On 26 March 2023, Tottenham announced that head coach Antonio Conte had left the club by mutual agreement. On the same day, Cristian Stellini took charge as the acting head coach until the end of the season.[2] On 24 April 2023, following a 6–1 loss to Newcastle United, Stellini was sacked and replaced by Ryan Mason.[3][4]
Season overview
Antonio Conte, manager of Tottenham Hotspur until 26 March 2023
Tottenham's season started with a 4–1 home win against Southampton.[5] The club then went on a seven-game unbeaten run in the league, which saw Tottenham beat Leicester City 6–2 with Son Heung-min coming off the bench to score a second half hat-trick.[6] After the international break, the players returned for an away game on 1 October against North London rivalsArsenal losing 3–1 and ending their Premier League undefeated streak.[7] Tottenham went on to win their next two matches against Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton; however, their form dropped with multiple losses in the league in October and November against Manchester United, Newcastle United and Liverpool. On the final game before the World Cup break, Tottenham defeated Leeds United 4–3.
In the Champions League, Tottenham had good enough form to top their group with a double win over Marseille and a home win against Eintracht Frankfurt. Their only loss was away to Sporting CP in Portugal. For the round of 16, Tottenham were drawn against seven-time winners AC Milan, to be played in February and March 2023.
Tottenham entered the third round of the EFL Cup and were drawn away to Nottingham Forest. Forest at the time were bottom of the league and struggling to find form. The match took place on 9 November, and Tottenham started with what was considered a strong squad. However, the game resulted in a 2–0 defeat, with goals from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard knocking the club out of the competition.[8]
The winter break came early due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. After the World Cup, Tottenham only played one game in December, against Brentford, which ended as a 2–2 draw.[9]
In January and February, Tottenham's league form was up and down. They first lost 2–0 at home to Aston Villa on New Year's Day, but then thrashed Crystal Palace 4–0. Tottenham then had a difficult run of games against Arsenal, Manchester City, Fulham and then Manchester City again.
Tottenham advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup defeating Portsmouth 1–0 in the third round,[10] and defeating Preston North End 3–0 in the fourth round.
In February, Conte returned to Italy to have surgery to remove his gallbladder, leaving Cristian Stellini in charge. Under Stellini, Tottenham played their round of 16 Champions League match, first away in Milan, losing 1–0. The home game played on 8 March was a goalless draw, knocking Tottenham out of the Champions League. The game also saw Cristian Romero get sent off for a second yellow card.[11]
Stellini's Tottenham had mixed results, including being knocked out of the FA Cup by Sheffield United.[12] On 26 March, Conte was sacked a day after showing his frustration in a news conference after a 3–3 draw at Southampton. Stellini was only in charge for four more games, the last being a crushing 6–1 loss at Newcastle, Tottenham's worst defeat of the season, after which Stellini was sacked and replaced with assistant coach Ryan Mason.[13] Mason was in charge for six games, winning two, losing three and drawing one. On the last day of the season, Tottenham beat Leeds United 4–1 away from home and finishing in eighth place, the club's worst league position since the 2008–09 season. This was also Lucas Moura's last game for the club, as he scored the final goal of the game.[14]
Note: Players will join other clubs after being released or terminated from their contract. Only the following clubs are mentioned when that club signed the player in the same transfer window.
To prepare for the upcoming season, Tottenham played a series of friendlies across the world. The club first met Korean club Team K League and Sevilla in South Korea for the Coupang Play Series on 13 and 16 July 2022, respectively.[67][68] The team then travelled to Scotland to play Rangers on 23 July 2022[69] and played Roma in Israel for the I-Tech Cup the following week.[70]
In December, while the season was halted due to the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup, Tottenham announced a mid-season friendly behind closed doors against Scottish side Motherwell on 9 December as well as an additional match at home with reduced capacity to French club Nice on 21 December 2022.[71][72]
Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) If the champions, relegated teams or qualified teams for UEFA competitions cannot be determined by rules 1 to 3, rules 4.1 to 4.3 are applied – 4.1) Points gained in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.2) Away goals scored in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.3) Play-offs[73] Notes:
^Since the winners of the 2022–23 FA Cup, Manchester City, qualified for the Champions League, the spot given to the FA Cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to the sixth-placed team.
^Since the winners of the 2022–23 EFL Cup, Manchester United, qualified for the Champions League, the spot given to the League Cup winners (Europa Conference League play-off round) was passed to the seventh-placed team.
Note: The match was originally scheduled to be played on 11 September 2022, but was included in the league-wide postponement due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.[75][76]
Note: The match was originally scheduled to be played at 15:00 BST, but was delayed by 15 minutes due to Bournemouth arriving late because of traffic.[77][78]
Tottenham entered the competition in the third round as one of the teams competing in UEFA competitions. They were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the third round.[82]
