For the second time in the space of four days Tottenham came back from 1-0 down to win — and again Brennan Johnson was on the scoresheet.
Ange Postecoglou’s team needed added time to beat Coventry City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday but it was easier here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Bryan Mbeumo put Brentford ahead after 23 seconds but Tottenham hit back through Dominic Solanke seven minutes later. That was his first goal for the club since joining from Bournemouth in a deal worth £65million.
James Maddison then made it 3-1 late in the second half, to secure Tottenham’s second win of the Premier League season.
Jay Harris runs through the key talking points…
Brennan Johnson is silencing his doubters
The last week has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Johnson. He deactivated his Instagram account after receiving abuse following Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
The 23-year-old started on the bench against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup but ended up being Tottenham’s hero by scoring the winner in second-half stoppage time. Johnson’s muted celebrations suggested what happened off the pitch had taken its toll.
He started on the right wing against Brentford, who tried to sign him from Nottingham Forest on multiple occasions before he moved to north London, and he was competing with Nathan Collins and Keane Lewis-Potter.
Johnson’s first involvement in the game was to foul Lewis-Potter and then he was pushed by Collins in response. Then an interesting tactical tweak by Thomas Frank might have indirectly led to Johnson scoring. During a break in play, Frank instructed Collins to push up higher from his left centre-back role. Within a couple of minutes, Son Heung-min released Johnson into space on the right wing. The Wales international drove past the backpedalling Collins and drilled a shot into the far corner.
The entire stadium erupted in applause and Maddison whipped his arms up, urging for even more noise. When play restarted, the Spurs fans started chanting “there’s only one Brennan Johnson.” It was a wholesome moment which underlined their support for him.
Johnson will be frustrated he failed to score another goal in the second half. Son set him up for another excellent opportunity but he dragged his shot wide. Johnson put his shirt over his face while Postecoglou had his hands on his knees.
There was a huge cheer from the Spurs fans when Johnson was replaced by Pape Sarr with 20 minutes remaining.
Should Vicario and Spurs have been punished for handball?
There was a truly bizarre moment in the 57th minute which had Brentford’s players screaming for a free-kick and for the Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario to be punished.
Damsgaard earned a free-kick on the edge of Tottenham’s box near the left wing after being crunched by Cristian Romero and Johnson. The 24-year-old’s effort was blocked but Sepp van den Berg reclaimed the ball from Destiny Udogie. Van den Berg passed it to Yehor Yarmoliuk who pumped a cross high up in the air. It was floating towards the edge of the penalty area and Vicario tried to catch it but misjudged the flight of the ball. Vicario flapped at the ball a couple of more times and appeared to touch it with his hand outside the box.
Damsgaard and Lewis-Potter appealed for a handball immediately. Brentford’s players were furious as the referee allowed play to continue before he blew for a Tottenham free-kick for a foul in the centre circle. Kristoffer Ajer was booked for protesting and the referee paused play for around a minute. After the delay, he strode over to the touchline and booked Brentford’s head coach Thomas Frank, who could not believe what had happened.
The Athletic have contacted the refereeing body PGMOL for comment on the incident.
Brentford score inside 30 seconds for second week running… how?
In last week’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, Ajer pushed high up the pitch and Lewis-Potter headed the defender’s cross back across the box for Yoane Wissa to score.
Ajer and Lewis-Potter were involved in the build-up again for Mbeumo’s stylish volley against Spurs. Straight from the kick-off Ajer pushed up high on Tottenham’s full-back Destiny Udogie to capitalise on his considerable height advantage. The Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken received the ball, pumped his pass towards the Norway international and it dropped for the Tottenham forward Dejan Kulusevski, who was swarmed by Mikel Damsgaard and Yehor Yarmoliuk.
The ball was worked out wide to Lewis-Potter, who dropped his shoulder and burst past Pedro Porro. The 23-year-old whipped a cross into the box and Mbeumo swivelled his hips before firing a shot in off the bar. Vicario had no chance of stopping the shot but Porro should have done better to stall Lewis-Potter, while Micky van de Ven needed to be closer to Mbeumo.
It was a nightmare start for Tottenham in a game which they needed to win after successive defeats in the Premier League. The stadium was stunned into silence but their intense high press suffocated Brentford and within seven minutes Solanke pulled them level.
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Tottenham?
Thursday, September 26: Qarabag (H), Europa League, 8pm BST, 3pm ET
Sunday, September 29: Manchester United (A), Premier League, 4.30pm BST, 11.30am ET
Recommended reading
- The real Dominic Solanke – resilient, rebuilt and ready to star for Tottenham
- Could Coventry cup escape be a turning point for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham?
- ‘If Jamie Donley wants to play for Tottenham, this is what he needs to work on…’
- The Debate: After Rodri’s comments, should players go on strike over workload?
(GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
