After France's blow: Ancelotti receives a painful hit in England

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Italians Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Mancini, former Premier League title winners with Chelsea and Manchester City, returned to England to watch Tottenham versus Newcastle on Saturday evening and to run the rule over a number of players from the Italy and Brazil national teams. The absence of most of the names they had come to see turned the trip into a disappointment, especially for Ancelotti.

Mancini was tracking Sandro Tonali, who started for Newcastle, while Destiny Udogie came off the bench for Tottenham. The Brazilian players he had hoped to watch were nowhere to be seen, chief among them Richarlison, Savio and Sousa, along with Newcastle's Joelinton.

Injuries and circumstance robbed Ancelotti of the chance to assess them up close.

Savio missed out through injury, despite scoring on his Tottenham debut against Charlton following his 85 million pound move from Manchester City. Joelinton was sidelined for the same reason.

Richarlison, meanwhile, did not feature amid continued speculation over his future with the London club. Sousa remained out of the picture, sitting behind Robertson and Udogie in the pecking order.

Ancelotti had gone to considerable lengths to make the match. He spent Friday evening in France watching his son Davide, the Lille coach, take on Paris Saint-Germain, before heading to London for Tottenham versus Newcastle.

His night in France proved anything but ideal. Lille led by two goals deep into stoppage time before Vitinha pulled one back in the 91st minute, and Marquinhos snatched the equaliser in the 95th. A victory that had been within reach slipped through his son's grasp.

At Tottenham, Sweden's Anthony Elanga settled matters in Newcastle's favour, striking the go-ahead goal in the 60th minute to hand his side a fresh advantage. Ancelotti and Mancini never got the chance they had come for.