Premier League

Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur | 2025/2026 | Premier League | Overview  Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland | 2025/2026 | Premier League | Overview  Premier League

Brian Brobbey’s 80th-minute stunner caused Tottenham Hotspur to drop more points at home in the Premier League after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland on Sunday.

Brobbey picked out the top corner with a thunderous effort after a neat one-two with Enzo Le Fee.

But things had started positively for Spurs when Ben Davies diverted Micky van de Ven’s goal-bound effort into the net from close range in the 30th minute.

However, the hosts failed to build on their momentum and after Le Fee’s header hit the post, Sunderland sealed a share of the spoils when Brobbey netted his third goal of the season.

Thomas Frank's Spurs, who also had Mohammed Kudus limp off early on, sit 13th in the table, while Regis Le Bris’ men are eighth, and just a point behind fifth-placed Manchester United.

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Thomas Frank failed to get one over his former side on his return to the Gtech Community Stadium as Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 with Brentford.

Goalscoring opportunities were few and far between after Kevin Schade saw an early strike ruled out for offside, but the Bees began to threaten after the break.

Both Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt failed to find the back of the net, while Igor Thiago could not test Guglielmo Vicario from a tight angle.

Caoimhin Kelleher, meanwhile, was forced into just two saves in the Brentford goal as Spurs struggled to find their rhythm on New Year’s Day.

The goalless encounter leaves Brentford in ninth, three points behind fifth-placed Chelsea, while Spurs are a point further back in 12th.

How the match unfolded

Schade thought he opened the scoring inside five minutes when he was the quickest to react to a rebound from Nathan Collins’ header, but the linesman quickly raised his flag for offside to spare Spurs' blushes.

It was a first half of very few chances from there on in, with Archie Gray seeing an effort blocked at the other end, as both defences remained resolute.

The Bees clicked into gear after the break, with Lewis-Potter scuffing an effort from Yehor Yarmoliuk’s cutback before Janelt saw his header comfortably saved by Vicario just after the hour mark.

Thiago finally saw an opportunity come his way in the 69th minute when Michael Kayode found the striker in the box, but he fired well over the bar from a narrow angle.

Neither side seemed overly willing to risk losing in search of all three points as the clock wound down, with Richarlison’s weak stoppage-time effort the closest either team came to winning at the end.

Thiago and Schade left with too much to do

As always for Brentford, Thiago was the focal point for the attack, with only Erling Haaland scoring more than his 11 goals in the Premier League this season.

And Schade was clearly eager to add to his hat-trick against AFC Bournemouth last time out, but the two forwards struggled to get the final pass away and threaten Vicario’s goal.

Both Thiago and Schade were threatening in the opening stages but began to be outnumbered when looking to catch the Spurs defence off guard as the game went on.

The closest they came was in the first half when Schade was denied a shot at goal by a late-ditch tackle from Pedro Porro, and Thiago mistimed a header from Jordan Henderson’s cross seconds later.

Lewis-Potter was often late to join the attacks, with the Bees perhaps missing the attacking presence of Dango Ouattara, who is currently away with Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives to take for Keith Andrews against his predecessor, with his backline giving very little away against Spurs.

Andrews’ side now face a difficult trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend, with Everton just one point and place above them in the table.

Frank’s lacklustre return

Ahead of his return to Brentford, Frank revealed that this would not be the same as any other fixture due to his past with his former club.

The Dane spent almost seven years as their head coach, but it was his current club who were close to being caught out early on in west London.

Schade’s disallowed goal was an early warning for Spurs, who adjusted appropriately to keep the Bees at bay.

Djed Spence and Porro did not push forward as frequently, so that Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven would not be left alone to deal with Brentford’s direct counter-attacks, while they also defended set-pieces in stronger numbers.

Brennan Johnson’s seemingly imminent move to Crystal Palace and a suspension to Xavi Simons gave Wilson Odobert a chance to prove his worth to Frank.

The 21-year-old was handed his first league start since their north London derby defeat to Arsenal in November, but he found himself focusing more on his defensive duties rather than making a difference in the attacking third.

Spurs host Sunderland in their next Premier League fixture, and Frank will be aiming to find more balance between defence and attack.

Club reports

Brentford report | Spurs report

What the managers said

Keith Andrews: "Lovely to see Thomas [Frank], as always. [He's] somebody who I respect hugely. I enjoyed working with him last season. Tonight I thought we edged it and if anybody was going to win the game it was probably us."

"They beat us twice last season, they deserved to beat us 26 days ago at Spurs. Today was a completely different performance. We wanted it quick in the tempo in the second half and they tried to slow it down.

"Thomas is very aware of what this home crowd can do and how dangerous we can be. Their goalkeeper got booked for time wasting which pretty much says it all."

Thomas Frank: "It was nice to be back and nice to acknowledge things both ways and then the whistle goes and it's business and you want to win the game.

"Definitely, we don't create enough. I think we dealt with half of the challenge here because they are very strong at home. They only gave seven shots away in the whole game so very happy with that but we didn't create enough. The amount of unforced errors today was too big."

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Key facts

Spurs' all-time Premier League record run of 137 games without a goalless draw has come to an end, with this their first 0-0 draw since April 2022, which also came away at Brentford.

Spurs have kept more Premier League clean sheets in 19 games under Thomas Frank this season (seven), than they did in 38 matches under Ange Postecoglou across the entirety of last season (six).

Brentford have failed to score in their last four Premier League London derbies (D1 L3), winning just one of their last 10 (D4 L5), a 2-0 win at West Ham in October last year.

This was just the fourth Premier League game this season not to see a single big chance created after Liverpool v Arsenal (August), Bournemouth v Newcastle United (September) and Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest (October).

Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur | 2025/2026 | Premier League | Overview  Premier League

Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur | 2025/2026 | Premier League | Overview  Premier League

Liverpool held off a Richarlison-inspired fightback to beat nine-man Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.

Isak – a second-half substitute – scored and was then forced off injured early in the second half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Xavi Simons received a straight red card in the 33rd minute.

Ekitike then continued his hot streak with a towering header 66 minutes in, his fifth goal in his last three matches, putting Liverpool in a commanding position.

Yet the reigning Premier League champions relinquished their control when Spurs substitute Richarlison pulled one back in the 83rd minute.

Just as Spurs built up a head of steam, Cristian Romero capped off a poor evening, lashing out at Ibrahima Konate to receive a second yellow card, as Liverpool held on to move fifth, while Thomas Frank’s team sit 13th.

How the match unfolded

A cagey first half was punctuated by Simons’ moment of recklessness as he left his studs in on Virgil van Dijk, and after a VAR review, referee John Brooks changed his decision from a yellow card to a red.

Liverpool needed just 11 second-half minutes to make their numerical advantage count. Romero’s error gifted the Reds an opening, with Florian Wirtz playing in Isak, who coolly finished beyond Guglielmo Vicario.

In the process, though, Isak was slammed into by Micky van de Ven, and rather than celebrating, the forward had to go off with the help of Liverpool’s medical staff.

The Reds’ goal lived a charmed life when Randal Kolo Muani’s effort looped off Milos Kerkez and clipped the crossbar, but Liverpool made their fortune count as Ekitike brilliantly headed home from Jeremie Frimpong’s deflected cross.

But as the visitors seemed to be cruising towards three points, Richarlison swept in following a scramble in the box just over two minutes after his introduction.

Spurs’ hopes received a blow as Romero picked up a second booking in the 93rd minute when he kicked out at Konate, with Liverpool just about holding firm.

Early Christmas cards, but no festive cheer for Spurs

There was little Christmas cheer around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium even before Simons made Spurs’ life much more difficult with his reckless challenge on Van Dijk.

Simons has had a slow start to life at Spurs, though had shown flashes of brilliance in recent home wins against Brentford and Slavia Prague.

Yet there was no need at all for the playmaker to lunge in on his Dutch compatriot, and he can have few complaints that he was sent off.

Romero, though, endured a worse evening than Simons.

The Spurs captain was at least partly at fault for both Liverpool goals, giving away possession with a rash clearance in the build-up to Isak’s opener, before he was towered over by Ekitike when the Frenchman made it 2-0.

For Romero to let his temper boil over when Spurs had Liverpool on the ropes in stoppage time will infuriate Frank, who may have wished he had turned to Richarlison earlier, given the forward’s immediate impact from the bench.

Despite their late flurry, Spurs have won just one of their last eight league games. They head into Christmas in the bottom half and have tasted victory just twice in the top flight at home all season. A trip to Crystal Palace comes next.

Isak’s bittersweet moment

With Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations, there was no drama over whether Arne Slot would start the Egyptian, who assisted against Brighton & Hove Albion last week, for the first time since November.

Liverpool were certainly missing a spark in the first half, and in truth, if not for Romero’s mistake, which the defender compounded by then rushing out of the defensive line to try and atone for it, the Reds may well have been feeling Salah’s absence.

As it was, Isak made his mark after coming on from the bench to replace Conor Bradley. His run and finish for Liverpool’s opener was excellent, and he has now netted seven league goals against Spurs.

Yet Isak’s joy was short-lived. No sooner had the ball hit the back of the net, he took the brunt of a desperate attempted block from Van de Ven, and he could not continue.

Ekitike showed his class with what turned out to be Liverpool’s winner, but Slot will be far from pleased with how his team defended in the latter stages, and even after Romero’s dismissal, Spurs still looked capable of snatching an equaliser.

Liverpool got the job done, though, and Slot will hope a home game against lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers proves easier to navigate.

Club reports

Spurs report | Liverpool report

What the managers said

Thomas Frank: "First and foremost, I'm extremely proud of the players and the team. I think they gave everything and showed unbelievable mentality and worked very hard on how to deal with setbacks.

"The way they responded to several setbacks was immense. The first one is the first red, which I think... I've seen it given before but I don't like it. I don't like those types of red cards because I think the game is gone if that's a red card. I don't think it's a reckless tackle. I don't think it's exceptional force."

Arne Slot: "Three points away at Spurs is very nice. It is a difficult stadium to go to, a good team to play against. Of course they lost last week so today they wanted to make it up in front of their fans. For us the aim was to win again because we need wins to let the league table look better for us and eventually that's what we did."

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Key facts

Spurs have lost 11 home league games in 2025, their most ever in a single calendar year across club history.

Liverpool have witnessed their opponents receive four red cards in the Premier League this season, double the number of any other side in the competition.

Liverpool’s Isak has netted seven goals across his six Premier League games against Spurs, his most against any side in the competition, with his side winning in each of his five goalscoring appearances against this opponent.

Across all competitions in 2025/26, only Erling Haaland (23) has struck more non-penalty goals amongst Premier League players than Liverpool’s Ekitike (11).

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool | 2025/2026 | Premier League | Overview  Premier League

Liverpool held off a Richarlison-inspired fightback to beat nine-man Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.

Isak – a second-half substitute – scored and was then forced off injured early in the second half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Xavi Simons received a straight red card in the 33rd minute.

Ekitike then continued his hot streak with a towering header 66 minutes in, his fifth goal in his last three matches, putting Liverpool in a commanding position.

Yet the reigning Premier League champions relinquished their control when Spurs substitute Richarlison pulled one back in the 83rd minute.

Just as Spurs built up a head of steam, Cristian Romero capped off a poor evening, lashing out at Ibrahima Konate to receive a second yellow card, as Liverpool held on to move fifth, while Thomas Frank’s team sit 13th.

How the match unfolded

A cagey first half was punctuated by Simons’ moment of recklessness as he left his studs in on Virgil van Dijk, and after a VAR review, referee John Brooks changed his decision from a yellow card to a red.

Liverpool needed just 11 second-half minutes to make their numerical advantage count. Romero’s error gifted the Reds an opening, with Florian Wirtz playing in Isak, who coolly finished beyond Guglielmo Vicario.

In the process, though, Isak was slammed into by Micky van de Ven, and rather than celebrating, the forward had to go off with the help of Liverpool’s medical staff.

The Reds’ goal lived a charmed life when Randal Kolo Muani’s effort looped off Milos Kerkez and clipped the crossbar, but Liverpool made their fortune count as Ekitike brilliantly headed home from Jeremie Frimpong’s deflected cross.

But as the visitors seemed to be cruising towards three points, Richarlison swept in following a scramble in the box just over two minutes after his introduction.

Spurs’ hopes received a blow as Romero picked up a second booking in the 93rd minute when he kicked out at Konate, with Liverpool just about holding firm.

Early Christmas cards, but no festive cheer for Spurs

There was little Christmas cheer around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium even before Simons made Spurs’ life much more difficult with his reckless challenge on Van Dijk.

Simons has had a slow start to life at Spurs, though had shown flashes of brilliance in recent home wins against Brentford and Slavia Prague.

Yet there was no need at all for the playmaker to lunge in on his Dutch compatriot, and he can have few complaints that he was sent off.

Romero, though, endured a worse evening than Simons.

The Spurs captain was at least partly at fault for both Liverpool goals, giving away possession with a rash clearance in the build-up to Isak’s opener, before he was towered over by Ekitike when the Frenchman made it 2-0.

For Romero to let his temper boil over when Spurs had Liverpool on the ropes in stoppage time will infuriate Frank, who may have wished he had turned to Richarlison earlier, given the forward’s immediate impact from the bench.

Despite their late flurry, Spurs have won just one of their last eight league games. They head into Christmas in the bottom half and have tasted victory just twice in the top flight at home all season. A trip to Crystal Palace comes next.

Isak’s bittersweet moment

With Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations, there was no drama over whether Arne Slot would start the Egyptian, who assisted against Brighton & Hove Albion last week, for the first time since November.

Liverpool were certainly missing a spark in the first half, and in truth, if not for Romero’s mistake, which the defender compounded by then rushing out of the defensive line to try and atone for it, the Reds may well have been feeling Salah’s absence.

As it was, Isak made his mark after coming on from the bench to replace Conor Bradley. His run and finish for Liverpool’s opener was excellent, and he has now netted seven league goals against Spurs.

Yet Isak’s joy was short-lived. No sooner had the ball hit the back of the net, he took the brunt of a desperate attempted block from Van de Ven, and he could not continue.

Ekitike showed his class with what turned out to be Liverpool’s winner, but Slot will be far from pleased with how his team defended in the latter stages, and even after Romero’s dismissal, Spurs still looked capable of snatching an equaliser.

Liverpool got the job done, though, and Slot will hope a home game against lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers proves easier to navigate.

Club reports

Spurs report | Liverpool report

What the managers said

Thomas Frank: "First and foremost, I'm extremely proud of the players and the team. I think they gave everything and showed unbelievable mentality and worked very hard on how to deal with setbacks.

"The way they responded to several setbacks was immense. The first one is the first red, which I think... I've seen it given before but I don't like it. I don't like those types of red cards because I think the game is gone if that's a red card. I don't think it's a reckless tackle. I don't think it's exceptional force."

Arne Slot: "Three points away at Spurs is very nice. It is a difficult stadium to go to, a good team to play against. Of course they lost last week so today they wanted to make it up in front of their fans. For us the aim was to win again because we need wins to let the league table look better for us and eventually that's what we did."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Spurs have lost 11 home league games in 2025, their most ever in a single calendar year across club history.

Liverpool have witnessed their opponents receive four red cards in the Premier League this season, double the number of any other side in the competition.

Liverpool’s Isak has netted seven goals across his six Premier League games against Spurs, his most against any side in the competition, with his side winning in each of his five goalscoring appearances against this opponent.

Across all competitions in 2025/26, only Erling Haaland (23) has struck more non-penalty goals amongst Premier League players than Liverpool’s Ekitike (11).

Callum Hudson-Odoi scored twice and set up another as Nottingham Forest got back to winning ways in the Premier League in emphatic fashion by dispatching Tottenham Hotspur 3-0.

Forest slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Everton last weekend, but Sean Dyche’s team got back on track by making light work of a lacklustre Spurs side at the City Ground.

Hudson-Odoi put Forest in control, opening the scoring midway through the first half before doubling his tally when Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario misjudged a wicked cross-shot in the 50th minute.

Ibrahim Sangare, who assisted both of Hudson-Odoi’s goals, then capped off a magnificent midfield performance with a wonderful first-time effort from distance.

Forest are now five points clear of the relegation zone in 16th, while Spurs sit 11th, having missed a chance to move into the top half.

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