Tainio gives lift to Spurs after King's latest injury setback
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Your support makes all the difference.A superb goal from Teemu Tainio helped Tottenham beat the recently crowned Italian champions Internazionale 2-1 in a pre- season friendly at White Hart Lane yesterday.
The Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov made his home debut but Tainio stole the show with a 50-yard run and long-range shot which proved the difference between the teams.
The home side were the first to threaten in the 19th minute as Robbie Keane's volley was punched away by the Internazionale goalkeeper Francesco Toldo.
Tottenham took the lead after 35 minutes when Edgar Davids' pass found Tainio and his shot took a large deflection off Daniele Marino on its way past Toldo.
However, the sides went in level at half-time after the Brazilian full-back Maicon let fly from 25 yards in the 43rd minute and. though goalkeeper Radek Cerny was able to parry his shot, Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins pounced on the rebound.
With 11 minutes to go Tainio produced the winner, picking up the ball in his own half and surging forward before burying a left-foot shot into Toldo's bottom right-hand corner
A shadow over the win was cast, however, by the news that Spurs' captain Ledley King will miss the start of the season and faces up to eight weeks out with a knee injury.
The 25-year-old defender had recovered from the broken foot which forced him out of England's World Cup squad, but his knee injury was sustained in training and means he will be absent for Tottenham until early September at best. It also rules him out of Steve McClaren's plans for his first match as England's new coach, an Old Trafford friendly against Greece on 16 August.
Fulham held Real Madrid to a goalless draw at Irdning in Austria on Saturday, with Franck Queudrue making his debut. Julio Baptista hit the crossbar with a 12th-minute shot but Fulham came equally close when Collins John's header struck the post from Liam Rosenior's cross.
Another new recruit, Jimmy Bullard, featured from the start, while Jonathan Woodgate was included in Real's starting line-up. There was no Ruud van Nistelrooy, the day after he completed his move from Manchester United, while David Beckham and Ronaldo were also absent.
Everton lost the second match of their pre-season tour of the United States, defeated 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out by the Mexican side Club America in Houston after drawing 1-1.
Everton took the lead in the fifth minute from a stunning Mikel Arteta free-kick butNelson Cuevas, who played for Paraguay at the World Cup, equalised.
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