Thomas Frank suffered his first defeat as Tottenham boss on Thursday night when his team were thrashed 4-0 by German champions Bayern Munich.
Harry Kane opened the scoring against his former side courtesy of a brilliant two-touch finish, though replays showed his goal should have been ruled out for offside.
Kane then skied a penalty kick that had been awarded for a foul by midfielder Joao Palhinha — on loan at Spurs from Bayern.
But Bayern made their dominance show on the scoreboard in the second half as Kingsley Coman, Lennart Karl and Jonah Kusi-Asare all found the net.
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES was watching the action for Daily Mail Sport and has jotted down five things we learned at the Allianz Arena.
No 9 Harry Kane scored one goal and missed a penalty as Bayern Munich beat Tottenham 4-0
Spurs not ready for Champions League football
Tottenham were not terrible but they played like a team who knew they were vastly inferior to their opposition.
Because they are. This side finished 17th in the Premier League last season, while Bayern romped to the Bundesliga title by a margin of 13 points.
Spurs sat deep for much of the game and tried to rely on the pace of Mohammed Kudus and Brennan Johnson to launch meaningful counter-attacks.
When that plan bore no fruit, Spurs tried to play on the front foot, only to be destroyed on the break themselves.
Thursday’s match was played with an official UEFA Champions League match ball. But it will have done nothing to make Frank’s men feel more comfortable about their return to elite European competition.
Thomas Frank suffered his first defeat as Tottenham manager in Thursday’s pre-season game
Cristian Romero doesn’t believe in friendlies
Only one player was shown a yellow card at the Allianz Arena – and it was fully deserved too.
Captaining Tottenham, Cristian Romero was all over former team-mate Harry Kane like a rash.
Romero fouled Kane three times and without subtlety too.
The aggressive centre back also made some excellent tackles, blocks and interceptions.
If you were to play his reel of highlights, it would probably look like he had a storming game.
However, he was also erratic at times and it in part due to him that Spurs shipped four goals.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero (right) did not hold back in his personal battle with Kane
New role for Brennan Johnson
Brennan Johnson was one of the few Tottenham players to enhance their reputation last season.
The Wales international made the position on the right wing his own, scoring 18 goals — including the winner in the Europa League final.
However, it appears as though Thomas Frank has a different plan for him.
Johnson operated on the left in Munich, just as he has each time he has shared the field with Mohammed Kudus this summer.
The former Nottingham Forest man’s only goal so far this pre-season came against Newcastle in South Korea — when he started on the right, with Son Heung-min on the opposite flank.
Brennan Johnson played on the left on Thursday, despite shining on the right wing last season
Tottenham’s new No 10?
Tottenham’s need for a new creative midfielder intensified last week when James Maddison suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Seoul.
Having already missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White and with Eberechi Eze said to prefer a move to Arsenal over their north London rivals, Spurs are running out of time.
But could an internal promotion be the answer to Tottenham No 10 conundrum?
Teenager Lucas Bergvall was Tottenham’s Player of the Season in 2024-25, when he emerged as a combative central midfielder with the ability to break lines.
Bergvall replaced Joao Palhinha as a half-time substitute on Thursday, after which the young Swede operated as the most advanced member of Tottenham’s midfield three.
While he was unable to run the show in Munich, it would be interesting to see how he might fare if deployed as Tottenham’s creator in chief against Burnley in just over a week.
Young Lucas Bergvall operated as Tottenham’s most advanced midfielder in the second half
Bayern are brilliant
As easy as it would be to focus on Tottenham’s shortcomings, it must be said that Bayern were brilliant.
That starting front four of Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman will take some stopping next season, both in Germany and Europe.
Meanwhile, their subs bench was equally impressive, with a host of talented teenagers putting Spurs to the sword in the second half.
Kane famously left Spurs for trophies. Since then he has only won one in two seasons, which is well below par for Bayern.
Thursday’s win over Spurs actually saw Bayern win the Telekom Cup and if they continue to perform this well over the course of the season do not be surprised if plenty more serious silverware ends up in Bavaria.
