Oh, Tottenham.
If the club thought a Leeds side already safe from relegation would take it easy, they were quickly disabused of that notion. Daniel Farke’s visitors chased every loose ball and contested every tackle with intensity absent from much of Tottenham’s play this season. The dawning realisation that Leeds weren’t in London to mess about was a sight to behold. Only time will tell if the Yorkshire side have hammered another nail into Tottenham’s coffin, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort.
Tottenham’s famous tendency for self-sabotage was very much on display Monday night. Winger Mathys Tel had a mixed game: he scored a wonder goal, then gave away a penalty with an ill-advised overhead kick into Ethan Ampadu’s face. After falling behind, Leeds equalised from the spot and could have won but for a sensational added-time save from goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
“We made too many mistakes,” sighed head coach Roberto De Zerbi. “If we want to win we have to reduce them, but we knew before this game it would be tough until the end of the season. It is tough for us and tough for everyone.” His mood wasn’t helped by a late VAR decision that went against his team, when Lukas Nmecha was correctly judged not to have fouled James Maddison, who received a warm welcome back from long-term injury – even Farke felt compelled to hug him.
“There have been some dark days in the last year,” said Maddison, focusing on his personal struggles rather than the club’s plight. “It has been a really tough year for me mentally but I’m at the end of the tunnel now. I can look back with fondness because I’m as mentally strong as I can be after going through that.”
Just two points above the relegation zone with two games left, Tottenham need four points to guarantee safety. Next week they visit Chelsea, where they’ve won only once in 32 attempts
