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• Postecoglou pleased with Spurs 'growth' as second season awaits

  Ange Postecoglou believes his Tottenham side are benefiting from the solid foundations that were set last season.

  Spurs have won four of their five pre-season games, with the one loss being a narrow 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich.

  Postecoglou's free-flowing, front-foot approach garnered plaudits last season, as Spurs finished fifth.

  The Australian believes his side are now becoming even more receptive to his ideas now that he has been at the club for over a year.

  He told The Athletic: "You can see the growth. I've been doing this for a long time, so I really feel last year we laid some really strong foundations in terms of some underlying core values that I saw from the first day we got back into pre-season.

  "You know, process is a pretty boring word, but that’s the founding of how you build things. Once you've built it, then everyone can see whether it’s beautiful or ugly. But I love that you can build things in football and I think a lot of that is reflective of life — certainly my life."

  The Spurs head coach believes a less is more approach is what works in terms of motivating his players right now, especially considering how fast-paced and challenging his style of play can be.

  He said: "The way we play is very demanding. So you're looking for how much you really have to push players — and the less you feel you need to push them, the more you know they're actually buying into it.

  "Some of that is just the way they talk and their behaviour around the place. I'm looking at how they’re embracing what we’re trying to do from a football perspective, but also beyond that."

  Postecoglou’s side are next in action on Sunday where they face Bayern again, this time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

• Maresca frustrated by Chelsea's defensive bad habits

  Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has emphasised the need to make adjustments to his side's defence as he looks to eradicate some bad habits.

  The Blues conceded 63 goals last season, which was more than any other side that finished in the top six.

  They have leaked goals during this pre-season too, with four conceded in losses to both Celtic and Manchester City, before they went down 2-1 to Real Madrid in their final friendly of their U.S. tour on Tuesday.

  And Maresca is aware of the changes that have to be made to avert the issue, mainly concerning the line of defence.

  He said: "One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high.

  "We are not working on defensive lines so high. It’s a habit last year, or years ago, I don't know.

  "We are trying to drop the defensive line a little bit, usually about four or five metres, just to have some advantage.

  "Last year we conceded many goals with this problem. Hopefully, we can solve it soon."

  Chelsea looked more defensively solid against Madrid, restricting the Spanish giants to only three shots on target and an expected goals (xG) of just 1.10.

  That is a positive to take into their final pre-season friendly, which takes place on Sunday against Inter.

  Chelsea open their Premier League campaign against champions Manchester City a week later.

• Barcelona 2-2 Milan (3-4 on pens): Lewandowski at the double but Rossoneri win shootout

  Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 friendly draw in which Robert Lewandowski scored twice for the Blaugrana.

  The Rossoneri stormed into a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes at M&T Bank Stadium on Tuesday. 

  Having teed up Luka Jovic's opener with a neat ball across the six-yard box, United States star Christian Pulisic further delighted the American crowd with a dazzling run and finish to double Milan's lead.

  Cutting in from the left, Pulisic skipped beyond his marker before lashing a fine effort high into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

  Yet Barca were back in the contest in the 22nd minute when Lewandowski coolly picked out the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area.

  A slick move from Hansi Flick's team saw them draw level midway through the second half - Pau Victor laying it up for Lewandowski to tap home.

  But with Lewandowski off the pitch, Barca could not get over the line in the shootout, with Mikayil Faye seeing the decisive penalty saved.

  Data Debrief: Blaugrana can take the positives

  Despite the shootout loss and the sluggish start, it was an excellent performance for much of the match from Barca, who had 17 shots to Milan's four and created 1.72 expected goals.

  That being said, Milan's xG (1.02) shows that the Rossoneri did get into good positions despite their low shot count, and Barca will have to tighten up defensively ahead of their LaLiga campaign.