Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Coventry City: SPURS WON A FOOTBALL MATCH!!!!!!!1!!1

Tottenham Hotspur have not been especially good at winning football matches lately, especially at home. They did both today, notching their first win of the season with a 3-1 result over Frank Lampard's Coventry City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

You could almost feel the relief pouring out of the home supporters as Spurs' win takes them out of the relegation zone. Spurs got goals from James Maddison (making his first start of the season), Omar Marmoush (his first goal in a Spurs shirt), and late one from Ben Davies.

Roberto De Zerbi is still dealing with a number of injuries, including Lucas Bergvall and Savio, and Rodrigo Bentancur is currently serving a three match suspension for violent conduct against Manchester United. De Zerbi opted to start Tosin Adarabioyo in central defense, pushing Jan Paul van Hecke wide left, with the back line functioning as a hybrid back three.

Archie Gray was moved into midfield alongside Sandro Tonali. But the biggest news was James Madison making his first start since his knee injury, and Dejan Kulusevski on the bench for the first time in over 500 days.

Tottenham did something early in this match that they hadn't done all season to this point - they scored first! James Maddison had a fantastic long-range solo goal to put Spurs ahead in the 15th minute, which was good since their offense sputtered throughout the first half.

Coventry took advantage in the second half, leveling the score via a scrappy goal from Jack Rudoni. Spurs' new signing from Manchester City rocketed a lovely shot from the top of the box past Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth to regain the lead in the 58th minute.

The biggest cheer of the night came in the 85th minute when Dejan Kulusevski came on as an impact substitute, his first appearance in over 500 days. The crowd cheered his every touch, though he definitely looked rusty and slow on the ball.

Fellow substitute Ben Davies poked home a low effort late in the match to put Spurs up 3-1 and ensure the victory, though it was hardly a convincing performance overall. Here are my match reactions from Spurs' first win of the season.

Match Reactions I still don't understand why De Zerbi isn't starting Mateus Fernandes, who has been arguably our most exciting signing this summer, but that's not enough to dampen my excitement over Maddison starting and Deki on the bench. I was so happy for Maddison!