Tottenham star Kevin Danso endured a brief pre-season nightmare after he was sent off against bitter Premier League rivals Chelsea in Sydney on Saturday.
The defender was brought on by manager Roberto De Zerbi during the clash after half-time, with the two teams all square at 1-1 after the first-half.
But after just three minutes, he was handed his marching orders for a risky and unnecessary challenge on a sprinting Joao Pedro.
Danso was the last line of defence as the Brazilian striker pounced on an inexpert pass backwards, and as Pedro made for the goal, the Austrian dragged him down in a rush of blood to the head.
Little time was wasted as the referee produced a red card, with Chelsea handed a freekick from 30 yards – as Danso trudged down the tunnel towards the Tottenham dressing room.
Chelsea’s partisan commentary team pointed out that Danso had been a ‘silly boy’ not to let Pedro run through and face the consequences, as the two teams were hardly playing a critical league tie at Stadium Australia.
Kevin Danso saw red as Tottenham met Premier League rivals Chelsea in a pre-season friendly
The Austrian defender skittled Joao Pedro as he pounced on a loose pass and headed for goal
The Spurs star spent just three minutes on the pitch after being introduced at half-time
Spurs had been the team to open the scoring courtesy of an opening goal for new £100million midfielder Sandro Tonali.
The former Newcastle star put away his team’s first shot on target in the match, his strike bamboozling Chelsea’s young goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.
But just four minutes later in the 21st minute, Estevao brought the tie level with a neat finish, the west London faithful no doubt delighted to see the starlet back in the goals after the latter stages of his 2025-26 season hampered by injury.
With his side down to 10 men as the second-half ticked on, Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was forced to make a number of excellent saves as Chelsea threw the kitchen sink at their London rivals.
But Tottenham continued to cling on, with the score level heading into the final 20 minutes.
Chelsea and Spurs’ entanglements are typically heated, with neither team unfamiliar with receiving handfuls of bookings when they meet on English soil.
Tottenham were memorably reduced to nine men during one recent meeting, which saw Chelsea see out a 4-1 win against Ange Postecoglou’s side in November 2023.
