Tottenham ended their international break curse with a 2-1 win at Leeds to go within a point of Premier League leaders Liverpool thanks to deflected strikes from Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus.

Spurs had lost their last seven matches immediately before each mid-season pause since a 1-0 win at Luton on October 7, 2023 nearly two years ago to the day, but luck was on their side at Leeds, whose unbeaten run at home in the league ends after more than a year.

Both of Spurs’ goals went in against the run of play after taking a deflection off Leeds defender Pascal Struijk. The impressive Noah Okafor tapped in a deserved first-half equaliser for the hosts after Tel’s opener but Kudus sealed the win with his first goal for Spurs.

Leeds pushed hard to snatch a late point – and finished the game with three strikers on the pitch – as substitute Joel Piroe was denied in stoppage-time by Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who used his legs to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin earlier in the second half.

Spurs rode their luck to maintain their unbeaten away record in the league, finishing with an Expected Goals tally of 0.52 compared to Leeds’ 1.66, as they put disappointing draws against Bodo/Glimt and Wolves behind them to finally go into an international break in good spirits.

Thomas Frank’s side go second momentarily and within a point of champions Liverpool – who play Chelsea on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports – while Leeds stay in the bottom half after fine margins cost them crucial points for the third game running.

Tel: I’ve been working on my finishing

Tottenham’s Mathys Tel speaking on TNT Sports:

“That was a tough game for us. The opponent played very well. We deserved to win because we fought until the end.

“I worked this week a lot on finishing. I’m very happy for me. I hope I can help the team more and keep going.

“We are always together, work together and win together. I am very happy again about the win and what we showed. We just need to keep going.”

Kudus: This is a big step in the right direction

Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus speaking to TNT Sports:

“I’ve definitely been waiting [for my first Tottenham goal]. As an attacker it boosts your confidence when you score.

“I want to give my team-mate [Mathys Tel] some credit. I am a big fan of how he trains and how he has kept on going.

“We now go to represent our country and come back with the same focus. This is a big step in the right direction.”

Opta stats: Kudus’ impressive numbers for Spurs

• Only Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo (both 9) have more goal involvements in the Premier League this season than Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus (5 – 1 goal, 4 assists), with four of his five involvements coming against newly promoted sides.
• Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus scored and assisted in the same Premier League game for only the second time, previously doing so in March 2024 against Newcastle United.
• Mathys Tel scored his first goal in the Premier League since April 2025 (v Wolves), ending a run of 10 games without one.

Story of the match in stats…

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