Thomas Frank, the manager of Tottenham, praised his side’s resilience as they won 2-1 at Leeds thanks to Mohammed Kudus’ first goal, which placed them in second place in the Premier League.
In a first-half that lasted from beginning to end, Noah Okafor ended Mathys Tel’s opener.
However, as Storm Amy’s torrential rain and fierce winds struck Elland Road in the second half, Spurs stood strong and deflected the winner to give Leeds its first home league defeat in over a year.
Frank remarked, “I believe the character was the foundation.” “To go here, escape the wrath of the spells, where everything wasn’t perfect, and maintain your focus.”
It was important to win because “we needed a win to cross the line and score three points.”
Spurs are one point clear of Liverpool, but Arsenal can win at West Ham on Saturday when they play them.
To avoid falling to bottom-of-the-table Wolves and Bodo/Glimt, Tottenham needed late fightbacks.
On Tuesday, Frank made six adjustments to the side that was opening up in the Arctic Circle, which was rewarded with a much more purposeful performance from the visitors.
Leeds will regret the missed opportunities to avoid their first defeat at Elland Road since Burnley’s defeat in September 2024.
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When facing a prestigious team like Tottenham, Leeds manager Daniel Farke said, “You can accept the defeat.”
“I’m still pleased with the performance,” she said. We will be fine in the end if we deliver performances like this.
When Joe Rodon headed Sean Longstaff’s free kick off the post on seven minutes, the home side should have taken the lead.
After struggling to make an impression since making his permanent move from Bayern Munich, Tel was omitted from the Champions League squad.
With his first goal of the season, the Frenchman had a rare opportunity to start in the middle of a front three.
Kudus played in Tel, and Struijk’s powerful shot was deflected off Pascal, leaving Karl Darlow helpless.
A skillful Spurs counterattack opened the door for Leeds before Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Kudus both had excellent chances to level the ball wide.
However, Farke’s men were certainly deserving of that honor at the break.
Guglielmo Vicario, the Tottenham goalkeeper, should have done better, as he couldn’t stop Okafor from scoring his second Leeds goal with a shot past the net.
With a rambling header that struck the crossbar in stoppage time, Tel almost equaled his second goal.
Vicario denied Calvert-Lewin with his feet in a similar end-to-end manner the second half started.
After launching a powerful shot that deceived Darlow via a deflection off Gabriel Gudmundsson, Kudus then delivered the match-winning moment with a frantic run infield.
Tottenham finished 17th in the premier league last season, losing more points from winning positions than any other team in the division.
Spurs have yet to drop points after taking the lead in a game, so Frank has already broken that habit.
Vicario saved himself with a fine save low from Joel Piroe before the visitors could barely survive a terrifying start to the game.
Leeds are now tied for 12th after losing their first seven games.
