Mateus Fernandes marked his first Tottenham appearance in style by scoring a sensational goal in the 1-0 pre-season friendly win over MK Dons.
Fernandes joined Spurs for £85million this summer, making the switch from London rivals West Ham after they were relegated from the Premier League - at the expense of his new club - on the final day of the 2025-26 campaign.
The midfielder was not named in the Portugal squad for the 2026 World Cup, therefore he has been afforded the opportunity to hit the ground running at Tottenham.
Reporting for pre-season training at the beginning of the month, Fernandes has been putting in the hard yards at Hotspur Way and was handed an unofficial debut in the behind-closed-doors friendly against MK Dons on Wednesday evening.
It did not take long for Fernandes to show his quality as he broke the deadlock inside the opening three minutes with a stunning volley which proved to be the only goal of the game as Spurs began their pre-season campaign with a win.
What a hit, Mateus Fernandes 💥
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 22, 2026
Watch our pre-season games live on SPURSPLAY!
As expected, the goal garnered a massive response from Tottenham fans on social media, with one in particular suggesting the £85m transfer fee can already be classed as a bargain...
Thought we were buying a number 6? Send them another £50 mill
— Luke (@Superspurs1982) July 22, 2026
Worth 120 million after that
— George (@GDTHFC_) July 22, 2026
However, some technical issues with SPURSPLAY prompted some supporters to miss the goal live and therefore demands of a refund has emerged...
homefully that £85M can afford us all a refund for this shocking live stream 😭
— Sawyer 🌲🎶 (@YerTheDurr) July 22, 2026
Shameful charging us for a stream that don’t work. Refund please
— Che (@thechewatson) July 22, 2026
Discussing the goal, Fernandes said: “It was my favourite goal of my career. I need to do this more and more times, to score goals, to shoot outside of the box. I know I can do it.
“I am so happy to be here. I know that I am playing for a massive club. We are playing for the top of Premier League and the level needs to be big. We need to train hard and play well.”
