Tottenham Hotspur recorded their first Premier League victory of the season with a 3-1 home win over Coventry City on Monday, lifting Roberto De Zerbi's side to 16th in the table. James Maddison opened the scoring on 14 minutes with a first-time strike, and goals from Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies secured the points after Jack Rudoni had briefly levelled for Coventry.
Maddison and Kulusevski return boost Spurs
The match marked Maddison's first start since May 2025, while Dejan Kulusevski made his first appearance in a matchday squad after 526 days out injured. De Zerbi said he was "very happy" for both players, adding that their inclusion had given the squad a morale boost. Tottenham were still without Pedro Porro, Savio, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Xavi Simons, Mykhailo Mudryk and Destiny Udogie, forcing a patched-up three-at-the-back formation.
Coventry started brightly, with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto twice testing the home defence. But on 14 minutes, Mohammed Kudus played the ball into Maddison's path, and the attacking midfielder curled a superb effort into the top corner. Dominic Solanke fired over and Archie Gray went close as Spurs pushed for a second before the break.
Coventry equalise but Spurs respond
Coventry came out stronger after half-time and equalised on 50 minutes. Jean-Paul van Hecke ran into trouble, and after a scramble in the box, Sandro Tonali failed to react as the ball fell to Jack Rudoni, who smashed home from close range. Tonali, otherwise impressive, responded by going close twice from deep positions.
Five minutes later, Marmoush battled forward and fired a low shot past the Coventry goalkeeper to restore Tottenham's lead. De Zerbi introduced Conor Gallagher and Mateus Fernandes for energy, and Ben Davies made sure of the points with a low drive from the edge of the box in added time (90+6).
De Zerbi hails team spirit after first win
Speaking after the match, De Zerbi said: "I was happy with the spirit, and the reaction to the goal we conceded. Honestly, we didn't play so well like the last game against Manchester United, when we didn't win and played better than today. Now we have to understand that we are able to win. The mental aspect is crucial. They [the players] have been fantastic, they suffered a lot, we need to improve our confidence and improve our patterns of play, but they are a good team, very good."
The win was Tottenham's sixth in 37 home Premier League matches and their first league victory of the campaign, lifting them off the bottom of the table. Tottenham's lineup included Kinsky, van Hecke, Adarabioyo, van de Ven, Kudus, Robertson, Tonali, Gray, Maddison, Marmoush, and Solanke, with substitutes Dubravka, Senesi, Olusesi, and Williams-Barnett unused. Coventry's team featured Rushworth, van Ewijk, Thomas, Pinnock, Dasilva, Yirenkyi, Grimes, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Thomas-Asante, and Cherif, with Bentley, Simms, Mfuni, and Torp on the bench.
