A quickfire three goals in eight minutes helped Spurs come from behind to defeat Brentford in a match which showcased every aspect of their game: the good, the bad and the ugly
The Bees had the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the ropes, hitting the front in the first half, as Destiny Udogie’s mistake allowed Neal Maupay to score the scrappiest of openers.
But Spurs responded after the interval, during which Ange Postecoglou made a double change. Udogie levelled the scoreline before Brennan Johnson, who had only been on the field of play for four minutes, added a second.
The contest should have been decided when Richarlison slotted home a third, but another error from Udogie gifted Brentford a lifeline.
Tottenham absorbed significant pressure and just hung on for the victory. It was not pretty, but it is a sign of the progress made in seven months under Postecoglou that this Spurs side were able to claim all three points.
Story of the match
It had been 86 days since James Maddison’s last Premier League start and how Spurs have missed him. The midfielder suffered ligament damage in November’s defeat to Chelsea and as he disappeared down the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tunnel that evening, with him went a huge tranche of Spurs’ creativity.
But here he was, making a welcome return to the starting line up as one of two changes from the Lilywhites’ draw with Manchester United - Dejan Kulusevksi the other.
Brentford’s torrid recent run had seen them lose seven in eight but the Bees arrived in North London buoyed by a circuit-breaking win against Nottingham Forest, inspired chiefly by a returning star of their own.
Ivan Toney had not kicked a ball in anger in the Premier League since last May, following an eight month suspension for breaching FA betting rules, but it took just 19 minutes for the England international to grab a comeback goal. He retained his starting berth as did skipper Christian Norgaard.
The Dane’s energy in midfield was called upon from the get-go with Spurs dominating the opening exchanges. Kulusevksi and Timo Werner caused problems down the flanks and Oliver Skipp had a shot blocked inside four minutes.
In fact Spurs are statistically the league’s joint fastest starters, netting seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this season. But it was precisely after a quarter of an hour that the hosts were themselves undone on this occasion.
Postecoglou has received plaudits for the bravery he demands from his players, yet there is a theory that a player can be too fearless, for it was a misplaced Udogie pass on the halfway line that was so clinically capitalised upon by the visitors.
Norgaard did not hesitate before sliding a through-ball in behind Spurs’ typically high line for Toney to latch on to. With neither Cristian Romero nor Micky van de Ven making any meaningful attempt to close him down, the forward rifled a shot towards goal which Guglielmo Vicario initially did well to beat away only for an onrushing Maupay to bundle in the rebound.
Spurs will be frustrated to have conceded barely five minutes after Mads Roerslev had a goal disallowed from a similar ball in behind. That anguish will have doubled after Maupay and Toney celebrated with an interpretation of Maddison’s trademark darts celebration.
The remainder of the half proved a slog for the hosts and while Werner and Richarlison came close to restoring parity, Ethan Pinnock could equally have doubled Brentford’s lead with an audacious backheel, as could Toney when his header was well-saved by Vicario.
Postecoglou cut a frustrated figure on the touchline for much of the opening 45 minutes and swiftly decided to turn to his bench. Spurs emerged for the second period with Brennan Johnson and Pierre-Emile Hjojberg in place of Rodrigo Bentancur and Skipp and although Postecoglou will have pondered how the changes could change the came, surely even he could not have predicted what was to ensue.
Make no mistake, Postecoglou’s men are not ones to shy away from adversity, enduring numerous set-backs this season. And where previous Spurs sides may have entered a state of panic instead this group had the wherewithal to blitz three goals in the ten minutes after the restart.
It was Udogie who set Spurs on their way. Having advanced the ball some 35 yards, the defender played an extended give-and-go with Werner and, despite seeing his initial effort thwarted by Pinnock, managed to fire home an equaliser. The defender sprinted back to his own half to restart the game, and he was well advised to do so.
There were just 73 seconds between Spurs’ first and second goals.
A van de Ven header was collected on the half-way line by Kulusevski who sent Werner galloping down the left. Facing a back-pedalling Pinnock, the German worked just enough space to fizz a cross to the back post where Johnson was waiting, slotting home with just his second touch of the ball.
Brentford’s most recent visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium produced a memorable 3-1 victory, with Spurs taking the lead that day. It was to be the inverse scoring pattern this time around as in-form Richarlison grabbed his eighth goal of the season.
Fortune favoured Spurs at times on Wednesday night and this was evident as Maddison tiptoed his way through the Brentford box before his shot deflected kindly for Richarlison to sweep home with ease.
A two-goal lead against a side as beleaguered as Thomas Frank’s Bees should have been enough to seal the victory, but Spurs are not a football club known for doing things the easy way. And so it proved as the Lilywhites gifted their opponents a route back into the match-up.
To Brentford’s credit, conceding the third appeared to galvanise their players, in particular Toney who could have scored from a fierce long-distance strike and a move which saw him drag wide having sat down the majority of Spurs’ back line. But the striker eventually got his goal, profiting off a calamitous Udogie back-pass.
With Brentford applying ample pressure, the Italian played a pass back to his goalkeeper without minding to look first. Had he taken a glance, he surely would have seen Toney, to whom he gave the ball. With acres of space to work with, the striker steadied himself before firing into the bottom corner. The game was well and truly back on.
And thus began an unconvincing final 30 minutes, a phenomenon all too familiar to the Tottenham faithful. Having halved the arrears, Brentford took control and came close to levelling on a number of occasions.
But in a frantic finale it was surely Shandon Baptiste who was presented with the best opportunity to steal a point. Three minutes into the six minutes of stoppage time awarded, Josh da Silva stood up a cross which Baptiste should have converted. Instead the midfielder side-footed over, with Vicario tipping the ball away to make sure.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium let out a collective sigh of relief when referee David Coote eventually blew the full-time whistle. A dramatic victory, which perhaps it did not need to be so.
The three points send Spurs back into the top four following Aston Villa’s defeat to Newcastle on Tuesday. Though Brentford will be encouraged by much of their showing, defeat means they remain just four points above the relegation spots.
Player of the match
Picking a standout in a game as chaotic as this is not a straightforward task. No player was without their flaws, but the best performance came from Richarlison.
The Brazilian kept up his goal-scoring form, netting what proved to be the winning goal. Many worried how Spurs would find goals with the prolific Son Heung-min away at the Asian Cup. They need not have worried.
