Tottenham Hotspur completed an epic second-half turnaround to beat Brentford 3-2 and leapfrog Aston Villa into fourth place.
Trailing 1-0 at the break to Neal Maupay's goal, Spurs scored three times in eight minutes after an inspired double substitution during the interval by Ange Postecoglou.
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How the match unfolded
Spurs began the match with a new lease on life, as James Maddison started his first Premier League match since facing Chelsea in November.
However, against the run of play Brentford took the lead from a quick break in the 15th minute.
Moments after Mads Roerslev had a goal ruled out for offisde, Ivan Toney beat the offside trap and saw a shot saved by Guglielmo Vicario, but the rebound fell to Maupay to bundle in.
Brentford continued to threaten on the counter-attack and at half-time Spurs head coach Postecoglou reacted by replacing Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Brennan Johnson.
Just three minutes after the restart, Destiny Udogie, who was at fault for giving the ball away for Brentford's opener, ran into the box and levelled the match.
Just over a minute later Johnson finished a low cross to the far post by Timo Werner, who set up his second goal since signing for Spurs this January.
And in the 56th minute it was 3-1, Richarlison meeting a loose ball in the box and scoring his seventh goal in as many matches.
After dragging a big chance wide of a post, Toney pulled a goal back, punishing another Udogie mistake. The Spurs left-back did not spot his opponent and inadvertently passed straight to Toney, who smashed in from close range for his second goal in as many matches since returning from an eight-month suspension.
In stoppage time, substitute Shandon Baptiste nearly rescued a point for Brentford, but Vicario tipped his effort over the bar.
Spurs move on to 43 points, level with Aston Villa but above them on goals scored. Brentford are 15th, with 22 points, four above the relegation zone.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
35 | +57 | 80 |
| 2 |
Man City
MCI
|
34 | +50 | 79 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
35 | +41 | 75 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
35 | +21 | 67 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
33 | +15 | 60 |
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
35 | -12 | 40 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
35 | -11 | 36 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
35 | -8 | 35 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
35 | -20 | 26 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
35 | -29 | 25 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
35 | -32 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
35 | -63 | 16 |
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Key facts
Tottenham gained a victory against Brentford in the Premier League for the first time since December 2021 (2-0), ending a run of four such games without a win against the Bees (D3 L1).
Tottenham overturned a half time deficit to win a Premier League game for the first time since November 2022 against Leeds United (4-3), having failed to win any of their previous 10 such games (D4 L6).
Brentford lost a Premier League game despite scoring at least two goals for just the second time, last doing so in August 2022 against Fulham (3-2).
There was just 72 seconds between Destiny Udogie’s 48th minute equalizer and Brennan Johnson scoring Tottenham’s second goal in the 49th minute to put Spurs ahead.