Tottenham’s agonising wait for a Premier League win ends with Coventry victory
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Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison (right) celebrating with Omar Marmoush after scoring their first goal against Coventry City on Oct 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur fans have been crying out for a bit of quality this season and they finally got it on Oct 19, as the north London side claimed their first English Premier League win in 148 days with a 3-1 home success against Coventry City.
Tottenham are the last of the 92 clubs in the top seven divisions of English football to earn a victory this season and they move off the bottom of the Premier League standings into 16th with six points from seven games, one place ahead of Coventry.
“We are very happy for the result and we played much better than in other games. It was important to get this win,” Spurs manager Roberto de Zerbi said.
James Maddison started for the first time since May 2025 and marked the occasion with a superb opening goal that had the home faithful off their seats.
But there was even better to come as Omar Marmoush netted his first for the club since his move from Manchester City with a rasping drive from 25m, before Ben Davies added a late third.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke celebrating after Omar Marmoush scored their second goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“We knew we wanted to win and today was the day, so hopefully we can kick on from here,” defender Jan Paul van Hecke said. “We needed to be patient. It was not an easy game for us with Coventry’s low (defensive) block.”
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the night came when winger Dejan Kulusevski was introduced off the bench on his return from a lengthy injury spell that was ended with his first competitive action in 526 days.
A first win of the season, the return of key players and a little more swagger in the side made this a potential turning point in the season for Tottenham, who had scored only three goals in the campaign before the Oct 19 win.
Having spent upwards of £308 million (S$525 million) in the last transfer window as part of a major rebuilding project under manager de Zerbi, there were finally signs of improvement for the side following last season’s brush with relegation.
The question now is whether they can find consistency. Next up for Tottenham is an away trip to Chelsea on Oct 24.
“It is another big game and we need to go there with personality and believe we can win, and we can because we have the quality,” van Hecke said. REUTERS