Tottenham Hotspur

On Saturday afternoon, our campaign in England’s top flight will come to a close at Brighton & Hove Albion (1pm UK) and we will look to round off the season in perfect fashion on what has already been a historic term.

With victory over London City Lionesses last time out in the competition, we have now recorded our highest-ever points tally in a single WSL season and with that, also secured our spot in fifth place – our joint-highest finish in our seven years at this level.

However, all eyes will be on the Amex Stadium this weekend to ensure we finish the campaign on a positive note, and the squad remain focused on the task at hand in Tuesday’s session at Hotspur Way.

Check out the latest training gallery to see what the players were put through…

A point was the least we deserved after creating a number of chances and taking the lead through Mathys Tel on 51 minutes. However, the in-form Whites levelled through Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty on 74 minutes and might well have snatched victory with 99 minutes on the clock at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Sean Longstaff broke into the box and fired at goal from the left angle, 10 yards out. Somehow, Toni reacted in time, lifting his right arm to divert the shot onto the crossbar and to safety. It stayed 1-1, we moved two points clear of West Ham with two matches remaining.

It has been quite a return for the Czech international, who went through tough times in March, substituted early in our UEFA Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid.

Back in for Roberto’s first games in charge as Guglielmo Vicario recovers from hernia repair surgery, he has responded with consistently high-quality performances, not just with his passing ability – a well-documented strength – but with big saves in matches at Sunderland, Wolves and now against Leeds, where he didn’t just deny Longstaff late on, he also produced a fine save low down to his left to keep out Joe Rodon’s header in the first half.

Asked about the sheer mentality Antonin has demonstrated to bounce back from what happened in Madrid, and his performance against Leeds, Roberto told us: “The biggest quality of Tony is the personality. Great personality after Madrid showed for his age an incredible character and we are happy he plays with us.”

Asked about Toni in his post-match press conference, Roberto replied: "He’s improving a lot. He’s a good goalkeeper. I had no doubt in my first days in Tottenham because I knew him before coming here. He played in Madrid, he made that mistake, and it was tough for him. He has great personality, strong character and he deserves to play a game like today."

Having seen us fall behind to Harry French’s early shot, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder took matters into his own hands, cracking in three strikes that spanned 10 minutes and six seconds to put us firmly in command at Hotspur Way.

French later pulled one back with Oliver Boast making it 4-2 just before the break, but Muslika – who made his Under-18s debut in last season’s final-day clash with the Baggies, almost a year ago to the day – had the last word 11 minutes from time with another excellent effort to round off the scoring.

Without a victory in four coming into the game after running table-topping Chelsea close in recent months, it was a welcome return to winning ways for Jamie Carr’s side and meant we successfully held off the late-season charge of Aston Villa to cement a creditable second-place finish in the Under-18 Premier League southern division.

Reiss Elliott-Parris saw his early shot well saved by West Brom goalkeeper Maxwell Moses, but it was the visitors who forged ahead after six minutes when French fired across goal and into the far corner from the right angle inside the box. We were level five minutes later, though, as Oscar Sandiford won a strong challenge on the right side, the ball was worked to Elliott-Parris who twisted and turned in the middle of the box with the ball eventually breaking to Muslika, who drilled home.

The game developed into quite a physical battle but we were always a threat, particularly in the first half, Muslika’s quality in and around the box coming to the fore as he lashed high into the net from 20 yards to double his tally on 13 minutes before producing a great turn just outside the area and advancing before drilling home for his hat-trick with 21 on the watch.

We conceded cheaply on 26 minutes when French’s shot from the left angle squirmed beyond the grasp of Dylan Thompson but we continued to get shots in on goal, both Muslika and Boast testing Moses before Boast collected Conall Glancy’s pass in a pocket of space coming in off the right, pushed on and blasted a left-footed shot inside the far post to restore our two-goal cushion two minutes before the break.

Centre-forward Justin Seven-Seven – one of three half-time substitutes for the Baggies – gave the visitors more of a threat up front in the second half and we found it difficult to carve out as many shooting opportunities as we’d had in the first, but Boast and Glancy still went close before another cracker from Muslika set the seal on our victory 11 minutes from time, the midfielder getting the ball out from under his feet and again firing high into the net, bringing up his 15th league goal of the season.

‘Pleased with our ruthlessness’

Coach Jamie was full of praise for Muslika after the game, telling us: “Armend produced three moments that unlocked West Brom in a really nice way and showed his level in tight areas with his ability to shoot through legs or to shape a finish. I was pleased with how ruthless we were in the game – partly him and partly Ollie Boast – as we really showed our level in and around the box.”

With third-placed Aston Villa edging to a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace, we stayed ahead of them on goal difference to finish second after an impressive overall campaign at this level.

“When you look at the season as a whole, there were a lot of pleasing parts and some strong performances, particularly in the middle with that spell where we were winning a lot of games in a row and I think the second-years played a big part in terms of understanding what it takes to win,” Jamie added. “There was a hunger and an honesty within the group to try to do the right things every day and a willingness to learn, so I was pleased with what the players showed day to day in training and then into the games. We were in the hunt to push for the league for a while but just towards the end we faded slightly, although overall we’re pleased with the mentality to train every day and take on learnings.”

Line-up

Spurs: D Thompson, Sandiford, Byrne (Myrtaj 66), Hanson, Tingey, Tye Hall (c) (Thomas 66), Boast (Vidal-Philbert 82), Glancy (Salter 73), Elliott-Parris, Muslika, Adewole. Substitute (not used): Doran.

Making his fifth successive league start, the Czech goalkeeper produced not one but two world-class saves to first deny Leeds the opener and then a late winner with a contender for save of the season.

In a tight and tense goalless first half, ex-Spur Joe Rodon thought he'd broken the deadlock with his downward header 20 minutes in only for Toni to spring low to his left and stretch out a strong left arm to stop the ball crossing the line from behind him.

Then - after Mathys Tel's 50th-minute curler had put us ahead before Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised from the penalty spot on 74 minutes - the 23-year-old went one better in second-half stoppage-time to somehow tip Sean Longstaff's powerful attempt from close range onto the crossbar in the 98th minute.

It was another clutch save at a key moment from the young shot stopper - who also produced a stunning save to preserve our 1-0 win in the closing stages at Wolves - and ensured a point to move two clear of 18th-placed West Ham with two games to go.

Voting is now open and will close tomorrow (Wednesday 13 May) at midday (UK).

The playmaker has missed out on competitive action since playing a key role in our UEFA Europa League semi-final, first leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 1 May, 2025. ‘Madders’ was on fire that night, adding to Brennan Johnson’s early header as we stormed into what turned out to be an unassailable lead, 2-0 in the first half with Dominic Solanke adding the third from the penalty spot in the second half.

However, the England international was substituted on 65 minutes with a knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season – that meant he missed our final triumph in Bilbao last May.

Madders returned in pre-season off the bench against Arsenal in Hong Kong on 31 July but disaster struck in our next friendly on tour against Newcastle – Heung-Min Son’s farewell – on 3 August. Entering the fray on 75 minutes, Madders went down clutching his knee 10 minutes later. Stretchered off, it was eventually confirmed he needed surgery on his ACL.

After all the pain of his injury setbacks and the hard graft of recovery, Madders returned to the bench against Brighton on 18 April - Roberto De Zerbi’s second game in charge. After three matches as an unused substitute, his number 10 finally went up with 85 minutes on the clock against Leeds on Monday night.

In fact, Madders played for 18 minutes with 13 minutes of added time, bringing that trademark control to proceedings, getting on the ball and trying to make things happen. And it looked like he’d done just that in the final seconds as he took on Lukas Nmecha in the box – Madders went tumbling but as the 62,000 fans screamed for a penalty, a VAR check showed Nmecha got the slightest touch on the ball – no penalty – it stayed 1-1.

So, after 375 days out, Madders is back for our final two fixtures of 2025/26 - Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday night (19 May, 8.15pm UK) and the finale at home to Everton on Sunday week (24 May, 4pm UK).

Speaking afterwards, Roberto was asked about Madders’ return. "It's great news for us,” he said. “He is a different player as a quality, as a guy and he will be I hope crucial for us. Yesterday (Sunday), I spoke with him about his physical condition, about how many minutes he could play. He played more than what he said yesterday. We are happy for him. I think we are in the right way.”

Mathys opened the scoring in style on 51 minutes, controlling a clearance from Pedro Porro’s corner, killing the ball stone dead before pinging a curler beyond Karl Darlow into the top corner from 20 yards. It was a magic moment, celebrated joyously in front of the South Stand.

However, just 23 minutes later, Mathys caught Ethan Ampadu as he tried an overhead clearance. Richarlison skied his clearance, Mathys was under the ball but as he tried to connect, Ampadu rushed in, got to the ball first and went down. VAR ruled a penalty, dispatched by Dominic Calvert-Lewin for 1-1.

That’s how it stayed – with Antonin Kinsky producing a world-class save to deny Sean Longstaff and keep that precious point intact.

Speaking to us afterwards, we asked Roberto what he said to Mathys in the dressing room.

“A big hug, a big kiss, he’s a great player,” he said. “I'm sorry for Mathys, because he scored a great goal and then he made a mistake because he's very young. The mistakes of Mathys are the normal mistakes of a young player, not mature yet, but I think we are lucky because he's a big talent. You remember the pass in the first half in the middle of the goal area, our goal area? They are the normal mistakes.”

Asked a similar question on Mathys in his post-match press conference, Roberto replied: “A big hug and a big kiss, nothing more, because he is a young player, a big talent. He scored a great goal, he made a mistake for the experience, because he has not the right experience, he has not played too many games in his career and we have to accept that, but I am proud and I am happy for the mentality we showed.”

Knowing victory would've opened up a four-point gap to relegation rivals West Ham United in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted when Mathys Tel sent in a stunning curler on 50 minutes to break the deadlock in a game of fine margins.

However, the away side were awarded a penalty following a VAR review for Mathys catching Ethan Ampadu when attempting an overhead clearance inside the box and Dominic Calvert-Lewin sent in his spot-kick to equalise.

We pressed on looking for the winner in a chaotic finale which saw 13 minutes added on, but were thankful for Antonin Kinsky - who had superbly denied Joe Rodon in the first half - for a simply incredible reaction save to parry Sean Longstaff's effort onto the crossbar in the 97th minute.

A big positive was the return of James Maddison who made his first appearance of the season since rupturing his ACL on pre-season tour. The midfielder - who has been part of the last three matchday squads - came on with five minutes of normal time remaining and had huge claims for a last-gasp penalty denied by VAR when he appeared to be tripped by Lukas Nmecha.

With survival still in our hands with two games to go and what could prove to be a valuable point on the board - what did you make of the performance and result from that one?

We certainly had chances against a Leeds team who knew they were safe before the game and were on a run of four defeats in 22 in the Premier League and took the lead five minutes into the second half via Mathys Tel’s beautiful curler into the top corner.

Unfortunately, Mathys then caught Ethan Ampadu as he tried to clear his lines and a penalty was awarded via VAR, tucked away by Dominic Calvin-Lewin. It was then left to Antonin Kinsky to secure a point with a world-class late reaction save, tipping Sean Longstaff’s effort onto the crossbar.

The point means we move two clear of West Ham with two games remaining – West Ham go to Newcastle on Sunday, we face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night (8.15pm UK) and we’re both at home on the final weekend, 24 May (4pm) – we take on Everton, West Ham host Leeds.

Speaking to us afterwards on SPURSPLAY, Roberto reflected: “Honestly, we didn't play a great game, but I think we played a good game, enough to win. We could lose the game at the end, but if you analyse the numbers of the game, the chances to score, the corners, how many times we came inside of the goal area of Leeds, we created enough to win.

“I think we suffered too much, the pressure, because for the players, maybe today was the match point, and the speed of the ball, the order on the pitch, the decision with the ball and without the ball, we didn't show calm with the ball

“Maybe we were too nervous, but I'm happy for the spirit, for the attitude. We fought, everyone.

“After the Sunderland game, we couldn't imagine now to stay two points up. So, we have to be stronger, still positive to prepare for the next game, like today. Also, for West Ham, they have to play two strong and two tough games against Leeds (and Newcastle). I have no doubt they go to play in West Ham with the same spirit, with the same qualities.”

Having seen West Ham United lose on Sunday, we knew a victory would be a massive step towards survival and gave it a real go against Leeds United, with Mathys Tel scoring a stunning opener after a goalless first half.

But we were pegged back 16 minutes from time when the visitors were awarded a penalty which Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted. Both sides had plenty of chances throughout the game, Antonin Kinsky making two world-class saves while Joao Palhinha, Pedro Porro, Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur went close for us. The result continues our long run without a win in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but it’s now four games unbeaten going into the final two matches of the season.

With the South Stand tifo, pyrotechnics and the Spurs fans in full voice, the game got underway within a fantastic atmosphere and the players almost matched it with an early goal. With 10 minutes gone, Pedro Porro split the Leeds defence with a perfect pass to release Richarlison – on his 100th Premier League appearance for us – but former Spur Joe Rodon was across well to block his path and the ball ran through to Karl Darlow.

There was almost a disastrous moment in the 20th minute when Tel had nowhere to go on the byline inside our box and attempted a clearance across his own area which nearly fell perfectly for James Justin to head home, only for Kevin Danso to get the merest of touches to flick the ball away from the Leeds defender. And a minute later, the visitors went close again, Rodon with a firm header which was superbly saved low down to his left by Kinsky.

We responded well though with a string of corners after Tel and Conor Gallagher had efforts blocked before a swift break from Randal Kolo Muani ended with Richarlison’s shot comfortably saved by Darlow. The Leeds keeper was then penalised by referee Jarred Gillett for holding onto the ball for too long and, from the corner, Porro’s low drive was cleared off the line by Pascal Struijk with Darlow beaten.

We went close to breaking the deadlock again in the 36th minute, Tel’s cross falling to Palhinha who showed great skill to work the space only to then poke over the bar with his shot. Rodrigo Bentancur then headed wide from another corner as the chances started to pile up. But on the stroke of half-time, Destiny Udogie challenged Calvert-Lewin in the area with Leeds strongly appealing for a penalty although VAR ruled it was offside in the build-up and we went in level at the break.

It wasn’t level for long though. Six minutes into the second half we got the goal we craved – and what a strike it was. Porro’s corner was headed away by Jaka Bijol to Tel on the edge of the area and the French forward controlled with one touch of his right foot and curled home beautifully with his next, sparking fantastic scenes all around the stadium. A second almost followed soon after as Kolo Muani got clear down the right flank but his cut-back was blazed over by Richarlison.

With 20 minutes left though, a moment of controversy as Tel went for a high clearance inside our area as Ethan Ampadu came rushing in to head the ball. The Leeds player went down claiming he was kicked in the head and eventually, VAR intervened with the referee checking the pitchside monitor and awarding the spot-kick. Calvert-Lewin stepped up and slammed past Kinsky to level the scores.

It was a goal that flattened the mood inside the stadium although the lift we needed arrived with five minutes left when James Maddison came off the bench to great applause from the Spurs faithful – his first competitive appearance in over a year since Bodo/Glimt at home on 1 May last year. There was a further boost when the board went up with 13 minutes of stoppage time added on as we searched for the goal we so desperately needed.

We certainly applied pressure in the closing stages without really testing Darlow and, instead, it was our goalkeeper called into action, Kinsky making a truly sensational save in the 98th minute to tip Sean Longstaff’s fierce angled drive onto the crossbar. Longstaff was almost in again moments later at the back post but got it all wrong from close range. The drama went right to the very last, as we had huge penalty claims when Maddison appeared to be tripped by Lukas Nmecha, but it was dismissed after a VAR check. We had a succession of corners in the final seconds, almost 15 minutes added on by the end, but we couldn’t make any of them count and had to settle for a point. It’s still in our hands with two games to go and that might prove to be a valuable point on the board.

Line-ups

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Danso, van de Ven (c), Udogie (Spence 85), Palhinha, Bentancur (Bergvall 81), Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel (Maddison 85), Richarlison. Substitutes (not used): Austin, Dragusin, Souza, Gray, Sarr, Bissouma.

Leeds United (4-3-3): Darlow, Justin, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk (Bornauw 56), Stach, Ampadu, Tanaka (Longstaff 90+3), James (Gnonto 63), Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson (Nmecha 63). Substitutes (not used): Perri, Byram, Lienou, Chadwick, Piroe.

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Tel 51; Leeds – Calvert-Lewin 74 (pen).

Yellow cards: Spurs – Danso, Palhinha, Pedro Porro; Leeds – Rodon.

Referee: Jarred Gillett.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Sunny intervals, light winds, 10 degrees.

Roberto De Zerbi has named an unchanged starting XI which started in our 2-1 win over Aston Villa last time out.

Conor Gallagher, Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur continued their strong midfield partnership in north London tonight following their impressive display at Villa Park.

On the milestone front, defender Pedro Porro is set to make his 150th appearance for the Club while forward Richarlison will make his 100th Premier League appearance for Spurs.

Starting XI: Kinsky, Danso, Palhinha, Richarlison, Tel, Udogie, Gallagher, Pedro Porro, Bentancur, van de Ven (c), Kolo Muani.

Substitutes: Austin, Dragusin, Bissouma, Maddison, Gray, Bergvall, Spence, Sarr, Souza.

Here's how the visitors line-up...

Starting XI: Darlow, Ampadu (c), Struijk, Rodon, James, Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson, Bijol, Stach, Tanaka, Justin.