Peter Crouch showers praise on Tottenham’s gritty away victory against Leeds United
Tottenham Hotspur returned back to winning ways in the Premier League by beating newly-promoted Leeds United 2-1 on Saturday’s early lunchtime kick-off.
Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus were both on target for the Lilywhites, with their deflected goals sandwiching Noah Okafor’s strike. Tel scored his first goal of the season in the first half, but Okafor’s tap-in made it 1-1. Kudus finally broke his Tottenham duck after the interval and secured the points for the visitors.
Spurs had seen their Premier League campaign go off track after back-to-back draws with Brighton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Thomas Frank’s side were poor against Bodo/Glimt in the midweek Champions League fixture and were lucky to return home from Norway with a point. So, the pressure was on them to perform and get points, which they did at a hostile Elland Road.
Ex-Premier League striker praises Tottenham’s ‘character’ in Leeds United win
Thomas Frank has recently received criticism from the Tottenham fans. Fingers have been pointed at the Danish tactician for several decisions of late, including the system he has implemented and his starting XIs. On Saturday, he altered his setup with a more flexible and lucid attack, with Xavi Simons starting in his preferred No.10 role behind Tel, flanked by Kudus and Wilson Odobert.
It worked well as Tottenham had some promising attacking spells during the game and managed to score twice against an in-form Leeds United side. It was a continuation of how Frank’s side ended the game in Bodo by snatching a late draw, showing character and spirit to win points in West Yorkshire.
Former Liverpool and Tottenham striker Peter Crouch praised the “character” of Frank’s side to go to Leeds United and end their unbeaten start to the season at home. He also highlighted the mentality shift under Frank despite him being at the N17 for five months.
“Tottenham are just showing their character at the moment. Getting a late goal at Bodo/Glimt [in the Champions League] and coming here, a tough environment, for an early kick off against Leeds,” Peter Crouch said on TNT Sports (h/t BBC Sport).
“To come through that shows how far Thomas Frank has taken them in the short time he’s been at the club.”
Tottenham showed their mettle vs Leeds
Indeed, after a tough and tiring trip from Norway in midweek, it was extremely difficult to play Leeds in front of a boisterous Elland Road in an early kick-off on Saturday. The Whites were unbeaten at home before meeting Tottenham, so credit to Frank’s side for proving their mettle and getting the job done.
The Lilywhites were warned Daniel Farke’s side will be no pushovers, especially at home. And it turned out to be a reality as the Peacocks made Tottenham work hard for the points. With the big win at a difficult ground, Frank and Co. can enter the international break all smiles.
