Tottenham’s February comeback continued at Portman Road, where Ange Postecoglou’s team were winners against a brave and hard-working Ipswich Town side
The 4-1 victory is Spurs’ third straight win in the Premier League, an improvement that Postecoglou predicted would come when players returned from injury.
Brennan Johnson, making his first start after one month out with a calf injury, scored twice in the first half. Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski both scored late in the second half to complete the victory.
The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke assesses the best of the action…
Spence’s influence on Spurs keeps growing
How fitting that it was Djed Spence who scored Spurs’ third goal here, his first ever in the Premier League, to make this win safe.
Spence had another solid game for Tottenham here. And just when they were getting nervous, he drove down the left, exchanged passes with James Maddison and then had a shot deflected in off Luke Woolfenden. Tottenham’s third straight league win — the first time they can say that since 2023 — was secure.
There is no question that Spence has been Spurs’ best player over the last few weeks, as they have started to turn their season around. He had been playing at left-back but here he made his first start at right-back since Boxing Day. That allowed Pedro Porro to have a much-needed rest, but also Destiny Udogie to come in for his first start for two months after a hamstring injury.
The presumption always used to be that Porro and Udogie were clear first picks for Spurs, but it is now difficult to pick a Spurs team without Spence in it. His natural athleticism and skill with the ball shine through every time he pulls on the shirt now. He only broke into the Spurs starting team just over two months ago, but he is increasingly indispensable to it.
Spurs have missed Johnson’s clinical streak
Brennan Johnson was never the highest-profile casualty of Spurs’ winter injury crisis, but today underlined just how much they missed him during his month out with a calf injury. This was his first start since January 12, and he gave Tottenham exactly what they needed in a tight first half: two well-taken goals.
The first was classic Johnson, precisely the type of goal he has mastered since joining Spurs in 2023. He attacked the far post, meeting Son Heung-min’s low cutback from the left. Tottenham have no one as good as Johnson at making that run. It remains his unique selling point in this team.
Johnson scored twice at Portman Road (Henry Nicholls/Getty Images)
The second goal again came from Son bursting down the left, past Ben Godfrey. This time he pulled the ball back into the box, and Johnson coolly struck it with his left boot into the net.
Johnson had given Spurs a 2-0 cushion with two of their first attacks in the game. That is the clinical streak that Tottenham have often lacked this season. And while Johnson’s overall game may not be as exceptional as some other players, he does know where the goal is. It’s why he now has 14 goals in all competitions this season.
Tel struggles for early spark
There was debate amongst the Spurs fanbase last week about Mathys Tel’s performance against Manchester United. Asked to lead the line in his first Premier League start, he got seven shots off and was always busy and lively, even if his execution was a bit lacking.
Today, though, Tel found it a lot harder. Again he was leading the line, but he struggled to make a difference at Portman Road. He rarely ran in behind, with Son doing that more often than he did. But coming short for the ball was not Tel’s game either. He struggled to keep hold of the ball under pressure, often losing a physical battle with Jacob Greaves.
He looked like a player who would be more comfortable playing with Dominic Solanke or Richarlison as a more conventional No 9. But right now Tel is being asked to be that No 9 himself, and it simply is not his game. His last act was to try to lead a counter-attack, only to overhit his pass beyond Dejan Kulusevski and out of play.
You could see that Tel looked a tiny bit short of confidence, and he was replaced by Dane Scarlett almost immediately after.
Tel struggled to make an impact vs Ipswich (Henry Nicholls/Getty Images)
What next for Tottenham?
Wednesday, February 26: Manchester City (home), Premier League, 7.30pm UK, 2.30pm ET
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(Top photo: Henry Nicholls/Getty Images)
