Mohammed Kudus and Co end Elland Road hoodoo — Mail 4/10/25

Leeds 1-2 Tottenham VERDICT: Mohammed Kudus and Co end Elland Road hoodoo, a star who has staked a claim in Daniel Farke's starting XI, and one player struggles with old woes

By AADAM PATEL, SPORTS REPORTER

Tottenham Hotspur became the first team to beat Leeds in a league game at Elland Road in over a year after Mohammed Kudus got the winner in the second-half.

Spurs took the lead through Mathys Tel in the 23rd minute but Noah Okafor levelled for Leeds 11 minutes later and just before the hour mark, Kudus’ strike deflected off Pascal Struijk and past Karl Darlow.

The three points took Thomas Frank’s side to second before Arsenal play later on Saturday, while Leeds are 12th after seven games.

Frank finally gets his man

With 14 points from seven games and just one defeat across all competitions, Spurs have made a thoroughly impressive start to life under Thomas Frank. ‘Averaging two points per game is very good’ according to the Spurs boss. They did brilliantly to withstand the Leeds pressure in the first half then controlled the game after retaking the lead and at the sixth time of asking, Frank finally defeated Daniel Farke.

This was the kind of game Spurs may have failed to see over the line under Ange Postecoglou and Frank is gradually building that winning mentality. He admitted that his side were working on becoming more street-wise, saying it’s something that was spoken about with the players who are shown clips about what to do.

‘If you want to build a successful team you need mentality and character,’ said Frank. ‘It doesn’t matter if you play like Barcelona - you need that willingness to do everything to win and we’re building that as a team,’ he added. Spurs have won three of their first four away league games this season, which is as many as in their final 13 away league games of last season under Postecoglou.

Fortress Elland Road?

BEFORE the game, Leeds’ Anton Stach said ‘good fans can win you four or five points’ over a season. Leeds have been solid at home with Everton, Newcastle and Bournemouth all failing to win at Elland Road but Spurs battled to a crucial three points here and in doing so, ended Leeds’ 23-game run of going over a year without losing a home league game.

Tottenham also ended a run of their own with what Frank described as a win that he was ‘extremely happy’ with against a ‘good Leeds side’ that were ‘difficult to play against.’ Going into this, Spurs had remarkably lost their last seven matches immediately before an international break - a run that went back to October 2023.

Spurs sharpen the knife

Tottenham went into this game with own goals as their top scorer and that told you enough about the work Frank’s side needed to do in the final third. All eyes were on Mathys Tel as he led the line, with Richarlison on the bench. Tel’s goal did his confidence a world of good even if his strike took a deflection. It was the 20-year-old’s first goal of the season.

Tel nearly got a second when his header hit the crossbar but you could tell from the way Frank urged him to take in the acclaim from the away end after the final whistle that he is a player who needs that backing.

‘It was so so important (for Tel),’ said Frank. ‘I’m almost emotional about him. I’m so happy for him with the character he showed as a young man after he wasn’t named in the Champions League squad.’ A word too for Mohammed Kudus, who was superb. He got his fourth league assist of the season then got the winner with his first goal for Spurs.

Darlow's a keeper

For Leeds, Karl Darlow has been solid in net since Lucas Perri was ruled out with injury and even though Perri has returned to training, it would not be the biggest surprise if Darlow keeps his spot after the international break.

The Welsh keeper was unlucky to be beaten twice here through deflected efforts. As for Spurs, doubts remain over Guglielmo Vicario, who was all over the place from a set-piece early on and arguably should have done better for Leeds’ equaliser but the Italian made a terrific save to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin when the score was 1-1 and another good stop to deny Joel Piroe in injury time.

Calvert-Lewin haunted by old demons

Daniel Farke named an unchanged side for the third game in succession and that meant another start for Calvert-Lewin up top. He caused Spurs plenty of problems, getting into dangerous positions and playing a part in Leeds’ leveller but crucially failed to take two huge chances. The signs are there of a quality centre-forward but Leeds really need him to start taking these opportunities.

‘It was a good performance,’ said Farke. ‘If he thinks too much and tries to force it, it will never work. He needs to keep bringing himself into good positions.’ With 12 minutes to go, Farke threw on Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe too but Leeds couldn’t get an equaliser.

They can take positives from another competitive display, with Farke believing that his side were better than Spurs but the lack of quality in front of goal is telling.

With 12 minutes to go, Farke threw on Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe too but Leeds couldn’t get an equaliser. They can take positives from another competitive display, with Farke believing that his side were better than Spurs but the lack of quality in front of goal is telling.