FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Tottenham picked up just their second win of the new Premier League season with a 3-1 home win over Brentford on Saturday.
The Bees took the lead again in the first minute after similar circumstances last week at Manchester City, but again failed to hold on and were killed off by a confident Spurs.
Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring for the visitors, before goals from Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison turned the game on its head.
How the game happened
For the second week running, Brentford went within 25 seconds. Keane Lewis-Potter’s cross found Mbeumo, who dispossessed Micky van de Ven and hit a superb volley.
Tottenham quickly sought to make amends and went close when a loose touch from Sepp van den Berg saw Solanke slot into the box. His ball to Son Heung-min was cut towards Maddison, but his shot from close range was blocked.
But with their next attack, Spurs were level. Ethan Pinnock’s loose pass was met by Maddison, and although his shot was saved by Mark Flekken, Solanke was on hand to turn the ball over, grabbing his first club goal.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes but the hosts were starting to heat up, with Son forcing Flekken to make another quick save after hitting the edge of the box. Moments later, Johnson flashed a gun in the distance.
Another chance came from Johnson when he intercepted the ball from Mikkel Damsgaard, Nathan Collins went back and scored.
Spurs should have taken the lead when Son made a brilliant run and opted to try and round Flekken, but the Dutchman made a good stop and the chance was wasted.
Just before half an hour, Tottenham got the goal they deserved. The Lilywhites again flew forward in numbers and Johnson had the courage to go past Collins before finding the far corner.
Solanke almost grabbed his second of the day when Maddison drove a low cross at his feet from a few yards out, only for the Bees to clear the loose ball.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario conceded a goal when he was caught, but he recovered and saved Mbeumo.
After the break, Kulusevski was then blocked by Flekken after meeting a clever pass behind Maddison on the swivel.
Tottenham went for a penalty when Rodrigo Bentancur appeared to be brought down by Collins, but their appeals were dismissed. Brentford were equally furious when Vicario hit a high ball on the edge of his box and was not penalized for handball.
Brentford started to threaten and came close again when Kristoffer Ajer passed back to find Mbeumo, and Vicario helped Spurs.
Down the other end, Maddison picked out Son and passed the game to Johnson, but his strike this time went wide.
Thomas Frank teed up the onrushing Kevin Schade for an equaliser, and one almost headed in after a corner, but Vicario stretched to the back post to push the ball to safety.
With five minutes left, Tottenham wrapped up the score. Romero’s wonderful through ball found Son, and he managed to lift his head to find Maddison, who fed Flekken and eased nerves near the midfield.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 6/10 – An unusual old day for a goalkeeper who is not on fire. He started well by claiming many crosses, then he was caught holding what seemed to conflict with his decision. Make the best saves every time.
RB: Pedro Porro – 6/10 – He allowed Lewis-Potter the freedom to run in behind a little too often, while he was more damaging than usual in possession.
CB: Cristian Romero – 6/10 – Brentford failed to take advantage of the rare opportunity when Romero ran through the middle of the pitch and left space. The World Cup winner was strong.
CB: Micky van de Ven – 6/10 – Should he have strengthened Mbeumo with the opening goal? It’s hard to lay the blame at his door for such a strike. Like Romero, he had a decent game at middle safety.
LB: Destiny Udogie – 7/10 – A powerful, if sometimes understated, switch up and down the left flank from Udogie, he adds more physicality in attack and defensive tackles.
DM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 8/10 – One of the Uruguayan’s best plays as a single pivot, sweeping up loose balls and developing play quickly.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski – 6/10 – In particular he has been one of Tottenham’s better players this season when starting in midfield, but that extra spark was missing today.
CM: James Maddison – 9/10 – Play a game in the middle of the field. It wanted to eat and went through the third trying to speed up the play. Creator of a few chances that his side should have done better with before taking matters into his own hands later on.
RW: Brennan Johnson – 8/10 – The goal and performance is to be aspirational. Brentford tried to sign him in his younger years and he made them pay with his runs on the byline.
CF: Dominic Solanke – 8/10 – The strongest and youngest ever signing by Bournemouth for £65m. Put together they attack well as Postecoglou is a target.
LW: Son Heung-min – 6/10 – A day off for the Tottenham captain. Should have pulled the trigger when trying to go around Flekken in the first half and seemed to lack confidence afterwards. However, he still came up with two assists.
What you are holding
SUB: Yves Bissouma (63′ for Bentancur) – 6/10
SUB: Pape Matar Sarr (70′ for Johnson) – 6/10
SUB: Mikey Moore (88′ for Solanke) – N/A
SUB: Archie Gray (88′ for Porro) – N/A
SUB: Lucas Bergvall (88′ for Maddison) – N/A
Sponsors used: Fraser Forster (GK), Djed Spence, Radu Dragusin, Timo Werner
The manager
Ange Postecoglou – 8/10 – From the second minute onwards, Tottenham were very dominant and should have won by a big margin.
GK: Mark Flekken – 7/10 – Kept Brentford in the game with a series of outstanding saves. Alas, that didn’t count for much in the end.
CB: Sepp van den Berg – 5/10 – Son was used, although he was supported in these battles by the retreating Ajer.
CB: Ethan Pinnock – 3/10 – Tottenham returned to the competition with the Jamaica international in charge. The visitors could not fully catch up again.
CB: Nathan Collins – 4/10 – He couldn’t do much slower than Johnson but he was still thrashing.
RM: Kristoffer Ajer – 5/10 – He was placed a little higher up the pitch as Brentford looked to take advantage of his good crosses and whip passes. However, this only opened the Spurs up once.
CM: Mikkel Damsgaard – 5/10 – A bit of a toss-up in the midfield battle, though he sometimes escaped his mark with his quick thinking.
CM: Vitaly Janelt – 5/10 – He was named captain for the day in the absence of Christian Norgaard, but he did not bring the height and ferocity needed in the center of the park.
CM: Yehor Yarmolyuk – 5/10 – He is a victim of Brentford’s untested midfielder, often chasing shadows.
LM: Keane Lewis-Potter – 6/10 – Porro’s hitting though rarely took this form as the game progressed.
CF: Bryan Mbeumo – 7/10 – I’ve had a great start to Brentford’s day. A good, but less important volley comes at 5pm.
CF: Fabio Carvalho – 5/10 – Like Damsgaard he was a short source of creativity when Brentford needed something of substance.
What you are holding
SUB: Kevin Schade (63′ for Yarmolyuk) – 6/10
SUB: Mads Roerslev (79′ for Ajer) – 5/10
SUB: Yunus Emre Konak (79′ for Damsgaard) – 5/10
SUB: Ryan Trevitt (88′ for Carvalho) – N/A
Subs used: Hakon Valdimarsson (GK), Ben Mee, Ji-soo Kim, Jayden Meghoma, Tony Yogane
The manager
Thomas Frank – 5/10 – Brentford were robbed for much of the day and did not take advantage of Tottenham’s faltering set pieces.
Man of the match – James Maddison (Tottenham)
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