James Maddison marked his first start in 18 months with a spectacular goal as Tottenham Hotspur beat Coventry City 3-1 on Monday night to record their first Premier League win of the season and climb off the bottom of the table.
The 29-year-old had missed most of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in pre-season, and then fractured his shoulder in the opening-weekend defeat at Brentford this term. Restored to Roberto De Zerbi’s starting line-up against his former club, he needed only 14 minutes to show what Spurs had been missing.
Taking Mohammed Kudus’s pass first time, Maddison curled a right-footed shot from 20 yards high beyond Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. Supporters gasped as the goal was replayed on the stadium’s big screens, and Maddison celebrated with his trademark darts-throwing gesture before kissing the badge.
Nervy finish before late relief
Coventry drew level through Jack Rudoni, and for a time the old anxieties returned. But Omar Marmoush restored the lead with another superb curling finish, his first goal for the club, before Ben Davies added a third in stoppage time after a costly error by Rushworth.
The scoreline flattered Tottenham somewhat, but after weeks of frustration nobody inside the ground was complaining. De Zerbi has tried everything to find a spark, from team-bonding dinners to a warm-weather break in Marbella. In the end, it arrived in the form of his returning playmaker.
The numbers behind the slump
Maddison’s importance is reflected in the statistics. Before Monday, Tottenham had won just 12 of 57 Premier League games since his last top-flight goal, a 1-0 win over Manchester United in February 2025. Since his previous start, at Liverpool in April 2025, they had won only 11 of 49 league matches and lost 23.
Even this victory came against a backdrop of poor home form. It was only Spurs’ sixth win in their past 37 home league games, with 10 draws and 21 defeats, and their fourth league victory of 2026 from 27 matches. It was also the first time they had scored three or more at home in the league since the opening day of last season.
Kulusevski’s emotional return
There was another reason for celebration. Dejan Kulusevski came on as an 87th-minute substitute for Kudus, playing for the first time in 526 days after a long battle with a knee injury. Maddison received a standing ovation when he was replaced by Conor Gallagher after 69 minutes, but the reception for Kulusevski was arguably even louder.
Maddison was the driving force throughout the first half, constantly demanding the ball and probing for openings before tiring after the break. His positive, smiling approach was itself a welcome change after such a dispiriting run of results.
“I spoke to the gaffer this weekend about it, feeling like it was the right moment for me to go back into the starting XI after a bit of a stop-start start to the season,” he told Sky Sports. “I just wanted to play well and show my abilities, show what the team has missed the last 18 months. Hopefully I did that, and a goal is always nice.”
Chelsea next
De Zerbi welcomed the return of two of his most creative players. “They are different players, different talents, different personalities,” he said. “With them in the dressing room there is a different atmosphere.”
The Italian will know that one win does not mark a recovery. Nerves were still evident inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the side remain near the foot of the table. A difficult trip to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge follows on Saturday evening.
For Coventry, the defeat was a reminder of the fine margins at the top level. Rudoni’s equaliser showed they could hurt Spurs, but Rushworth’s late mistake ended any hope of a point.
For Tottenham, though, the significance went beyond three points. With Maddison and Kulusevski back, and Marmoush off the mark, De Zerbi finally has reasons for optimism and a platform on which to build.
