Tottenham Beat Coventry 3-1 for Their First Premier League Win of the Season as Kulusevski Returns
Spurs, bottom of the table and winless after six games, got goals from Maddison, Marmoush and a stoppage-time Davies finish, and 526 days later Kulusevski was back on the pitch.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026/2 min read
It took seven attempts, but Tottenham finally have a Premier League win. Spurs beat Coventry 3-1 at their own stadium on Monday night, 19 October, climbing off the bottom of the table after a winless start, as Sky Sports reported.
It was also the night two injured players came back. Dejan Kulusevski appeared as a substitute after 526 days out, and James Maddison made his first start for Spurs since May 2025.
How did Tottenham beat Coventry?
Maddison put them ahead in the 14th minute. Jack Rudoni equalised four minutes into the second half, but Omar Marmoush restored the lead in the 58th with his first goal for the club. Coventry manager Frank Lampard said he thought VAR would disallow it for an elbow, per Sky Sports, but the goal stood.
Ben Davies sealed it with a goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time, according to ESPN. It was a nervy finish for a side that, Sky noted, has dropped more points from winning positions at home since 2024-25 than any other team in the league, 30 in all.
What did Kulusevski's return mean?
Coming on in the 85th minute, the midfielder ended a layoff that began in May 2025. Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi said afterwards: "I did it for the fans." ESPN noted that it was only Tottenham's fourth win at the stadium since Kulusevski and Maddison were injured.
Maddison's start came 536 days after his last, according to ESPN. It came at the seventh attempt, ESPN said, for a team that began the night bottom of the table. For a team that had struggled to hold a lead, having both back changes the picture more than the scoreline does.
Where do Spurs sit in the table now?
Tottenham are 16th with six points from seven games, one win and three draws. They are level on points with 17th-placed Coventry, ahead on goal difference, per Sky Sports. Manchester City lead on 21 points from seven wins, with Arsenal on 18 and Brighton on 16, ESPN's table showed. Brighton, for the record, were the subject of our report on their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Beneath Coventry in the table are Fulham and Nottingham Forest on five points each and Sunderland on four. Sky's report was headlined by Kulusevski's return rather than the goals, which says something about where the emotional weight of the evening sat.
Next for Spurs is a trip to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night. A first win is a relief rather than a recovery, and that fixture will show how far the squad has really come.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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