Tottenham broke their international break curse with a 2-1 win at Leeds to go within a point of Premier League leaders Liverpool thanks to deflected strikes from Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus.
Spurs had lost their last seven matches immediately before each mid-season pause since a 1-0 win at Luton on October 7, 2023 nearly two years ago to the day, but luck was on their side at Leeds, whose unbeaten run at home in the league ends after more than a year.
Both of Spurs’ goals went in against the run of play after taking a deflection off Leeds defender Pascal Struijk. The impressive Noah Okafor tapped in a deserved first-half equaliser for the hosts after Tel’s opener but Kudus sealed the win with his first goal for Spurs.
Noak Okafor equalises for Leeds against Spurs
Leeds pushed hard to snatch a late point – and finished the game with three strikers on the pitch – as substitute Joel Piroe was denied in stoppage-time by Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who used his legs to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin earlier in the second half.
Spurs rode their luck as they put disappointing draws to Bodo/Glimt and Wolves behind them to hold on for the three points at Elland Road after back-to-back draws in the league. Their Expected Goals tally was only 0.52 compared to Leeds’ 1.66.
Thomas Frank’s side go second momentarily and within a point of champions Liverpool – who play Chelsea on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports – while Leeds stay in the bottom half after fine margins cost them crucial points for the third game running.
Opta stats: Kudus’ impressive numbers for Spurs
- Only Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo (both 9) have more goal involvements in the Premier League this season than Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus (5 – 1 goal, 4 assists), with four of his five involvements coming against newly promoted sides.
- Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus scored and assisted in the same Premier League game for only the second time, previously doing so in March 2024 against Newcastle United.
- Mathys Tel scored his first goal in the Premier League since April 2025 (v Wolves), ending a run of 10 games without one.
