Tottenham Week in Review, Monday 26th October: Back-To-Back Wins as Spurs Beat Coventry Then End Eight-Year Stamford Bridge Curse Against Chelsea
What a week it's been for Spurs, with two Premier League wins on the spin lifting the mood around N17 considerably. It started at home to Coventry City, where goals helped Roberto De Zerbi's side to a 3-1 victory that moved them off the bottom of the table and secured their first league win of the season (Evening Standard) (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web). The headline moment was the long-awaited return of Dejan Kulusevski, who came off the bench after 526 days out through injury, and the emotion around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was clear for all to see (Evening Standard) (Evening Standard). Kulusevski himself admitted it "seemed impossible" at times during his ordeal, and spoke movingly about the lengthy road back (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web).
James Maddison was the other big story of the Coventry game, scoring what the Evening Standard called a near-perfect display on his first start in 18 months (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport). Maddison was emotional afterwards, opening up on the "dark days" of his rehab but saying the joy of the occasion made it all worth it, and he also issued an apology statement over his celebration (Football.London) (Football.London) (Spurs Web). Spurs Web dug into the underlying numbers from his display, arguing he was the "missing link" for the team all along (Spurs Web), while Sandro Tonali was also praised for what was described as his best game in a Spurs shirt (Spurs Web). Omar Marmoush spoke about getting off the mark and what he loves about playing under De Zerbi, while Spurs Web also looked at De Zerbi's selection choices and flagged a lingering concern despite the win (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web).
Off the back of Coventry, attention quickly turned to a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge to face London rivals Chelsea, with Spurs having lost their last six league meetings with their neighbours heading in (Football.London). There was plenty of injury worry beforehand, with De Zerbi facing as many as seven absentees and a left-back crisis involving doubts over Destiny Udogie and Andy Robertson (Football.London) (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web) (Football.London). Pedro Porro was pictured back in training ahead of the game, offering a boost, though uncertainty persists over his long-term future amid transfer interest (TottenhamHotspur.com) (TottenhamHotspur.com) (Spurs Web). Pundits weren't especially confident for Spurs - Alan Shearer backed Chelsea, and Opta's supercomputer gave Tottenham only a 22.6% chance of victory (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web).
The doubters were made to look foolish as Tottenham produced what De Zerbi called his "best performance since I arrived", beating Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to end an eight-year wait for a win there (BBC Sport) (Spurs Web) (talkSPORT). Mike Penders was among the scorers, and it was Spurs' first league win at the Bridge in some time, with Mateus Fernandes and Mathys Tel earning rave reviews, the pair headlining a host of strong individual ratings (Football.London) (Spurs Web). Fernandes in particular drew comparisons to Tottenham greats of the past, with De Zerbi full of praise for his £85m summer signing while still demanding more from him (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web). Martin Keown also hailed Tel's display, even as De Zerbi continued to push his winger for more (Football365). Andy Robertson singled out several teammates for their mentality in the derby win (Spurs Web), while former Shakhtar sporting director José Boto said De Zerbi deserves time to work his methods through at the club (Spurs Web). There was a sour note for Spurs though, as James Maddison's injury nightmare continued when he was forced off against Chelsea with a fresh issue (Football.London).
On the transfer front, there were a number of reports to sift through. Sports Mole claimed Spurs face an £85m blow in their reported pursuit of Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis for January (Sports Mole), while Football365 relayed claims from Football Insider that Pedro Porro, Tottenham's "best player" according to that report, would be open to a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid (Football365) (Football365). TeamTalk also reported hijack fears over a Brazilian defensive target being watched by Barcelona (TeamTalk), while Spurs Web said the club were weighing up a move for goalkeeper Otavio at a cut-price fee below his release clause, along with reported interest in Freiburg's Yuito Suzuki as Spurs look to beat AC Milan to his signature (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web). Georges Mikautadze was also shown impressing in the Champions League amid reported Spurs scouting interest (Spurs Web).
On the injury front, Udogie's continued absence was a theme throughout the week, with De Zerbi giving fans an update on his expected return, while a wider round-up covered seven missing Spurs players and their expected comeback dates (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web) (TottenhamHotspur.com). There was also some brighter news, with a double injury boost spotted in training ahead of the Chelsea trip (Spurs Web).
Elsewhere, there was fun for supporters to enjoy away from the pitch: former favourite Harry Redknapp shared a heartwarming reunion with Luka Modric, while ex-Spurs defender Sebastien Bassong claimed a North London derby win of his own in the boxing ring against a former Arsenal full-back (talkSPORT) (Spurs Web). Jan Vertonghen is also set for an outing in a different sport altogether (Football.London). In the academy, the Under-21s beat Middlesbrough thanks to a late winner from Sowunmi, live on SPURSPLAY (TottenhamHotspur.com) (TottenhamHotspur.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.