Tottenham’s struggles at home continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Sunderland.
Ben Davies made Spurs’ early dominance count as he scored his first goal since December 2023 to give the hosts the lead after 30 minutes.
Spurs, though, drifted after the break and were pegged back when Brian Brobbey found space in the box to fire home with 10 minutes left to play.
Here are three things Sam Tabuteau learned from Spurs’ frustrating draw…
Mohammed Kudus was forced off after 18 minutes
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Kudus injury increases need for new faces
Brennan Johnson’s departure for Crystal Palace this week raised a few eyebrows, with Spurs looking short of options in attack in his absence against Brentford.
Johnson had struggled for minutes, with Mohammed Kudus being Frank’s first choice option at right wing, but with the Ghanaian coming off injured inside 20 minutes against Sunderland, Spurs have potentially been left to rue the decision to let Johnson leave so early in the transfer window.
With Johnson completing his £35million move to Crystal Palace on Friday, there is a real lack of attacking options in reserve for Spurs, and they are now without a natural right winger following Kudus’ withdrawal.
Randal Kolo Muani looked lively after he came on for Kudus, but it is clear that he is not an out-and-out winger. A similar problem exists on the left wing, where Tel, despite impressing, is more of a hybrid option on the flanks.
Spurs will be active in the transfer window, seeking both short-term and long-term signings, but they may now be forced to act sooner than they had anticipated.
Frank has typically not made sweeping changes to his team in January, but with Kudus out, they simply have to add attacking reinforcements.
Mathys Tel was a standout performer
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Spurs’ new look attack impresses
Tottenham were nothing short of an embarrassment in attack against Brentford.
They took just two shots on target and never looked like getting anywhere close to breaching the Bees’ backline.
Frank had to change something, and in remodelling his frontline – deploying Wilson Odobert in the hole with Mohammed Kudus on the right and Mathys Tel on the left – Spurs looked far more dangerous.
It took the hosts just over a minute to have their first shot on target, as Tel stung the palms of Robin Roefs in the Sunderland net, and they had matched the total they managed against Brentford inside 10 minutes.
Spurs dominated the opening 45 and deservedly took the lead when Ben Davies finished from close range after good work from Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to keep the ball alive from a corner.
There was purpose and intent to Spurs’ play, with Wilson Odobert and Archie Gray driving through the middle and Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani providing the width.
Tel, in particular, shone off the left wing, coming close with a couple of good efforts in the first half.
Spurs were fluid and full of energy, their movement causing issues, and although they were unable to find the crucial second goal, this was a much-improved performance.
Under Frank, Spurs have looked languid, unable to break teams down and struggling to exploit space on the counter. This was a rare and much-needed glimpse of their attacking potential.
Brian Brobbey equalised in the 80th minute
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New year, but same old problems at home
Spurs won just four games at home in the Premier League last year, so Sunderland’s equaliser with 10 minutes to play felt somewhat inevitable.
For all their good work in establishing a lead and setting the tempo throughout, Spurs’ soft centre was once again exposed as they failed to hold on for a vital three points.
Spurs let the game drift from their grasp in the second half, and while Sunderland’s goal was only their second effort on target, they had begun to sense an opportunity.
The atmosphere inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was edgy, but so long as Spurs attacked, they felt in control.
Inevitably, though, their missed chances caught up with them as players tired and nervousness set in.
Frank said he was determined to make the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a fortress, but in letting the game drift, the Dane was left frustrated on the touchline. It feels like he, and Spurs’ weary supporters, have seen this all before.
There were positives to take overall, but those will feel like small consequences at the minute, and the boos at full-time, while arguably not justified, will have filtered through to the players.
This should have been an afternoon where Spurs took a deserved leap forward, but instead Frank is left to wrangle with yet another disappointing result on home soil.
