Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs open Premier League season with draw at Brentford

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had mixed emotions after his historic Premier League debut against Brentford overnight.

Ange Postecoglou in action during his first Premier League match in charge of Tottenham. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou will demand improvement from his Spurs side after having to settle for a 2-2 away draw with Brentford in his English Premier League managerial debut.

Tottenham led 1-0 from an early Cristian Romero header, but then trailed 2-1 before grabbing an equaliser in first-half stoppage time through Emerson Royal.

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It was a rollercoaster ride for Postecoglou on the back of a turbulent week following the departure of star striker Harry Kane, who left Spurs to join German giants Bayern Munich.

Romero was forced off immediately after he scored with a head knock, while Brentford’s goals came from a Bryan Mbeumo penalty awarded after VAR intervention and a Yoane Wissa shot that took a telling deflection off Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.

Ange Postecoglou (right) thanks Tottenham fans after the 2-2 draw with Brentford. Picture: Justin Tallis / AFP

Ange Postecoglou in action during his first Premier League match in charge of Tottenham. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

“There was a fair bit going on in the first half and it would have been easy for the lads to lose their composure, drop their heads, but I thought they handled themselves really well,” former Socceroos coach Postecoglou told SpursPlay.

“We controlled the game well in the second half, but we just lacked a bit of a threat in the final third, a little bit of creativity.

🎙️| James Maddison:

“I think that is why Ange Postecoglou is at Tottenham, is because how he likes to play. It suits them and maybe they lacked with recent managers. The club had big managers and the football I imagine Spurs fans want has been lacking."

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤝🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/ofVxdR6zoz

— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) August 13, 2023

“But considering everything that happened, overall, I thought it was a good performance.

“It’s the first game of the season. Whatever we did we know we’ll improve (on).

“We’ll have to improve from here, but it’s a good starting point.”

Spurs are back in action next Sunday morning (AEST) with a home game against Manchester United.

Elsewhere, Chelsea and Liverpool fought out a 1-1 draw in an entertaining clash at Stamford Bridge, both sides having goals ruled out for offside.