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, just one point behind sixth-placed Manchester United.
How the match unfolded
Some brilliant, last-ditch Nordi Mukiele defending stopped Richarlison from heading Spurs into an early lead from Pedro Porro's inviting delivery, before Kudus worryingly departed the pitch with an injury.
After a dominant start, Spurs opened the scoring in the 30th minute. From a corner routine, the ball reached Cristian Romero and his pass teed up Van de Ven, whose shot was turned in by Davies.
Despite going behind, Sunderland continued to push as Trai Hume fired over late in the first half before Brobbey struck the side-netting after capitalising on a mistake by Romero after the break.
Simon Adingra then curled a shot wide before Le Fee hit the woodwork, but Sunderland’s persistence paid off when Brobbey smashed home the leveller 10 minutes from time.
And both sides could have won it late on, with Hume’s strike from distance tipped over by Guglielmo Vicario before Spurs substitute Joao Palhinha glanced a header wide at the other end as they were forced to share the spoils.
Spurs’ miserable home record continues
Spurs lost 11 home league matches in 2025, their most ever in a calendar year, and although they avoided defeat here, it was another frustrating outcome for Frank and his players, who had led for most of the contest.
Some supporters are unhappy with Frank’s safe and pragmatic style, expressing this with some boos after the full-time whistle, but Spurs had started strongly through Davies’ first Premier League goal since December 2023 on his first top-flight start of the season.
However, Spurs conceded control in the second half, inviting Sunderland pressure and were made to pay for it. Moments after Le Fee hit the post, Brobbey netted a brilliant equaliser to underline the turbulence of Frank’s debut season in charge.
Spurs have won just two of their last 11 Premier League matches and are competing at the wrong end of the table.
Next, they will travel to the south coast on Wednesday to face struggling AFC Bournemouth, who are 15th and winless in their last 11 Premier League games.
Sunderland grind out another draw
This result ensures that the Black Cats are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games, registering four consecutive draws. This contributes to a more extensive and impressive record, in which they’ve lost just two of their last 13 matches.
In the first half, Sunderland were happy to sit deep and soak up pressure, and couldn’t argue with trailing at the interval. Hume’s hopeful long-range effort was their only chance in an uninspiring display.
Le Bris clearly wanted more from his players and they were far braver in the second half, with Eliezer Mayenda and Brobbey both crafting opportunities early on.
Le Fee was so close to scoring before he superbly combined with Brobbey, who grabbed a sensational leveller to spark euphoric away celebrations.
The reaction in the second half was outstanding, and Le Bris has his players well drilled, extremely tough to beat and never willing to accept a loss.
Their rise in a dreamy debut campaign back in the Premier League continues as the gap between themselves and the relegation zone is now a whopping 16 points.
Next time out, Sunderland face another tough away game as they take on Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday.
Club reports
Spurs report | Sunderland report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: "I think especially the first half was very positive [for us]. In many phases, we looked good and we created a lot of good situations that we should have got more from. The second half was not as good but we still created eight or nine situations where we needed to get more out of it. I think the big miss in this game was not scoring the 2-0 goal. The 2-0 goal would have killed the game but then, with a bit of good play from them, it was 1-1."
Regis Le Bris: "We had the opportunity at the end of the game [to win] with Wilson [Isidor] but overall, it's a good performance. We played well, especially the first half. After we scored, we felt the pressure, it became more powerful with their subs as well, so it's a good point to be fair. I think we are building our confidence in this league. We are playing our game with our identity and we believe that it's possible to win everywhere."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Sunderland are unbeaten in their last five games in the Premier League (W1 D4), drawing each of their last four. It’s the Black Cats’ longest run without defeat in the top flight since a streak of six under Sam Allardyce in April/May 2016.
Spurs have drawn six of their 20 Premier League matches under Thomas Frank this season (W7 L7), as many draws as they had across their final 53 league games under Ange Postecoglou (W18 L29).
Spurs are just the second side to score 10+ times from corners in the Premier League this season (after Arsenal with 11), and have already matched their tally from the entirety of last campaign (10).
Van de Ven’s assist for Davies’ opener was his fourth goal involvement in the Premier League this season (three goals, one assist) – marking the defender’s most goal contributions in one campaign in the competition.