Ben Davies scored his first Tottenham Hotspur goal in more than two years to mark his first start of the season, but Thomas Frank’s side were frustrated by a late Sunderland equaliser.
Spurs had endured a disappointing goalless draw away to Brentford on Thursday but seemed set for a morale-boosting victory following the Welshman’s close-range finish after 30 minutes.
But a superbly-worked Brian Brobbey strike with 10 minutes of the 90 to play earned Sunderland a point and cost Frank a much-needed win, given the pressure that has been mounting on him recently. A first-half injury that forced Mohammed Kudus off after 19 minutes will be of concern for the home side, who will now wait to see the extent of his muscle problem.
For the second game in a row, Spurs fans booed at the full-time whistle.
Elias Burke analyses the main talking points from the 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
How well did Davies do?
Ben Davies celebrates his first Tottenham goal since December 2023 (Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Since Destiny Udogie picked up a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United in early December, the load has increased significantly on fellow Tottenham full-backs Pedro Porro and Djed Spence, both of whom have barely missed a minute over the past month. After all, who would come in to replace them?
Well, in his first start and just third appearance of the season, Davies proved there was a capable alternative all along. The 32-year-old, who has played more in central defence for Spurs than his more familiar position of left-back in recent seasons, stepped in on the left side of defence for Spence, who was rested for the first time since that December 2 trip to St James’ Park.
From his first touch, Davies looked comfortable and assured in the position, providing balance as a natural left-footer. His tendency not to push too far forward also put the impetus on Porro to attack down the right, something he did well.
Then, in a moment which surprised everyone at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Davies popped up in the box to turn home Micky van de Ven’s shot from a corner, scoring his first goal since a late consolation in a 4-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on December 28, 2023. “Davies again! Olé, olé!” rang around the stadium, a nod to the song they sang about his recently-sold countryman Brennan Johnson.
He was not far away from adding a very unlikely second early in the second half, heading into Robin Roefs’ hands from a corner. Minutes later, he was on hand to spare Cristian Romero’s blushes after a miscued pass back to Guglielmo Vicario, sliding in front of Brobbey and deflecting his shot from inside the box into the side netting.
He could do nothing to prevent the same player’s powerful late strike, and was substituted after 88 minutes to a standing ovation.
How damaging might Kudus’ injury be?
Mohammed Kudus goes off injured (Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)
By selling Johnson to Crystal Palace this week, Tottenham not only lost his goal threat but also the most obvious cover for Kudus in the event of an injury. Predictably, as Johnson started his first game for his new club away to Newcastle on Sunday, Kudus pulled up injured inside 20 minutes against Sunderland, holding his left leg.
Without a like-for-like replacement on the bench, striker Randal Kolo Muani came on for Kudus, with Wilson Odobert continuing in the central No 10 position.
Kolo Muani was involved immediately, contributing to a fast transition attack — a positive trend through the first period from a Spurs perspective — but ultimately failing to find Odobert, who had drifted into space in the box, with a delicate through pass.
Given the number of matches over the festive period, and that Kudus has started all of them, the chances of him picking up an injury increased — putting the decision to sell Johnson at the height of such a fixture list in question.
Without knowing the timeline of what appears to be a muscular injury — and their long-term need for starting-quality wingers — the pressure is now on the Spurs hierarchy to find an alternative in the winter transfer window.
Was this an improved performance from Spurs?
Above all, the questions around Frank’s coaching centre on a perceived lack of attacking direction.
For Tottenham fans, who associate with ‘To Dare Is To Do’ perhaps more closely than any other Premier League club does with their own mottos, Frank’s proud pragmatism can be jarring. The boos directed towards the head coach after that 0-0 at Brentford three days earlier were less about the final result, more about the lack of ambition Spurs showed in getting it.
Against Sunderland, however, Frank’s side found an intensity and urgency in the first half that the fans have been wanting. Pressing was at the heart of the positive change, with attackers and midfielders hassling the opposition into awkward decisions, leading to high turnovers. That edge carried over to the defenders, with Porro and Romero stepping ahead of their men to cut out long passes along the ground.
While there were opportunities to widen the margin of victory on the counter-attack in the second half, Tottenham frustratingly reverted to form, dropping deeper into their own half and inviting pressure. Shortly after midfielder Enzo Le Fee hit the post with a header, he played a one-two with striker Brobbey, who smashed a shot into the top corner, drawing Sunderland level.
Overall, this performance was undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but with points on the board a priority, that late equaliser begs questions as to why Spurs could not have continued in the same vein in both halves.
What did Frank say?
Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank told BBC Match of the Day: “There were a lot of positives in the performance. The first half was much more like we want to do. I liked our intensity, with and without the ball, we created a lot of good situations, but we lacked the decisiveness to finish the game off.
“The second half was a little more back and forth, but we were slightly on top, and still got into those attacking situations where we needed to kill the game off. The positive is the intensity. The negative is we didn’t score a second goal. When you are working very hard, sometimes you get into that momentum where everything clicks and goes your way. Sometimes you have to work very, very hard to get the margins on your side.”
Asked about the Tottenham crowd booing their team again, he said: “First and foremost, throughout the game the fans were very good and backing us, and that is all we are asking for. I am sure the fans will acknowledge the first half, and they (his players) tried throughout the game, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”
What next for Spurs?
Wednesday, January 7: Bournemouth (Away), Premier League, 7.30pm UK, 2.30pm ET