Tottenham beat Coventry City 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night, ending a run of five league games without a win.
James Maddison put them ahead, Jack Rudoni pulled Coventry level, and Omar Marmoush restored the lead before Ben Davies struck deep into stoppage time.
The decisive moments
- 14' Tottenham 1-0: James Maddison, assisted by Mohammed Kudus
- 49' Tottenham 1-1: Jack Rudoni, assisted by Brandon Thomas-Asante
- 58' Tottenham 2-1: Omar Marmoush, assisted by Andrew Robertson
- 90+6' Tottenham 3-1: Ben Davies, assisted by Dominic Solanke
Coventry's equaliser came four minutes after the restart. Tottenham needed only nine minutes to respond, and Marmoush's goal proved decisive. Davies, who was not in the starting line-up, made sure of it in the sixth minute of added time, with Solanke providing the assist.
The game was not especially bad-tempered. Caleb Yirenkyi (20'), Jay Dasilva (45') and Rudoni (64') were booked for Coventry, and Solanke (22') for Tottenham.
What the numbers say
Tottenham controlled the ball, with 66% possession to Coventry's 34%. They had 16 shots to 12, and five of them were on target against Coventry's one.
Much else was level. Each side had four corners and four blocked shots, and each put seven shots off target. Tottenham were flagged offside six times to Coventry's once, and the foul count was 15 to 14.
The expected goals figures, via Fantasy Premier League, tell a tighter story. Expected goals measure the quality of chances created, and they gave Tottenham 0.18 and Coventry 0.39. Tottenham scored well above that figure. Coventry, who also scored once, finished closer to theirs.
That fits the pattern of Tottenham's season. Before kick-off they were scoring 0.86 goals per game and had conceded 1.43. Three goals here was a clear improvement on both their league average and their recent run, which had brought two defeats and three draws in five games.
What it means
Before the match, the table had Tottenham 16th and Coventry 17th, both on six points from seven games. Tottenham's goal difference was -4 and Coventry's -8.
On those figures, Tottenham's win takes them to nine points, while Coventry stay on six. Coventry had lost three of their previous five league games, and this defeat leaves them still searching for consistency. Their goals-against average stood at two per game before this match, and they have now conceded three more.
MFF's match model had predicted a 1-0 Tottenham win, giving the home side a 42% chance, with 28% for a draw and 31% for a Coventry win. It had the right winner but the wrong score.
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