James Maddison curled in a 25-yard opener as Tottenham Hotspur beat Coventry City 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday 19 October, a first Premier League win of the season at the seventh attempt that lifts Roberto De Zerbi’s side off the bottom of the table.
Jack Rudoni equalised four minutes into the second half, Omar Marmoush restored the lead with his first goal for the club and substitute Ben Davies settled it deep in stoppage time. The game kicked off at 8pm in London, 3am on Tuesday in Singapore. It was also the night Dejan Kulusevski came back, making his first appearance since the knee injury he suffered in May 2025.
Maddison against his old club
De Zerbi switched to a back three and handed Maddison his first start in 536 days, against the club he left as a teenager. Coventry had the first chance, a counter that ended with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s deflected shot spinning over, and the away end booed Maddison’s every touch.
He answered after 14 minutes. Mohammed Kudus, deployed as an attacking right wing-back, darted past Jay Dasilva and laid the ball inside, and Maddison bent a right-foot shot around Carl Rushworth into the far corner. It was his first goal since the Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt on 1 May 2025.
Spurs did not build on it before the break. Dominic Solanke jabbed a shot over, and Micky van de Ven had to make a recovering tackle on Brandon Thomas-Asante, who had run clear of Jan Paul van Hecke towards Antonin Kinsky.
Rudoni levels, Marmoush answers
The warning went unheeded. Van Hecke lost the ball stepping out of defence early in the second half, Rudoni exchanged passes with Caleb Yirenki down the left, and his first shot struck Thomas-Asante. Rudoni gathered the rebound, chested it down and poked it past Kinsky for 1-1.
Spurs lifted the tempo and Sandro Tonali sent two efforts over. Then, just before the hour, Marmoush took a pass, turned through Milan van Ewijk and drove a shot past Rushworth from 20 yards. Coventry were furious: Marmoush’s elbow had caught Van Ewijk in the face as he turned, referee Andy Madley let play run, and VAR did not intervene. It was the Egyptian’s first goal since joining on loan from Manchester City.
Kulusevski’s return and a late third
Frank Lampard’s side pushed for a second equaliser and pinned Spurs back for a spell. De Zerbi sent on Mateus Fernandes and Conor Gallagher for energy, and Kulusevski came on to loud applause for his first minutes in 17 months.
The nerves only eased in added time. Davies, on from the bench, struck from just outside the area and his scuffed shot beat Rushworth for 3-1.
Where it leaves Spurs
The win takes Tottenham to 16th with six points from seven matches, one win, three draws and three defeats. Coventry drop to 17th, also on six points but with a goal difference of minus eight, and Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland fill the bottom three. It was only Tottenham’s fourth league win at their own stadium since Maddison and Kulusevski were injured in May 2025, and it follows a draw at Manchester United in which Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off. Bentancur served the first game of a three-match ban on Monday.
