Tottenham fans would have been forgiven if they did a double take when they saw two individuals in team tracksuits walking to the stadium on Wednesday.
But it turned out it was not two super fans wanting to look just like players, it actually was two players: James Maddison and Mikey Moore.
Maddison shared the bizarre tale on his Instagram stories on Friday.
“Traffic was that bad, me and @mikeymoore_10 had to walk the last mile as we got stuck in stand still traffic and weren’t moving,” Maddison wrote.
Despite the potential to be mobbed by supporters around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Maddison enjoyed the experience of going undercover with Moore.
“Actually loved walking past the pubs and on the streets to the ground with the fans,” Maddison said.
“Reminded me of going to watch Coventry with my dad as a boy.
“No one had a clue did they @mikeymoore_10.”
Luckily for Maddison, the hindered preparation had no effect on him given he was an unused substitute in Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou did call on 17-year-old Moore in the 68th minute as he came on in place of Brennan Johnson.
An early strike from Timo Werner set the tone for Tottenham when he rounded off a lightning-fast counter attack to slam home Dejan Kulusevski’s low cross.
Pape Matar Sarr doubled the hosts’ advantage with a sweetly-struck first-time effort from the edge of the box midway through the first half.
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But City halved the deficit just before the interval when Matheus Nunes got on the end of a cross.
Despite having the majority of possession in the second half, City struggled to produce clear-cut chances as Tottenham held on for victory.
The win was Postecoglou’s first over City since he took over in north London in July 2023.
His first meeting with Pep Guardiola’s side ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw last December as Dejan Kulusevski’s 90th-minute header saved Tottenham.
However, City got the better of Tottenham in the fourth round of the FA Cup and in the second-last game of the Premier League.
But Postecoglou is now one step closer to rubber-stamping his statement of ‘always’ winning trophies in his second seasons at clubs thanks to Wednesday’s victory.
Manchester United await Tottenham in the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup in what will be new Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim’s eighth game in charge.
