Tel goes from hero to villain
Mathys Tel went from hero to villain as Tottenham missed the chance to take a huge step towards Premier League survival as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds United.
Following West Ham’s controversial 1-0 defeat to leaders Arsenal on Sunday, Spurs had the opportunity to go four points clear of the Hammers with a victory over a Leeds side already sure of their status in the top flight.
And it appeared as if Tottenham would put potentially decisive daylight between themselves and their London rivals when Tel opened the scoring with a superb finish five minutes into the second half.
But an extremely ill-advised piece of defending from Tel gifted Leeds the equaliser and West Ham a lifeline in the fight to avoid the drop.
Tel inadvertently caught Ethan Ampadu in the head with his boot while attempting to clear with an overhead kick and, after a VAR review, Dominic Calvert-Lewin thrashed home a penalty that means Spurs’ edge over West Ham is only two points.
Tottenham do have a considerable goal difference advantage over West Ham, but their failure to take all three points here leaves Nuno Espirito Santo’s side with the opportunity to leapfrog them with a win over Newcastle United on Sunday. Roberto De Zerbi’s men do not play again until a week on Tuesday, when they visit Chelsea.
More to follow
