Tottenham Hotspur have not been especially good at winning football matches lately, especially at home. They did both today, notching their first win of the season with a 3-1 result over Frank Lampard’s Coventry City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. You could almost feel the relief pouring out of the home supporters as Spurs’ win takes them out of the relegation zone. Spurs got goals from James Maddison (making his first start of the season), Omar Marmoush (his first goal in a Spurs shirt), and late one from Ben Davies.
Roberto De Zerbi is still dealing with a number of injuries, including Lucas Bergvall and Savio, and Rodrigo Bentancur is currently serving a three match suspension for violent conduct against Manchester United. De Zerbi opted to start Tosin Adarabioyo in central defense, pushing Jan Paul van Hecke wide left, with the back line functioning as a hybrid back three. Archie Gray was moved into midfield alongside Sandro Tonali. But the biggest news was James Madison making his first start since his knee injury, and Dejan Kulusevski on the bench for the first time in over 500 days.
Tottenham did something early in this match that they hadn’t done all season to this point — they scored first! James Maddison had a fantastic long-range solo goal to put Spurs ahead in the 15th minute, which was good since their offense sputtered throughout the first half. Coventry took advantage in the second half, leveling the score via a scrappy goal from Jack Rudoni. Then suddenly… Omar Marmoush. Spurs’ new signing from Manchester City rocketed a lovely shot from the top of the box past Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth to regain the lead in the 58th minute.
The biggest cheer of the night came in the 85th minute when Dejan Kulusevski came on as an impact substitute, his first appearance in over 500 days. The crowd cheered his every touch, though he definitely looked rusty and slow on the ball. Fellow substitute Ben Davies poked home a low effort late in the match to put Spurs up 3-1 and ensure the victory, though it was hardly a convincing performance overall.
Here are my match reactions from Spurs’ first win of the season.
Match Reactions
- I still don’t understand why De Zerbi isn’t starting Mateus Fernandes, who has been arguably our most exciting signing this summer, but that’s not enough to dampen my excitement over Maddison starting and Deki on the bench.
- I was so happy for Maddison! He made a difference creatively immediately, showing creativity heretofore unseen from a Spurs 10 this season. His goal was well-taken and cathartic. And give Kudus credit for beating his man to set up the chance. Great goal.
- Spurs were not very good in the opening 14 minutes, and then we scored which is kind of opposite of the last few matches where we’ve been very good early and not scored. I’ll take the goal, all things considered.
- Kind of confused by Coventry’s tactical approach in this match — they seriously did not want the ball at all and seemed content to play for a free kick or a long throw. It really played into Spurs’ hands.
- Considering how bad Coventry were in the first half, it was disappointing how poor Spurs were in attack. They really didn’t create much against a team that effectively gave up any attempts at maintaining possession. The entire first half was basically “Jim Madders kick ball good in goal” which is not really a plan.
- See the problem with not pressing your advantage while up 1-0 is that you are insanely susceptible for stupid goals like the one Coventry scored early in the second half. A bad midfield turnover, some shoddy defending, and a stupid scrappy equalizing goal. Maddening.
- Omar Marmoush had been basically dogshit right up to the point where he rifled that shot into the back of the net. I had just commented on that in Carty Free Chat and then he scored, so I’ll take full credit. I did that.
- Tosin’s injury meant Spurs shifted tactics from a hybrid back-three to a standard back four. Archie back to RB, Mateus Fernandes in midfield, with Conor Gallagher ahead at the 10.
- So, so happy for Deki and loved the crowd cheering every time he touched the ball. I didn’t expect much from his first match back and we didn’t get much, but it was a much needed vibes injection.
- Spurs’ ability to retain the football improved markedly as soon as Fernandes came on, but they lost a lot of their offensive creativity with Gallagher compared to Maddison.
- BEN DAVIES! That goal was hilarious and pretty stupid, but it counts!
- Seriously torn by Mohammed Kudus in this one. He had a couple of good dribbles and got the assist for Madders, but shot the ball terribly and lost a lot of steam in the second half.
- Also unconvinced by Archie Gray — he’s definitely improved this season but wasn’t very incisive in possession alongside Tonali. Maybe he’s just a fullback now?
- Maddison was really good in this one, providing a level of creativity that’s been sorely missing for Spurs this season. It’s really nice to have him back — a proper creative 10 makes a huge difference in this team, even when they’re not playing especially well.
- Look, on balance this was probably one of Spurs’ worst overall performances of the season, but this time Ball Went Goal and I am not going to quibble too much about a win. We’ve played much better than today and probably deserved 4-5 points this season that we didn’t get, so getting three points from a match where we were clearly pretty bad feels like karma re-balancing the scales a bit.
- Three points means Spurs are out of the relegation zone and not do worse than the Two Points in Eight Matches debacle during Juande Ramos’ aborted season. I’ll take it. We won! It’s good to celebrate wins!