Tottenham break 550-minute drought with first lead of Premier League season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Last season's flirtation with relegation was supposed to be the first — and last — of its kind for the club, as they spend millions of pounds in the summer transfer window to avoid such a fate again.
Yet entering their seventh match of the 2026/27 season, Tottenham were the last team in the English top flight not to win a league game.
With Fulham and Bournemouth both winning over the weekend, Spurs were the last remaining club not only to have failed to secure a victory on the year, but even to have led at any point in a match.
So, heading into a Monday game with recently-promoted Coventry City, Tottenham were hoping to propel themselves off the bottom of the table in the hopes of building a foundation for future success.
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Tottenham get first lead of the Premier League season
On his first start since tearing his ACL back in August of 2025, James Maddison gave Tottenham a 1-0 lead over Coventry City just 14 minutes into their match at home on Monday, October 19.
It was a beautiful goal that gave Spurs their first lead of the season, 554 minutes into the new season.
Watch Maddison goal in the USA:
ADVANTAGE SPURS!! What a strike from distance by James Maddison 😮💨 ⚪️ Tottenham: 1 🟣 Coventry City: 0 ⏱️ 14’ https://t.co/8ARuE8Ho12
— USA Sports (@usasports) October 19, 2026
It was Maddison's first Premier League goal since February 16, 2025 when he grabbed the only goal of a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
The lead didn't last terribly long, as Jack Rudoni brought the teams back level just five minutes after halftime, but Omar Marmoush restored the Spurs advantage on the hour mark.
They would secure all three points in the end, as they would hold on for a 3-1 victory, with Ben Davies adding the finishing touches with a 96th-minute goal.