First-half goals from Richarlison and Xavi Simons helped Tottenham Hotspur register a 2-0 win over Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Thomas Frank saw his Tottenham side battle to a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park in midweek. While it was a spirited comeback to claim a point at a difficult ground, the performance from Spurs left a lot to be desired with once again. As a result, Thomas Frank was heading into the clash against his former employers Brentford under a lot of pressure.
Having not won a league game at home since the opening weekend victory over newly-promoted Burnley, the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has become a tad toxic in recent weeks. The players were booed off the field after the Fulham defeat last weekend, so the onus was on them to regroup and produce a strong display against Brentford.
And the Lilywhites did just that, scoring two fine goals via Richarlison and Xavi Simons, and on another day they could’ve had more. Not only going forward, the hosts were strong defensively and nullified the Bees’ counter-attacking threat with ease.
Thomas Frank delighted with win over former club Brentford
It was an impressive performance from start to finish for Tottenham. A much-needed three points after what has been quite a testing past few weeks for the Danish coach, helping relieve some of the pressure on him.
When asked about his immediate reaction after the performance and result against Brentford, Thomas Frank told the club’s official website (h/t BBC Sport).
“I am happy with so many things. I think it was a very good performance overall. A quite complete performance. Offensively we looked a big threat going forwards. We were much more dynamic and producing good chances and good moments.
“I really like that. Also, the defensive side of things, we kept them to four shots throughout the game. It was a really good performance. The fans were amazing from the off and the players were thriving off them. To have that complete collaboration together, I really loved that. It was a great win.”
A complete performance from Tottenham
Indeed, it was a very good performance from Tottenham. From the first blow of the whistle, we could sense the urgency and hunger to put things right in front of the fans. The players were up for the fight, made snappy tackles, recycled possession well, control the tempo of play and matched Brentford physically.
Going forward, Frank’s side were a threat all afternoon, providing the Bees with plenty to think about. And defensively, the back four marshalled the likes of Igor Thiago, Kevin Schade and Dango Ouattara very well, earning a much-needed clean sheet in the process. In reality, it was a complete display from the Lilywhites – one to cheer a lot for the supporters.
