Tottenham 3-1 Coventry: Maddison scores on first start in 536 days as Spurs win at last

Tottenham won a Premier League match for the first time this season on Monday night, beating Coventry City 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. James Maddison, Omar Marmoush and substitute Ben Davies scored as Roberto De Zerbi's side climbed out of the bottom three to 16th.

It was Spurs' first league victory in 148 days, according to ESPN, and it ended a run of six games without a win to open the campaign. All three goals came from outside the box: Tottenham are the first side to manage that in a Premier League game since Fulham against Leicester City in May 2023.

Maddison strikes against his first club

Maddison, back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and making his first start in 536 days, opened the scoring in the 14th minute. The midfielder, who comes from Coventry and began his career with the Sky Blues, met Mohammed Kudus' cutback on the edge of the area and bent the ball into the top-left corner, then kept his celebration low-key. Dominic Solanke later had a goal ruled out for offside.

Coventry levelled four minutes after the break. Jack Rudoni bustled his way through and hammered in from close range in the 49th minute, becoming the first Coventry player to score in back-to-back Premier League appearances since John Hartson in 2001.

Marmoush and Davies settle it

Spurs went back in front in the 58th minute. Marmoush spun Coventry's Milan van Ewijk, who took an elbow to the face in the challenge, and curled in his first goal for the club; goalkeeper Carl Rushworth got a touch but could not keep it out. Coventry manager Frank Lampard was unhappy with that one: "The second was questionable because the arm was up in the face but a quality finish," he told BBC Sport.

Maddison went off after 69 minutes, replaced by Conor Gallagher, and Spurs lost control of the game. "Gaffer said, 'Just give me 60 (minutes) and take it sensible.' He wanted 70 in the end," Maddison said. Coventry pushed for an equaliser, but in the 96th minute Rushworth let a tame shot from Davies squeeze past him. "At the end it really could've been 2-2," Rudoni said, while Lampard added: "3-1 feels nasty at the end because of the last goal."

De Zerbi did not pretend his side had played well. "We are very happy with the result. Honestly I think we played much better other games, first half against Villa or Everton," the Spurs head coach said. "Today we didn't play with intensity."

Kulusevski returns, injuries pile up

Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench in the 87th minute for his first appearance in 526 days, after a patella injury that needed two operations. "With them in the dressing room, there is another atmosphere," De Zerbi said of Kulusevski and Maddison. The win had a cost, though: Tosin Adarabioyo and Andy Robertson both limped off in the second half and Marmoush hobbled off late on, although De Zerbi called the problems "nothing important".

What it changes

Tottenham and Coventry both have six points, with Spurs 16th on goal difference (-4 against -8). Fulham and Nottingham Forest are on five and Sunderland are bottom with four. Coventry have lost five of their first seven league games for the first time since 1996-97.

Spurs visit Chelsea on Saturday, at a ground where they have not won for 3,128 days, according to ESPN. Coventry host Fulham the same day.