James Maddison was Man of the Match
Maddison has been threatening to deliver a 10 on 10 performance right from the start of the season and everything finally came together for the Tottenham midfielder on Saturday.
Starting in a left-sided right role again alongside Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur in the middle of the park, the 27-year-old was the one who pulled the strings for the home side, with almost every good attack coming through the England international.
Brentford struggled to cope with his enterprising play and his quick fee, with the former Leicester man managing to evade his markers with ease time and again.
When it seemed like the home side were set for a nervy finish, Maddison took matters into his own hands, scoring his first goal of the season with a lovely, dinked finish in the 85th minute to ensure that the result was beyond doubt.
James Maddison sends Spurs fans a nice message
Here’s how the Spurs star reacted on X to the win:
My club! Loved every second out there today🤍 @SpursOfficial 🎯 pic.twitter.com/jTUs0cxv0A
— James Maddison (@Madders10) September 21, 2024
Spurs Web Opinion
Some players are just born to play for Spurs and Maddison certainly fits into the category, with the midfielder possessing the sort of guile and creativity that the Tottenham faithful love to see.
He is also evidently loving playing in an Ange Postecoglou side where he has so much freedom to roam around the entire left side of the pitch. This new combo with Kulusevski is working a treat.
The 27-year-old had 87 touches in the derby with a pass completion rate of 88%. He created 3 key chances, winning 7 take-ons. It was a superb performance from Maddison, who seems to be finding form at the right time for the London giants.
Spurs have jumped into the top half of the league table on goal difference to Manchester United. They will be aiming to continue the momentum when they host Qarabag in their first game of the new Europa League format on Thursday evening.
The new league phase will see Spurs play 4 games at home and 4 on the road. Finishing in the top 8 is essential to qualify for the round of 16 directly. The teams finishing 9th to 24th in the 36-team league will need to play in the knock-out round play-off.
Manager Ange Postecoglou will no doubt want to avoid an additional 2 games in February and a strong line-up should be expected in midweek. Maddison is starting to find his stride and should play at least 60 minutes in Europe on Thursday.
Spurs have a huge Premier League trip to Manchester United following the midweek action. The game could be an early decider in the top 4 race. Spurs are unbeaten in the last 3 meetings versus United, but have not won at Old Trafford since 2020.
