It was a special occasion for our number 10 who had waited almost 18 months since starting in a Spurs shirt and soon became even more memorable when he whipped the opener into the top left corner from just outside the box on 14 minutes.
When Mohammed Kudus cut inside from the right and laid it into his path, there was only one thought on his mind as he set himself to hit it first time with the perfect trajectory to send it over Carl Rushworth and nestle inside the post for his 21st Premier League goal from outside the box - the most of any player since his top-flight debut in August, 2018.
Madders' previous start against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-final first leg on 1 May, 2025 coincided with his last goal in our colours but he had to keep his celebrations slightly in check with his latest strike coming against his boyhood Sky Blues.
The moment of pure quality capped a superb display from the creative midfielder who looked to get on the ball at every opportunity and dictate from the middle of the park with stats of 70 touches and 22 final third passes highlighting his importance.
Newly-promoted Coventry - on the back of consecutive league wins - hit back through Jack Rudoni four minutes after the restart but we showed great fight and personality to respond as Omar Marmoush opened his account to regain the lead on 59 minutes.
Madders left the pitch to a rousing reception when he was replaced by Conor Gallagher in the 69th minute before our supporters erupted when long-term absentee Dejan Kulusevski entered the action late on to end his 526-day wait to be back playing in a Spurs shirt. Similar to what our number 10 experienced when he made his long-awaited return against Leeds United towards the end of last term.
That injection of energy from Deki's comeback gave us the push required to get over the line as long-serving defender Ben Davies sent in his opening goal of the season from the edge of the box - all three goals coming from outside the area - deep into stoppage-time and to ensure the all-important first league win in 2026/27.
Madders took 70 per cent of your Player of the Match vote to top the poll hosted exclusively on our Official App.
Player of the Match | 2026/27
Brentford 3-0 Spurs - Andy Robertson
Spurs 5-1 Charlton - Carabao Cup - Savio
Spurs 0-2 Newcastle - Omar Marmoush
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Spurs - Rodrigo Bentancur
Spurs 0-0 Everton - Rodrigo Bentancur
Liverpool 3-1 Spurs - Carabao Cup - Lucas Bergvall
Spurs 2-3 Aston Villa - Conor Gallagher
Manchester United 1-1 Spurs - Conor Gallagher
Spurs 3-1 Coventry City - James Maddison
Player of the Match awards | 2026/27