Tottenham Hotspur climbed to second place in the Premier League table after securing a 2-1 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, with Mohammed Kudus scoring the decisive second-half goal to end the hosts’ 23-match unbeaten home run.
The Ghanaian midfielder, who joined Spurs from West Ham United in a £55 million deal, was at the heart of everything positive for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Kudus first set up Mathys Tel to open the scoring in the 23rd minute, before curling a superb effort into the bottom-right corner just before the hour mark to seal the win.
Tottenham had to overcome a nervy start, with former Spurs defender Joe Rodon heading against the post early on after Guglielmo Vicario failed to deal with Sean Longstaff’s free-kick.
However, the visitors went ahead when Tel’s deflected effort wrong-footed Karl Darlow, though Leeds hit back before halftime through Noah Okafor, who tucked home from close range after Vicario parried Brenden Aaronson’s shot.
Tel almost restored Spurs’ lead before the break, rattling the crossbar with a powerful header from Wilson Odobert’s delivery.
But Kudus made sure Tottenham regained control in the 57th minute, outmuscling Gabriel Gudmundsson before firing an unstoppable shot past a helpless Darlow.
Leeds pushed hard for a late equaliser and nearly found one deep into stoppage time, only for Vicario to deny Joel Piroe with a stunning save to preserve all three points for the visitors.
The win lifts Tottenham above arch-rivals Arsenal into second place, just one point behind leaders Liverpool, while Leeds remain 12th after suffering their third defeat of the campaign.
Kudus’ impact has been immediate, with his first goal and fourth assist of the season taking his Premier League goal involvements to five, behind only Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo (both nine). Remarkably, four of his five contributions have come against newly promoted teams.
Despite the victory, Spurs’ efficiency in front of goal remains a concern, having registered just 0.52 expected goals (xG) from nine attempts compared to Leeds’ 1.66 from 16 shots.
For Daniel Farke, defensive frailties persist, Leeds have now lost eight of their last 10 league games after conceding first, including three of five this season.
