Tottenham Beaten By Jose Mourinho's Roma In Final Pre-Season Friendly

Former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho got one over his old team on Saturday night.

Spurs had been unbeaten in their first three summer friendlies but ended their pre-season by falling to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Mourinho's Roma in Israel.

The only goal of the game at Haifa's Sammy Ofer Stadium came from a set-piece as Roger Ibanez headed a Paulo Dybala corner into the net on 29 minutes.

Tottenham bossed possession with 65% and had 10 shots compared to Roma's seven.

But Spurs were unable to register a single shot on target, despite star striker Harry Kane playing the full 90 minutes.

There were some positives for Tottenham. Ivan Perisic was impressive in a 75-minute outing at left wing-back, while Cristian Romero was dominant in central defense.

Spurs boss Antonio Conte will be concerned about how Roma scored though.

Ibanez was able to win his header above Kane, Perisic and Eric Dier inside a busy penalty area.

Set-pieces were an issue for Spurs last season. They conceded 10 EPL goals from set-plays - nine more than Manchester City, six more than Chelsea and two more than Arsenal.

Conte hired specialist coach Gianni Vio last month in an effort to improve Tottenham's fortunes from set-pieces in the 2022/23 campaign.

Spurs will begin the new season at home to Southampton next weekend.