2 Tottenham Hotspur: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Mohammed Kudus inspires hard

Tottenham Hotspur continued their excellent start to the Premier League campaign when they earned an impressive three points in a hard-fought 2-1 victory against a strong Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday.

The Peacocks opened the game with purpose and intent, creating a flurry of chances within the first 10 minutes that culminated in Joe Rodon hitting the post with a header following a Sean Longstaff free kick.

However, it was Thomas Frank's side that took the lead through Mathys Tel, who put his strife behind him to net his first goal of the season with a powerful, deflected strike into the top corner.

Promoted teams in the past may have crumbled one down to a top-six club, but Leeds manager Daniel Farke will be delighted that his players continued to threaten, and they were rewarded when Noah Okafor scored a deserved equaliser after Guglielmo Vicario saved a finely-worked shot from Brenden Aaronson.

The entertainment did not stop there, as Tel hit the bar just before the interval, and after a failed attack from Spurs moments after half time, the hosts forced an excellent save from Vicario.

Tottenham regained the lead thanks to Mohammed Kudus, who opened his Lilywhites account with a clever reverse finish from the edge of the box around the hour mark, and his effort was enough to secure the points despite late chances for Joel Piroe and Pascal Struijk.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

Leeds may have been beaten on Saturday, but they put in a commendable performance that should bolster fans' hopes of staying in the Premier League beyond this term.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin delivered another strong performance at centre-forward, linking play and competing for balls high up the pitch, and if he can stay fit then he will be important to his team's season.

Okafor's first-half equaliser was the Peacocks' 800th goal in the top flight, and they are sure to add to that tally as they seek to become the first promoted club to survive since 2022-23.

One of the often-repeated stats ahead of this game was the fact that Tottenham's top goalscorer this season was not one of their players, but rather own goals from their opponents, with Spurs having benefitted from four own goals in their last five games.

However, Tel and Kudus both got off the mark this season in this clash - the latter for the club in general - and Frank will be pleased to see his forwards building their confidence with important goals at the weekend.

Those strikes moved the Lilywhites up to second in the table and maintained their record of not dropping a single point once having taken the lead in a match, while also meaning that only Manchester City have scored more often in 2025-26.

LEEDS UNITED VS. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR HIGHLIGHTS

Mathys Tel goal vs. Leeds United (23rd min, Leeds United 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur)

Rodrigo Bentancur pokes the ball to Kudus in the centre of the park, and the former Ajax man plays Tel through on the right flank.

The French forward then dribbles to the edge of the box, before rifling a powerful strike into the top-right corner, though it did take a deflection on its way past Karl Darlow.

Noah Okafor goal vs. Tottenham Hotspur (34th min, Leeds United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur)

Jayden Bogle whips the ball in to striker Calvert-Lewin, who intelligently lays it off to Aaronson to hit first time, and while the latter's effort was saved by Vicario, a deflection on the way through meant that his stop fell to the feet of Okafor to fire into a near-empty net from close range.

Mohammed Kudus goal vs. Leeds (57th min, Leeds United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur)

Pedro Porro plays a speculative ball down the right flank towards Kudus, and it bounces off Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson before falling to the feet of the Spurs forward.

Kudus then drives infield, dribbling across the edge for the 18-yard box before hitting a reverse strike into the bottom-right corner that gives Darlow no chance.

MAN OF THE MATCH - MOHAMMED KUDUS

The Ghana forward has sparkled in general play, especially with his dribbling, but it took until Saturday's clash to score his first goal for Tottenham.

Kudus's strike was the eventual winner, and while he also assisted Tel's opener in the first half, he impressively won the most duels in the game (10).

LEEDS UNITED VS. TOTTENHAMÂ MATCH STATS

Possession: Leeds United 57%-43% Tottenham Hotspur

Shots: Leeds United 16-9 Tottenham Hotspur

Shots on target:Â Leeds United 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur

Corners:Â Leeds United 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Fouls:Â Leeds United 10-12 Tottenham Hotspur

BEST STATS

WHAT NEXT?

Up next for Leeds is a trip to face Burnley on October 18 after the international break, while Spurs will welcome Aston Villa to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a day later.No Data Analysis info