Leeds 1 Tottenham 2: Spurs end international break curse, and nearly Beachball-gate II

Tottenham Hotspur managed a hard-fought win over Leeds United at Elland Road.

The home side had an opportunity six minutes in from a Sean Longstaff free kick, but Joe Rodon could only find the post with his header.

But it was the visitors who took the lead in the 23rd minute. Mathys Tel received the ball on the edge of the area and worked a shooting opportunity to fire at the Leeds goal, with a deflection from Pascal Struijk sending the ball past Karl Darlow. Leeds levelled just over 10 minutes later, with Noah Okafor scoring following an unconvincing save from Guglielmo Vicario.

After chances for both sides in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, Spurs retook the lead in the 57th minute. Mohammed Kudus cut inside onto his left foot to put his team ahead. The ball again hit Struijk before travelling past Darlow.

Beren Cross and Elias Burke were in attendance and analyse the key moments from the game.

Tottenham end international break curse

One of the Premier League’s strangest streaks is finally over.

With Tottenham’s win today, they have ended their unwanted run of seven consecutive defeats directly before an international break. The run started in November 2023 with a 2-1 defeat to Wolves and continued through Ange Postecoglou’s tenure up to the 1-0 loss at home to Bournemouth under Frank last month.

Asked about it in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Frank said he had informed his squad about the run ahead of time, anticipating the question, and that “I really, really do hope we win tomorrow, so we don’t need to speak too much about it in the future”.

Given the number of internationals in Tottenham’s squad, such a run in the game directly after a break would make sense, with key players travelling from around the world in the days leading up to the return. The fact that it affected matches before the break, however, was more puzzling.

But that’s all in the past now. For the first time in almost two years, Tottenham’s players can leave to represent their nations on a high.

Elias Burke

How close were we to Beachball-gate II?

October. Premier League. A beach ball. A goal. That infamous quartet was almost reunited at Elland Road on Saturday.

As Okafor ghosted in to receive his present from Vicario, a beach ball was inches away from being the story once again in an October top-flight fixture. As Jayden Bogle whipped another excellent cross into Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the white inflatable rolled into view at the far side of the Tottenham penalty area.

Calvert-Lewin did well to guide the ball’s pace into Brenden Aaronson for an effort which Vicario saw late. The Italian could only parry the ball into Okafor’s path for a tap-in, while, mercifully, the beach ball remained out of the way. If it had interfered with play and stopped Vicario from saving the shot, play would have been paused.

It was so close to getting in the way, Vicario took out his frustrations on the inflatable as it rolled to him on the goal line.

The incident was almost reminiscent of Darren Bent’s strike for Sunderland against Liverpool in October 2009.

Bent’s effort looked likely to be saved by Pepe Reina, but it collided with a beach ball — thrown onto the pitch by a Liverpool fan — and went in, wrong-footing the goalkeeper. That goal stood, but officials later admitted it should have been disallowed.

Beren Cross

Is this the most Tottenham’s left side has clicked under Frank?

The early signs of a flourishing partnership between Kudus — who was awarded man of the match today — and Pedro Porro down Tottenham’s right side have been one of the most encouraging points of Frank’s first 10 games as head coach, but it was the left that was more dangerous against Leeds.

Xavi Simons started as a No 10 for the first time in the league, and his tendency to drift towards the left from central positions saw him combine with Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie, who replaced Djed Spence as the left-back, to create several opportunities in the first half.

Udogie’s inclusion today was central to the success. Spence is a ‘lockdown defender’ in how he keeps opposition wingers quiet, but is naturally right-footed, so can be limited as a dribbler on the left side. While Udogie’s crossing has not always been consistent in a Spurs shirt, his ability to drive down the wing with his left foot opened a new avenue of attack.

Perhaps the most promising passage was on the 27th minute, shortly after Calvert-Lewin spurned an excellent opportunity for Leeds, with Spurs’ left-sided attackers combining to release Udogie down the left wing.

After breaking into the box, he crossed for Kudus on the opposite side, but the Ghana international’s shot flew high and wide. While it did not result in a goal, it was an encouraging sign that things are starting to improve on Tottenham’s left side.

Elias Burke

Leeds’ unbeaten home run is over. Should they be concerned?

Leeds’ unbeaten league streak at Elland Road ends at 385 days. The home suffered their third loss of the season, but this was not the disastrous, one-sided loss of a team out of their depth.

Leeds were better than Tottenham Hotspur in every metric — except for the one which mattered. Struijk may go to bed feeling the most frustrated of those in white tonight; the centre-back had the misfortune of seeing not one, but two goals deflected in off him.

However, Struijk did his best to stop both shots — as a defender should — only to make life harder for Darlow in the process. After Kudus’ match-winning goal, Struijk was visibly bemoaning his misfortune.

Tottenham ended the game second in the league table, and that should in some ways embolden Leeds. The hosts had more possession, higher expected goals (xG), more shots, more shots on target and more big chances.

Crucially for everyone’s mental state in West Yorkshire, eight points from seven matches keeps United above the one-point-per-match average survival generally requires.

Beren Cross

What did Farke say?

He said: “The first overriding feeling is, of course, we are disappointed because we’re playing for results. There are no pictures in the table. You want to win points, that’s why we play football, and, for that, we are disappointed.

“Apart from this, I have to say just many compliments, congratulations to the lads for this performance because, after this game, I would be normally disappointed, even with a draw, not even to speak about a loss.

“We were the better side today. We were the better side in all aspects. We had more possession, we had more passes, we had more expected goals, we had more shots with more shots on target, we had more big chances created, more big chances missed, we had more corners.

“In each and every aspect we were the better side today, but football is decided by goals.”

What did Frank say?

He said: “(I’m) extremely happy with the win. I think if you want to build any successful team, you need mentality and character and cohesion and togetherness, no matter if you play like Inter or Barcelona or whatever style of play. You need that willingness to do everything to win. I think we are building that more and more in the team.

“I actually think that until the 80th Minute, I’m very happy with those 80 minutes. You know, give and take, I felt we looked very solid defensively. I think we gave the goal away, which is like a cross/deflected shot. Of course, I know they hit the post, but I think it looks more dangerous than it is. That’s what we gave away until the 80th minute, but I think we created two goals, and other very good and dangerous situations and chances. So very happy with that, and then we need a little bit of surviving and a couple of good saves from Vicario.

“I think 14 points in seven is two on average, that’s very good. I’m extremely happy that we are now on the road, won three and a draw, which I think that’s part of that; if you want to achieve anything, you need to do that. So overall, a good start. But, yeah, we need to continue.

What next for Leeds?

Saturday, October 18: Burnley (Away), Premier League, 3pm UK, 10am ET

What next for Spurs?

Sunday, October 19: Aston Villa (Home), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET

(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Click here to read article