LONDON — On the bright side, with two weekends of the season left, Tottenham increased their lead in the head-to-head battle to avoid the Championship. They played in a way that was an identifiable approximation of what their manager might look to build over the five-year contract that was the price of him taking the helm of a ship that was rapidly taking on water. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was even graced by James Maddison’s presence at last.
In totality, this has been a fine 30 or so hours for Tottenham. Barring some gigantic wins for West Ham to close out the season, four points will be enough to ensure that Premier League football is being played at this ground in 2026-27. Given how perilous this all looked even a fortnight ago, Spurs find themselves in a manageable position.
How much better ought it to have been, though? When Mathys Tel’s bending strike unleashed bedlam at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it seemed that survival was within Spurs’ reach. It could not be mathematically assured Monday night, but a team with three wins from three would surely have the momentum needed to get what they needed against Chelsea and/or Everton.
And they wouldn’t fritter away their advantage today, would they? This was the banker on their fixture list. After the favor done for them by Arsenal on Sunday, Spurs surely needed only to get their noses out in front of an opponent who had nothing to play for between now and August. The travelling contingent had begun the night with cries of “Leeds are staying up” that were picked up with no less gusto when they fell into that hole in the 50th minute. It had been mission accomplished for Daniel Farke’s side when results broke their way earlier this weekend. Without their starting full backs and Noah Okafor, they hadn’t seemed to put up much of a fight beyond their customary scraps for long balls and set pieces.
Certainly, they looked inferior to a team over whom they hold a six-point advantage in the league. For much of this game, you could see the first flushes of what Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham might look like next season. Just like his Brighton side of old, they ensured this game was played where they wanted it to be. Antonin Kinsky would hold possession for as long as it took to draw a Leeds press. Unlike the Italian’s old club, there was not much appetite to play around the pressure. No wonder when attempts to do that had Tel fizzing the ball across his own box to hand Leeds one of their best openings before injury time.
By bypassing their limited midfield, Spurs were able to get the ball into positions where the pressure was on their opponent. When the ball gets into the final third, there has been a clear upswing in Tottenham’s ability to win the ball. In the first 33 league games of the season, this side won possession in the attacking third three and a half times per game. On Monday, they won it back five times, in the last three, they are averaging over six recoveries in the most dangerous area of the pitch. A better attack might have turned the field tilt into more chances than the odd snapshot here and there, but at least the ball was actually getting into the attacking third and semi-frequently staying there. Small victories and all that.
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For a time, this had the look of a big victory. A half-cleared corner, a brilliant strike by Tel and Tottenham had momentum on their side. Again, though, these intangibles aren’t much use when the players aren’t able to maximize them. Richarlison should have done better when teed up by Randal Kolo Muani soon after the opener but there were few other openings. It’s the story of the season all over again for Spurs. What they would give for Dejan Kulusevski, Mohamed Kudus, even Dominic Solanke. Even another 10 minutes of Maddison, whose appeals for an injury-time penalty were swiftly dismissed by Jarred Gillett and his VAR, would have done nicely.
Without the cutting edge to supplement their control, Tottenham were always vulnerable to one of those moments. The sort where this young, technically questionable squad just make the wrong decision under pressure. You know, a loose pass in midfield, a pressing trigger missed, an attempt to bicycle kick a corner to safety having seen Ethan Ampadu charging forward to compete for the ball, headfirst. Relatable, predictable stuff like that. Whether Tel’s boot made much of a connection with Ampadu’s head or his shoulder, you cannot complain when you are punished in the harshest terms for such indiscretion.
In the final 15 minutes, Spurs’ fate was in the lap of the gods. Perhaps they will rue the penalty that wasn’t when Maddison tumbled over the leg of Lukas Nmecha. Perhaps Kinsky’s excellent save from Sean Longstaff will prove to have made amends for what happened against Atletico Madrid.
For now uncertainty reigns. Will Chelsea and Everton rouse themselves for the outside prospect of European football? Will they need to given that Tottenham couldn’t put away Leeds? What of West Ham, who could just take six points from six if they play as well as they did against Arsenal? All that you can be sure of is that right now Spurs do not have much firepower if this does become a shootout for survival.
And yet still this result was better than it might have been. Crucially it was better than West Ham’s. Whether it was good enough, well that might not be a question we can answer until the season is over.
