Tottenham 3-2 Brentford: Spurs fight back to win feisty, five-goal thriller against Bees in Premier League
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Updated 01/02/2024 at 00:31 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur fought back to beat Brentford 3-2 in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The win sees Spurs move up into fourth place in the league table. They are level on 43 points with Aston Villa but Ange Postecoglou's team are ahead of the Midlands club courtesy of a superior goal difference. Next up for Spurs is Everton in the early kick-off on Saturday.
Brennan Johnson of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his team's second goal with Dejan Kulusevski during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 31, 2024 in London,
Image credit: Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur produced a stunning second-half comeback to deny a brave Brentford side in a bad-tempered 3-2 win in north London.
The visitors took a deserved lead on the break in a tense first-half, with Neal Maupay bundling in after Ivan Toney’s shot was saved.
But a rejuvenated Spurs ripped Brentford apart in a stunning start to the second half, scoring three times inside the first ten minutes, as Destiny Udogie and half-time substitute Brennan Johnson scored to prompt jubilant celebrations among the home faithful.
Richarlison made it 3-1 after James Maddison’s shot deflected to him in the box, and that looked like the game in the bag for Spurs.
But a mistake by Udogie, who didn’t see Toney in an offside position and played a back-pass straight to him, allowed Brentford’s centre-forward to score a second in his two games since returning to action.
Spurs held on in a nervy eight minutes of added time to register a win that sends them into the top four of the Premier League.
Talking Point – Postecoglou lives up to his message
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou spoke to TNT Sports prior to kick-off about his desire to bring goals to Spurs, and he showed everything that he’s about in the following 90 minutes.
The Spurs boss’s fascinating interview featured many interesting details, but what he didn’t cover was his ruthless edge – something he showcased in a half-time double change that saw Spurs remove both of their central midfielders and mix up the tactical shape and approach for the second half.
His addition of a second central playmaker by moving Kulusevski inside, along with the arrival of width on both flanks thanks to Johnson’s introduction, helped Spurs blow Brentford away after the restart.
It won’t always work, but Postecoglou football is superb fun to watch, and it’s more sophisticated than some of his critics would have you believe.
Player Of The Match – Richarlison (Tottenham)
The Tottenham forward had a shaky start to his Spurs career, but seems to have finally hit a rich vein of form as the central striker in Postecoglou’s system, and he bagged another goal – what proved to be the winner.
He was outstanding all night with his hold-up play, working tirelessly to give Tottenham an outlet and relieve some of the pressure from a midfield that was clearly missing the quality of Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr.
Player Ratings
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario 7; Porro, Romero(C) 8, Van de Ven 7, Udogie 6; Skipp 6, Bentancur 5; Kulusevski 6, Maddison 7, Werner 7; Richarlison 8. Subs: Johnson 7, Hojbjerg 7, Dragusin 6, Donley 6
Brentford: Flekken 7; Collins 6, Pinnock 7, Mee 7; Roerslev 6, Jensen 7, Nørgaard(C) 5, Janelt 6, Lewis-Potter 6; Maupay 7, Toney 6. Subs: Yarmolyuk 5, Dasilva 6, Ajer 6, Baptiste 5, Damsgaard 6.
Match Highlights
15’ – GOAL! SPURS 0-1 BRENTFORD (MAUPAY)
Brentford have the lead and one of their counter-attacks does pay off. It’s Toney who runs clear now, moving into the box down the right. He uses the support run of Maupay to leave himself room for a shot, which is superbly saved by Vicario, only for Maupay to bundle in the rebound via a deflection off Romero. 1-0 to the visitors!
48’ – GOAL! SPURS 1-1 BRENTFORD (UDOGIE)
Spurs have the equaliser and it’s Udogie, who bursts into the box and tucks home at the second attempt after his shot comes straight back to him. 1-1!
49’ – GOAL! SPURS 2-1 BRENTFORD (JOHNSON)
Oh my word, Spurs are flying. They counter quickly after the kick-off and Werner bursts clear down the left before picking out the perfect cross for substitute Johnson to tuck home at the back post. He celebrates with a darts celebration, returning the favour. What a mad start to the half!
56’ – GOAL! SPURS 3-1 BRENTFORD (RICHARLISON)
Spurs pour forward again with a brilliant flowing move. Maddison is picked out in the box and cuts back onto his right for the shot, which is blocked straight to Richarlison, who turns home Spurs’ third goal in less than ten second-half minutes. Remarkable!
67’ – GOAL! SPURS 3-2 BRENTFORD (TONEY)
Udogie slips as he attempts a pass-back and plays it straight to Toney, who was hobbling back from an offside position. He finishes dismissively into the far bottom corner, but doesn’t look happy as he limps back to the centre circle. That was a bizarre moment – Udogie can’t have seen that the Brentford striker was still there.
Key Stats
Tottenham have scored in every Premier League game under Postecoglou.
Richarlison has scored more league goals than any other Brazilian man across Europe’s top five leagues.
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