Spurs finally end winless league run as Brentford’s recent home problems persist
Brentford (0) 0 v Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2
Janelt (og) 29
Pape Sarr 87
Premier League
Matchweek 24
By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur finally ended their desperate winless run in the Premier League, with a hard-fought two-goal victory at Brentford providing much-needed relief as they at last edged away from the relegation zone.
It took an own goal by the home side in the middle of the first half to ease Spurs’ unsurprising early tension, but the success was not secured until substitute Pape Sarr doubled the lead with three minutes to go.
Having dropped down to 16th place in the table over the weekend, it was entirely understandable that the Tottenham fans chanted “We are staying up! We are staying up!” in delight at the final whistle.
This was Spurs’ first league win in 2025. Their last one had come on 15th December, since when they had managed just one draw in seven Premier League matches without a victory, culminating in a sequence of four consecutive defeats.
Losing six of their last seven games and taking only one point from a possible 21, it was the worst recent run in the top flight, with even Ipswich Town and Southampton having won in the time from Tottenham previously doing so.
Spurs’ success at Southampton in mid-December was their solitary league win in 11 matches. It was also the last game in which they had kept a clean sheet before shutting out Brentford on this occasion.
Antonín Kinský’s first Premier League match without conceding was additionally the first London derby in which Tottenham had avoided letting in a goal in two seasons under Ange Postecoglou.
Interestingly too, all three of Spurs’ most recent league wins have been away - at Manchester City, Southampton and Brentford - with a developing difference from no victories at home for three months now.
This one was achieved in a way that was far removed from Angeball, as Postecoglou eventually relented in adapting his game plan to the injury-depleted squad, which was again missing seven regular first team starters.
Instead of the notorious high line in defence, Postecoglou compromised by switching primarily to a low block, with less emphasis on an unceasingly high-intensity approach, to spare his exhausted players.
Nevertheless, the whole side worked extremely hard, especially in stopping the Premier League’s leading scorers at home with 29 goals. They did it with the most clearances that they have made in the league all season.
The visitors showed great determination and commitment in repeatedly closing down opposition moves, impressing the travelling support by their relentless chasing, challenging, tackling and blocking whenever Brentford came forward.
Postecoglou described their performance as Tottenham’s best defensive display of the 2024-25 campaign so far, especially expressing his appreciation of several team members once more adjusting to playing out of their usual positions.
Djed Spence, a right-back filling in on the left side of the defence, was awarded the man-of-the-match for keeping Bryan Mbeumo relatively quiet, as well as producing a crucial clearance off the line late on.
It came when two Brentford substitutes combined in the 86th minute, as a long throw from debutant Michael Kayode fell to Fábio Carvalho in the penalty box for an overhead kick that beat the goalkeeper but not Spence.
That was the Bees’ best scoring opportunity apart from Yoane Wissa skimming the crossbar from close range early in the second half, when he got to a flick-header from Christian Nørgaard of a right-footed left-wing cross by Mikkel Damsgaard, but was unable to sufficiently control the contact.
In total, Brentford put over 38 crosses and attempted 20 shots on goal, without mostly making them into more than half-chances, as their head coach Thomas Frank ruefully had to admit afterwards.
Frank felt that, in such a contest of relatively few clear openings, the set-pieces would be decisive, and he acknowledged that Spurs unequivocally won this battle, both in defending and moreover in getting the vital first goal from a corner.
The Tottenham captain, Son Heung-min, made it with a fine inswinger curled in right-footed from the left corner flag, deceiving Hákon Valdimarsson, on his first Premier League start in the Bees goal in Mark Flekken’s absence due to a side strain.
Despite the bright low winter afternoon sunshine streaming down the River Thames, neither goalkeeper wore a cap, as is generally the modern style in football, with Valdimarsson discarding one offered to him and maybe regretting it when he lost the flight of Son’s corner.
The ball hit Vitaly Janelt’s upper back with the Brentford midfielder turned away from the goal in the six yard box among a crowd of jostling players, helpless and unaware of the deflection cannoning straight into the net for an own goal.
From a total of two shots on target, Spurs scored two goals, and Son got credited with the assists for both, sliding a perfectly-judged pass through to Pape Sarr making a late run towards the near post for the clinching score.
His first-time finish through Valdimarsson’s legs completed a notable team move in which nine of the 11 Tottenham players on the pitch at the time contributed as they worked the ball from back-to-front and right-to-left.
For Brentford, it meant that they have not recorded a victory at their ground now since 7th December, making it six successive home games in all competitions without a win, and five in the league.
The latest two have both been by 0-2, with five losses in those six home fixtures, and just one point collected on their own turf out of a total of 15 available in the Premier League during the past two months.
It is an immense contrast to the initial four months of the season when the Bees were unbeaten in their first eight league matches at home, triumphing in seven, including five in a row prior to the present reversal of results.
After taking 22 of 24 points during that period, the subsequent series of not winning at home has been frustrating for Frank, but he still feels that the performances remain good and have merited more reward.
On the other side, Postecoglou did not want to downplay the importance of this result for Spurs, as they built on completing Europa League qualification to the knock-out phase through overcoming Elfsborg 3-0 on Thursday.
They may even have some more players returning from injury imminently, although it might not be in time for the huge upcoming cup encounters away to Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final second leg and then at Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
“Wembley! Wembley! We’re the famous Tottenham Hotspur and we’re going to Wembley!” was sung optimistically by the Spurs supporters at Brentford - when they briefly broke off from demanding “We want Levy out! We want Levy out!”
The away section also poignantly produced their version of Barry Manilow’s popular hit song ‘Can’t Smile Without You’, including the original line “If you only knew what I’m going through”, although chairman Daniel Levy appeared as ever unmoved.
At least the pressure on Postecoglou has decreased a little bit, but he will continue to be wary. As he said before the game: “Every time I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel it turns out to be an oncoming train.”
Brentford: (4-2-1-3) Valdimarsson - Ajer (Kayode 76), Collins, van den Berg, Lewis-Potter - Janelt (Jensen 66), Nørgaard (Carvalho 84) - Damsgaard - Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade
Tottenham Hotspur: (4-2-3-1) Kinský - Porro, Gray, Davies, Spence - Bentancur, Bissouma (Pape Sarr 68) - Moore (Bergvall 46), Kulusevski, Son - Richarlison (Scarlett 79)
Attendance: 17,154
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