Reading 0-2 Tottenham: Thomas Frank era begins with a win as Will Lankshear and Luka Vuskovic score
Report from the pre-season friendly between Reading and Tottenham Hotspur at the Select Car Leasing Stadium as the Thomas Frank era at Spurs begins with a win, thanks to goals from Will Lankshear and Luka Vuskovic
Saturday 19 July 2025 19:53, UK
Thomas Frank made the perfect start to life as Tottenham head coach as his side beat Reading 2-0 in his first game in charge.
A tepid first half at the Select Car Leasing Stadium made way for a more competitive second, with goals from Will Lankshear and summer signing Luka Vuskovic sealing victory against the Sky Bet League One side.
Mohammed Kudus - a £55m signing from West Ham last week - was introduced after the break and made a brilliant impact, with a hand in both goals.
- How the teams lined up | Match stats
- Premier League pre-season: Fixtures and results
- Eighty per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports
The first half had a distinctly pre-season feel to it. Spurs had almost 70 per cent possession and Reading were largely chasing shadows, though they did well to protect Joel Pereira's goal.
There were chances for the visitors; Dominic Solanke dangled a leg to meet a cross, which ended up with the ball on the roof of the net, before Pereira made a smart stop to deny Pape Matar Sarr at point-blank range, then punched a Mikey Moore shot that looked destined for the top-right behind.
- Transfer Centre LIVE! | Latest on YOUR PL club!
- Got Sky? Watch PL games LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺
Frank completely changed his team at the break, with Heung-min Son, Micky van de Ven and Kudus among those to join the action.
In his first press conference on Friday, the Dane had suggested he wanted to play an attacking brand of football, and that soon came to the fore.
There was significantly more purpose to their play in the second half, which resulted in the opener after 49 minutes, when Kudus' corner was flicked on by Vuskovic to Lankshear, who headed past Joel Pereira.
Inside four minutes, it was two. Djed Spence moved the ball on to Kudus, who teed up Vuskovic to clinically sweep home.
Reading acquitted themselves well and had chances to get on the scoresheet, most notably in the final 10 minutes, when Guglielmo Vicario tipped a Ben Elliott shot over the bar, before denying Ashqar Ahmed with almost the final kick of the game.
Vuskovic: To play with Vicario, Van de Ven was amazing
Tottenham's Luka Vuskovic spoke on the club's official social channels about getting a goal, an assist and a clean sheet on his first game in a Spurs shirt.
"I'm very happy for those stats and I'm happy that we won the game with a clean sheet. We just need to continue to build," he said.
"It was a good game; a lot of duels, transitions and I think we managed it well.
"Kudus gave me a top assist and I just put it in the net!
"To have Vicario behind me, Van de Ven beside me was a really amazing experience.
"Now everything is perfect. The club is behind me, the players, the staff, the coach. Everyone is helping me a lot and I'm really happy."
Intent, dominance, set-pieces - early observations of Frank's Tottenham
Sky Sports' Dan Long at the Select Car Leasing Stadium:
The game at Reading was Tottenham's opening pre-season friendly of 2025/26. In the grand scheme of things, it means very little. This period is about fitness and getting a new message across; winning was a bonus, but one Thomas Frank will have been happy to receive.
In his first press conference on Friday, he clearly outlined his vision for the club.
"I'm very clear on the principles on every phase of the game. I want us to be brave and very aggressive. I also want to attack," he said.
"Brave is absolutely linked [with] 'To dare is to do'. If you are not brave, it is difficult to achieve anything. Brave is crucial. The aggressivity is crucial if you want to win or achieve something. And you need to attack."
That was certainly on show in the second half in Berkshire. There was bite about Spurs' attack - and they seized their chances when they came.
Their dominance of the ball was eye-catching. Perhaps it was to be expected against a team two divisions lower, but 65 per cent possession overall was impressive. It was also considerably higher than the 54.8 per cent they averaged in the Premier League under Ange Postecoglou last term.
Then there were the set-pieces. Spurs were practising them before kick-off and scored the opener from one. Brentford liked to get the edge during his time there and were one of the first clubs to employ a set-piece coach. Frank knows they could be valuable to Tottenham.
But this is just game one of many. Frank has four games in four countries over the next few weeks to hone his ideas further and bring them to life before the big kick-off on August 16.
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports' Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
