Maddison's magic moment for Spurs - 18 months in the making

Roberto de Zerbi has used all the tools at his disposal to discover the missing spark in struggling Tottenham Hotspur, from acting as an amateur psychologist to team bonding dinners, then a sunshine break in Marbella.

The answer, at least when Spurs finally moved off the bottom of the table with their first Premier League win this season against Coventry City, came in the shape of James Maddison as he made his first start in 18 months.

He missed most of last season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in pre-season, before fracturing his shoulder in the opening-weekend defeat at Brentford in this campaign.

The 29-year-old finally made it back into the Spurs starting line-up to face Coventry - and delivered in spectacular style to set them on the way to a 3-1 victory that De Zerbi hopes will finally give their season lift-off.

Maddison could barely keep the smile from his face as he warmed up, then made his mark in the 14th minute by showing what Spurs have been missing with a brilliant right-foot finish from 20 yards, taking Mohammed Kudus' pass first time to arc a sweeping strike high beyond Coventry City keeper Carl Rushworth.

It was a moment of sweet relief for Maddison, the goal getting loud gasps of admiration from Spurs supporters as it was shown several times on the stadium's big screens.

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Even though the goal came against his former club, Maddison celebrated with his trademark imaginary dart throwing motion before kissing the badge on his Spurs shirt.

Maddison's significance to Spurs is illustrated by the fact they had won just 12 out of 57 Premier League games since his last top-flight goal, in a 1-0 victory against Manchester United in February 2025. They had averaged less than a point a game since then.

And since his last start, at Liverpool on 27 April 2025, Spurs had won only 11 of 49 league games in between, losing 23.

Spurs cannot kid themselves that this was a glorious victory. It was actually only their sixth win in the past 37 home league games - drawing 10 and losing 21 - and just their fourth league victory overall in 2026, having played 27, drawn 10 and lost 13.

And it was the first time they scored three goals or more at home in the league since the opening day of last season, when they beat Burnley 3-0 in Thomas Frank's first game in charge.

There are still too many nerves around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and in De Zerbi's team for calm and relaxation.

The victory margin flattered them somewhat, with Jack Rudoni equalising for Coventry City before Omar Marmoush's strike for his first goal for the club, then another from Ben Davies in stoppage time after a dreadful Rushworth error finally allowed Spurs to enjoy the relief of victory.

And there were other things to celebrate. As well as Maddison's successful return to the starting line-up, there was the sight of Dejan Kulusevski finally back as an 87th-minute replacement for Kudus after 526 days out with a knee injury.

Maddison got a deserved standing ovation when he was substituted for Conor Gallagher after 69 minutes, but the reception for Kulusevski was arguably even more rapturous as he finally took to the pitch again after such a long battle to regain fitness.

It was Maddison, however, who claimed the major plaudits after he was the driving force behind the win that has proved so elusive - his positive approach playing with a smile on his face provides refreshment of its own after such a depressing sequence of results.

He was eager to get on the ball, was constantly probing and prompting, all before he inevitably tired after the break.

"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," Maddison told Sky Sports.

"I just wanted to play well and show my abilities, show what the team has missed the last 18 months. The gaffer asked me to play and wanted to enjoy watching from the side. Hopefully I did that, and a goal is always nice."

If his aim was to show what Spurs have been missing, this was very much mission accomplished.

And as well as Maddison and Kulusevski, Marmoush will gain confidence from his strike, another superb curling effort that gave Rushworth no chance.

De Zerbi will know this is only a start, with a tough trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening (17:30 BST).