Tottenham secured a morale-boosting 5-1 victory over Charlton at home to book their place in the Carabao Cup third round. The win came after a challenging start to the Premier League season, with Spurs looking to bounce back from their defeat to Brentford at the weekend.
Despite a first half lacking in quality, two goals on the stroke of half-time gave Spurs a convincing lead at the break. Mikey Moore rifled a left-footed effort through the gloves of Tiernan Brooks in the Charlton goal, before Dominic Solanke swivelled and scored after the ball broke to him inside the area.
Savio steals the show on dominant evening
Spurs took the game away from Charlton in the second half, thanks in large part to a sensational cameo from Savio. Signed and registered in time to take his place on the bench just over 24 hours after arriving in north London, Savio announced himself in style to the Spurs faithful.
A wonderful low left-footed strike, jinking his way past a couple of challenges on the edge of the box, put Spurs 4-0 up. He thought he had grabbed his second of the night minutes later, but was unlucky to see his shot, which came after he had hurdled his way through a crowded penalty area, deflect into the back of the net off Ben Davies.
Ultimately, this was a dream night for the Brazilian. De Zerbi had said he wanted Savio to add more goals to his game, and on the evidence of tonight, that will be no problem.
Mateus Fernandes impresses on full debut
One of the few positives from Spurs' defeat to Brentford was Mateus Fernandes' cameo off the bench. The Portuguese brought a semblance of calm to an otherwise chaotic performance and, having shaken off concerns over his calf, De Zerbi handed him his full debut against Charlton.
Starting as the most advanced of the three midfielders, there were moments of real class from the 22-year-old as he routinely took the ball under pressure and turned into space. Fernandes is still getting familiar with his surroundings and building his fitness, but this was a positive performance, which he capped by delivering a deft free-kick for Danso to head home.
How De Zerbi pieces together Spurs' midfield over the course of the season will be interesting, but Fernandes looks to have the versatility and composure to impact the game from deep and between the lines.
Morale on the up after convincing victory
After a performance devoid of any positives against Brentford, Spurs needed a reaction to change the mood around the club. De Zerbi rotated but still named a strong starting lineup, with Mateus Fernandes handed a full debut, while Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies all made their first starts of the season.
Charlton, meanwhile, made 10 changes from the team that beat West Ham at the London Stadium. The onus was on Spurs to produce a convincing performance, and while they struggled for periods of the first half, they found the goals they needed before the break.
Two moments of real quality put Spurs in a comfortable position at half-time as Moore rifled a left-footed effort through the gloves of Charlton goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks, before Solanke swivelled and scored minutes later. It had been anything but routine for Spurs up to that point, though, and Charlton had begun to grow in confidence as captain Greg Docherty stung the palms of Antonin Kinsky.
Charlton had been competitive, but Spurs ran riot after the break, with Savio stealing the show as he climbed off the bench to score his first goal in a Spurs shirt before his shot deflected off Ben Davies as the hosts scored a fifth late on. A comfortable result and performance in the end for Spurs, and plenty of encouragement to take into the weekend.
