Tottenham 1-1 Leeds: Spurs spurn opporunity to move clear of Premier League relegation zone | OneFootball

Roberto De Zerbi’s side were chasing a third consecutive win

Tottenham forward Mathys Tel went from hero to zero after he gave away a reckless penalty following his opener in a 1-1 draw with Leeds to leave his team mired in relegation trouble.

It was followed by a moment of madness from the young forward after Tel caught Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu in the face with an overhead kick clearance after 69 minutes.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin emphatically converted the spot-kick to set up a grandstand finish where Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi turned to James Maddison, who made his first competitive appearance in 12 months after a serious knee injury.

There would be no winning goal, though, after Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky thwarted Sean Longstaff’s powerful stoppage-time strike before a late penalty appeal for Lukas Nmecha’s tackle on Maddison was turned down to leave Tottenham only two points above the bottom three.

A dramatic finale at London Stadium on Sunday benefited both Tottenham and Leeds, with the visitors able to kick-off with another season in the Premier League guaranteed.

Spurs still required points and despite a raucous welcome a disjointed start followed, with nervous energy increased by Tel’s unnecessary lobbed pass across the face of his own penalty area.

Kinsky was called into action with 21 minutes played when Leeds forward Brenden Aaronson picked out ex-home defender Joe Rodon, but his header was brilliantly stopped on the goal-line by Kinsky.

With De Zerbi constantly issuing instructions on the touchline, Spurs sparked into life, with Tel able to squeeze between two defenders before his shot was deflected over.

Richarlison tested Karl Darlow next before the Leeds goalkeeper was penalised for holding onto the ball too long, but Pedro Porro and Conor Gallagher could not fire on target from the resulting corner.

Frustration: Randal Kolo Muani

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Joao Palhinha lifted over shortly afterwards before Rodrigo Bentancur headed wide, but Leeds finished the half strongly when Ao Tanaka sliced off target before Tottenham survived a penalty shout for Destiny Udogie’s collision with Calvert-Lewin, who was crucially ruled offside.

Spurs built on that close call and a moment of magic from Tel provided the breakthrough in the 50th minute.

Porro’s corner was cleared out to Tel, who took a touch and produced a wonderful curled finish into the top corner for his fourth goal of the campaign.

It should have been 2-0 when Randal Kolo Muani got in behind and teed up Richarlison, but he blazed over.

Daniel Farke reacted with Nmecha and Wilfried Gnonto sent on and with 21 minutes left, Leeds received a gift of a spot-kick from Tottenham scorer Tel.

After Spurs dealt with the initial ball into the area, Tel’s attempted acrobatic clearance caught the face of Ampadu and even though referee Jarred Gillett waved play on, a penalty was awarded after a lengthy VAR check and pitchside monitor review.

Calvert-Lewin drilled into the bottom corner for his 14th goal of an excellent season to bring Tottenham right back into a survival battle.

De Zerbi turned to his bench and introduced Maddison with five minutes left, but during a frantic period of stoppage time, Kinsky brilliantly thwarted Longstaff before Maddison had strong penalty appeals waved away after a coming together with Nmecha to ensure the spoils were shared.