Savio and Moore make instant impacts as Spurs brush aside Charlton in the Carabao Cup

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 5 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 1

Two players at different stages of their careers helped Tottenham ease past Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup.

Spurs eventually brushed the Addicks aside with a 5-1 victory and a performance which was a slow burn into a second half of some prime quality in north London. The sort which illustrates the gap between the Premier League and the Championship itself.

A home debut goal from substitute Savio lit up the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to signal what should be a positive switch from Manchester City to the capital. Further efforts from Ben Davies, Mikey Moore, Dominic Solanke and, another substitute making an instant impact, Kevin Danso, brought satisfaction to Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Much will be expected of of Savio this term – a £75m price tag attests to that – but Moore was also very zesty up front. The 19 year old has been linked with a season long loan to Koln. The former Rangers young player of the year has been the subject of interest from the German outfit.

And now reports in that nation claim Koln are closing in on their target who would be open to another switch until the end of the season.

His performance in this London derby was a key talking point. And it was important for the 19 year old after featuring in Premier League match day one, starting for the North London club against Brentford.

If that was a forgettable start to the league season from a Spurs perspective – a 3-0 loss was a chastening experience at the Gtech for De Zerbi’s men – at least this routine win gets the north Londoners back on track prior to hosting Newcastle United on Saturday evening.

That will be a much testier encounter than this dominant act against the Addicks, who for their part, were well in the game until they were undone by two goals before half time. A consolation header towards the end by Lloyd Jones was merited, despite being outclassed for the entire second half.

With the one off chance at stake it was quite surprising to note that Charlton boss Nathan Jones opted to make ten changes from the side which defeated West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday. Or perhaps the evidence of a different line up merely reflects the status in which the Carabao Cup is held in by a number of managers. The widespread changes certainly did not work for the Valiants.

Meanwhile, the hosts themselves made six alterations from the team which at Brentford. De Zerbi still had plenty of quality and experience to call on, even with the likes of Conor Gallagher, Pedro Porro and Andy Robertson on the bench. New signing Savio’s goal raised the stadium roof.

With the tie starting in frenetic fashion, luckless Charlton defender Collins Sichenje was stretchered off in the 15th minute, a result of a couple of early Spurs' challenges.

However, Jones’s side settled into the contest and Tottenham's sense of complacency was tested when, in the 25th minute, keeper Antonin Kinsky did well to turn a piledriver from Addicks' skipper Greg Docherty around the post. And, moments later, Nathan Asiimwe headed just wide from six yards out to further demonstrate the intent from the south Londoners. This modest flurry was as threatening as it got for the visitors.

Tottenham continued to press deep into the Addicks’ half - but they had to wait until four minutes before the interval for Moore to strike.

Charlton had been hitherto well organised – but Moore cracked a superb shot into the roof of the net after cutting inside from the right flank. It was exactly what Spurs needed to ignite the overall mood in N17.

The Addicks, hoping to get into half time with the one goal deficit, fell victim to a second on the edge of the break. With the ball loose, around a dozen yards out, Solanke swept a right footed effort low into the corner of Tiernan Brooks’s net. These moments fairly illustrated the gulf between Tottenham and a normally mid-table Championship side.

It was little surprise how the second half unfolded. A tale of Tottenham dominance, with a tired Charlton hoping to contain their more extravagant opponents, while hoping for a slice of fortune on the counter attack.

Substitute Danso put the tie beyond all doubt in the 67^th minute, with his first touch of the ball.

Coming on for Rodrigo Bentancur, the Austrian defender managed to nip between a couple of Charlton defenders six yards out to expertly glance a header into the left hand corner of the net from a left wing cross.

Savio had his moment – and what a great introduction it was to the Tottenham faithful. Darting in from the right, he fired a low left foot shot into the corner of Kinsky’s net.

Tottenham’s fifth came from Savio initially – the Brazilian internationals’ shot took a a deflection off Davies before spinning into the Charlton net.

At least the south Londoners could call on a consolation with three minutes remaining. Froma corner, Jones jumped high at the far post to power home a header. A moment for the large Valiants’ support to enjoy – but there was little doubt about an ultimate gulf in class here.

SPURS: Kinsky, Van Hecke (Van De Ven 64), Tel (Williams-Barnett 78), Odogie (Porro 64), Gray, Bergvall, Fernandes, Solanke (Savio 70), Bentancur (Danso 64), Davies, Moore

VALIANTS: Brooks, Knibbs (Leaburn 65), Docherty, Koumetio (Jones 15), Ouma (Mwamba 65), Mesik, Alli (Rankin-Costello 65), Sichenje (McNamara 15), Apter, Asiimwe, Mbick

Attendance: 49,008