Tottenham Beat Coventry 3-1 for First Win as Maddison Scores on Return

Tottenham Hotspur beat Coventry City 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night to claim their first Premier League win of the season, with James Maddison scoring 14 minutes into his first start since May 2025.

Maddison, who ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in August 2025 after injuring the same knee three months earlier, curled a first time strike from outside the penalty area past Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth and into the top corner. Mohammed Kudus did the work on the right before the ball reached him. It was Tottenham's first lead of the season, 554 minutes into the campaign, and Maddison's first league goal since February 16, 2025.

Dominic Solanke thought he had doubled the lead four minutes later when he tapped in an Andy Robertson cross, but the offside flag had already gone up.

Coventry answer, then Spurs answer back

Frank Lampard's newly promoted Coventry had won their previous two league games and they levelled four minutes after half time. Jack Rudoni powered his way into the Tottenham penalty area and forced the equaliser home in the 49th minute.

The lead lasted nine minutes. Omar Marmoush restored Tottenham's advantage in the 58th minute with a fine strike into the far corner, his first goal for the club.

Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench in the 86th minute for his first appearance since May 2025, ending 526 days out with a knee injury. Substitute Ben Davies then made the points safe in the sixth minute of added time.

Why it matters

Tottenham came into the match bottom of the Premier League with no wins from six games, three draws and three defeats, and as the only team in England's top six divisions without a league win this season despite a heavy summer spend. Manager Roberto De Zerbi had taken the squad to Marbella in Spain for warm weather training in a bid to restart the season.

The win lifts Tottenham to 16th place on six points, level with Coventry but above them on goal difference. Coventry, who sit 17th, have six points from two wins and five defeats.

What is next

Tottenham travel to Chelsea on Saturday for their next league match. Coventry will try to recover the form that brought wins over Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in their previous two outings.