 Tottenham began the post-Harry Kane era with a 2-2 draw away to Brentford on Sunday but delivered a performance full of promise that suggests there is, indeed, life after their talisman. The north Londoners took the lead early on as Cristian Romero nodded home James Maddison's pinpoint free-kick, though the Argentine had to be immediately subbed off due to a head injury sustained in an earlier collision. Brentford rallied thanks to a soft penalty given away by newly appointed captain Son Heung-min, which Bryan Mbuemo converted expertly, and then went ahead when Yoane Wissa's tame shot took a big deflection off Micky van de Ven. Spurs briefly looked a little rattled as the volume at the Community Stadium ramped up and were very open at the back, but they found a leveller shortly before the break as Emerson Royal rifled in from the edge of the box. The visitors exerted a huge amount of control in the second half but struggled to carve out clear-cut chances, surviving a few scares in their own penalty box to collect a point in Ange Postecoglou's first Premier League game in charge. Supporters would have hoped for three points but 70% possession and 18 shots on goal highlights the dominance Spurs enjoyed – something they have rarely done on their travels in recent seasons. Given how strong Brentford have been at home, beating four of the big six last season, there were plenty of positives – and a few negatives – to take from the performance… NEW-LOOK DEFENCE Left-back Destiny Udogie looks like an excellent find from Spurs (Picture: Getty) Scoring goals was not a major problem for Tottenham last season and, even without the now departed Kane, they still have an abundance of attacking weapons – including the 2021/22 Golden Boot winner. It was defending that was the biggest issue, conceding 63 goals last season – the 15th worst record in the division. With Postecoglou stripping away Ant){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Tottenham began the post-Harry Kane era with a 2-2 draw away to Brentford on Sunday but delivered a performance full of promise that suggests there is, indeed, life after their talisman.
The north Londoners took the lead early on as Cristian Romero nodded home James Maddison’s pinpoint free-kick, though the Argentine had to be immediately subbed off due to a head injury sustained in an earlier collision.
Brentford rallied thanks to a soft penalty given away by newly appointed captain Son Heung-min, which Bryan Mbuemo converted expertly, and then went ahead when Yoane Wissa’s tame shot took a big deflection off Micky van de Ven.
Spurs briefly looked a little rattled as the volume at the Community Stadium ramped up and were very open at the back, but they found a leveller shortly before the break as Emerson Royal rifled in from the edge of the box.