Three winners and three losers from Tottenham's first Premier League win of the season
Tottenham Hotspur finally ended their six-game winless run with a 3-1 victory over Coventry City, as James Maddison, Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies all found the net. However, there were still a few mixed performances to pick through.
Here are our three winners and three losers from Tottenham's win over Coventry City… Monday 19th October Premier League James Maddison reminds Tottenham what they have been missing It had been 536 days since we last saw James Maddison in a Tottenham starting line-up, and what a way to announce himself back. The England international scored an absolute belter from distance to give Spurs the lead inside 15 minutes.
It was also the first time this season that Roberto De Zerbi finally had a natural number 10 in his starting XI. The Italian has spent the opening weeks trying to make things work with number 8s Conor Gallagher and Mateus Fernandes in that role, but that hasn't worked.
De Zerbi's experimental formation did have its moments of uncertainty, as players tried to adapt to unfamiliar roles. And a big reason why it didn't turn out to be a disaster was how involved Maddison was in the centre of the park.
Almost every Tottenham attack went through him, and he always seemed to make the right decision whenever the ball came his way. It is wonderful how much difference one fully fit, natural number 10 can make to a team.
After producing Tottenham's best individual performance in last weekend's1-1 draw against Manchester United, the Italian delivered another excellent display in the centre of the park against Coventry. It is finally nice to see that Tonali has settled in his new club, especially afterthe criticism he received for his early-season performancesfollowing his £100m summer move from Neewcastle United.
The midfielder recorded the most defensive contributions of anyone on the pitch (15), helping Spurs escape several difficult situations. He barely seemed to break a sweat, running tirelessly for the full 90 minutes and consistently giving his teammates an option when they were under pressure.
( FotMob ) Dejan Kulusevski's long-awaited return lifts Tottenham supporters Welcome back, king! It was a delight to see Dejan Kulusevski included in the squad after more than 500 days out, and even better to see him finally get a few minutes on the pitch.
De Zerbi was asked whether Kulusevski's introduction was intended to give the stadium a lift as the game entered its closing stages, when nerves might have started to creep in as Spurs were only narrowly ahead. The Spurs head coach explained: "Listen Kudus, I thought he was playing well, I think he could finish the game, but I thought of Kulusevski just for the fans."