Perisic transfer no-brainer
Tending to rotate his Tottenham XI for the first two friendlies of pre-season, Antonio Conte opted against it last time out vs Rangers and instead named near enough his best team from last campaign. Apart from Ben Davies' absence through injury as Davinson Sanchez replaced him in the side, it was pretty much the team that helped Spurs clinch a Champions League place.
One week ahead of their Premier League opener, the head coach was always going to go with a very strong Tottenham selection as he builds for the new campaign. His choice for the friendly against Roma may have dropped a hint over his plans for next Saturday's game against Southampton, most notably in the wing-back positions.
Having some very good options there following Djed Spence and Ivan Perisic's moves from Middlesbrough and Inter Milan respectively, Conte is set to have a selection headache on his hands over the course of the season. Matt Doherty, who didn't feature against Rangers last time out, and Perisic were the two to start there and they both made an impact in the final third.
Seeing the former have a header tipped onto the woodwork before he was flagged for offside, the latter then flashed an effort over and one just wide of the target. Both taking up attacking positions and linking up well with their teammates throughout, Perisic's attempts from outside the box are certainly an indicator of what is to come throughout the season.
READ MORE: Tottenham second half player ratings vs Roma: Ivan Perisic and Cristian Romero impress in defeat
His performance only highlighted that it was a transfer no-brainer for Tottenham in the summer.
Familiar faces
Much was made ahead of the game of Tottenham coming up against Jose Mourinho for the first time since his dismissal as boss. Appointed in November 2019, the experienced head coach was dismissed after 17 months in the days leading up to the Carabao Cup final.
It wasn't just Mourinho the Spurs players were meeting again, however. A couple of his coaching staff at Tottenham have since followed him to the Italian capital, including fitness coach Carlos Lalin. Lucas Moura was quite keen to catch up with Lalin and ran over to hug him ahead of the game when the teams were warming up.
Moments before kick-off, the TV cameras panned towards Mourinho making his way to the Spurs dugout as he went to shake Conte's hand. The pair, who memorably had a bit of a bust-up when Chelsea beat Manchester United in 2016, had a quick joke and shared a few words for a short period of time before they went their separate ways.
Bissouma upsets Mancini
One of Conte's changes for the Roma game saw Yves Bissouma handed his first start of pre-season after coming off the bench vs Rangers last week. The new addition was starting to come more into the game and was involved in a bit of flashpoint not long before half-time.
Winning the ball off Tammy Abraham just outside the area, Bissouma played a one-two with Harry Kane and went into the box before going to ground. Roma defender Gianluca Mancini had moved towards the midfielder and looked to check him, which resulted in Bissouma going over.
The Italian was not pleased at all about Bissouma's actions, going straight over to him and putting his hand on the back of the ex-Brighton man's head, something the Tottenham ace didn't like. Chris Smalling also wasn't pleased about what Bissouma did and he could be seen waving his arms and telling his opponent to get up.
Roma players surrounded the referee after the incident, although that appeared to be more to do with the fact they thought Abraham was fouled when Bissouma came away with the ball.
Mourinho and Paratici's chat
Things did get a bit fiery in the second half of Tottenham's clash against Roma with a number of players flying into tackles. One that didn't go down particularly well was Cristian Romero catching Giallorossi captain Lorenzo Pellegrini.
It was sly play from the Spurs man and the Italian midfielder took exception to it. Both players grappled with each other and it sparked a bit of a melee in the middle of the pitch as a number of players came together, with Romero and Pellegrini both receiving yellow cards for their part in the incident.
Fabio Paratici, who was stood by the tunnel, didn't appear to be best pleased with something and he was seen remonstrating with a member of Mourinho's coaching staff. That in turn resulted in Spurs' managing director and the Roma boss talking for a while over a difference of opinion.
It may have been a friendly in name but that is never the case in football.
Zaniolo watch
Tottenham fans had one eye on Roma ace Nicolo Zaniolo on Saturday evening given talk of Paratici making a move for him before deadline day. Lining up just behind Abraham with Paulo Dybala alongside him, the Italy international had an impact on proceedings and certainly made an impression.
Involved right from the off as he could have been awarded a penalty with Romero having hands on his back as he went to ground, he was full of energy and made some good runs. Some more good work from Zaniolo led to Roger Ibanez's opener after the winger won a corner after playing a good one-two with Abraham only for Sanchez to block the shot.
In the second half the 23-year-old had a great opening to double the lead but he was denied by a superb tackle from Romero just as he was about to get his shot off. It remains to be seen if Tottenham will indeed launch a move for Zaniolo but he will certainly have impressed plenty with his performance in Israel.
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