants to see similar fight when the Premier League season begins.

It's important to change the habits, because our habits in the last two seasons have been not good in terms of results. It's important for us to win the game, to win the duels, to win the second ball and to play well in every position of the pitch.

What comes next

Tottenham return to London to prepare for back-to-back friendlies against TSG Hoffenheim before their Premier League opener at Brentford on August 22. De Zerbi said he is looking forward to working with players who missed the tour, including Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Marcos Senesi (all involved at the World Cup) and Mohammed Kudus (recovering from injury). The club has already spent a record £237m in the transfer window and is reportedly pursuing Manchester City's Savinho and Liverpool's Cody Gakpo to strengthen the attack.