Cliff Notes – Leeds 1-2 Spurs Game Analysis
- Mohammed Kudus scored the winner for Tottenham Hotspur, marking his first goal for the club and helping Spurs secure a vital victory at Elland Road.
- The win ended a streak of seven consecutive defeats for Spurs before the international break, moving them up to second in the Premier League standings.
- Leeds United suffered their first home league loss since September 2024, despite manager Daniel Farke claiming his side was the better team in terms of possession and chances created.
Leeds 1-2 Spurs (4 Oct, 2025) Game Analysis
Mohammed Kudus opened his account for his new club as Tottenham Hotspur beat Leeds United at Elland Road to move up to second in the Premier League before their rivals play this weekend.
Spurs’ victory ended a sequence of seven straight defeats in their last match before an international break — a run that stretched back to a 2-1 loss at Wolves in November 2023.
Ghana forward Kudus fired the winner shortly before the hour-mark after Leeds winger Noah Okafor had cancelled out Mathys Tel’s opener for Spurs before the break.
It was Leeds’ first home league loss since a 1-0 defeat to Burnley in September 2024 and their third in the top flight this season, while Spurs notched their fourth Premier League win under Thomas Frank.
When asked if he was pleased with his start to life as Spurs boss, Frank said:
“Yes of course I am. I think 14 points in seven. You know, that’s very good. So that’s all it is, a start. I’m extremely happy that we now on the road have won three and [got] a draw, which I think that’s part of that.
“If you want to achieve anything, you need to do that.”
Tottenham Hotspur ended a run of three consecutive draws in all competitions with their victory at Elland Road.
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Although Leeds fought back to level through Okafor’s second goal of the season and hit a post through Joe Rodon’s first-half header, Frank felt his side carried the greater threat.
He added: “We created two goals and [had] all the very good and dangerous situations and chances. So I’m very happy with that.”
Leeds manager Daniel Farke disagreed with Franks’s assessment.
“I have to say, just many compliments to my players for this performance, because after this game, I would be normally disappointed with drawing, not even to speak about a loss,” Farke said.
“We were the better side today. We were the better side in all aspects. We had more possession, we had more passes, we had more expected goals. We had more shots. We had more big chances.”
The visitors, who began the day in fifth place, have lost only one of their 11 matches in all competitions since Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in June, while they have won on their last three visits to Elland Road.
Leeds, unchanged for four successive matches, quickly showed their intent through Sean Longstaff’s crunching tackle before Rodon’s header from Anton Stach’s free-kick hit a post.
João Palhinha was wayward with a first chance for Spurs, who made five changes after Tuesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw against Bodo/Glimt in Norway.
The visitors threatened again as Destiny Udogie’s angled shot was blocked by Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow and more incisive play saw them take the lead in the 24th minute.
Kudus slipped Tel away down Leeds’ left channel and after racing to the edge of the box, the French winger unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner via a deflection off Pascal Struijk.
Kudus should have doubled Tottenham’s lead soon after when he fired wide from inside the penalty area as Leeds began to look ragged.
But Farke’s side regrouped. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was wayward after creating space inside the area and 10 minutes after falling behind they hauled themselves level.
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was only able to parry Brenden Aaronson’s deflected low effort and summer signing Okafor turned home the rebound for his second goal of the season.
Longstaff lashed over from the edge of the box as Tottenham began to creak, but in a see-saw encounter, the visitors went close to a second when Tel’s header from Wilson Odobert’s cross struck the crossbar before half-time.
The two sides resumed in pouring rain and half-chances continued to flow.
Darlow blocked Pedro Porro’s cross and at the other end Vicario was at full stretch to keep out Calvert-Lewin’s low strike.
A slip by Leeds defender Gabriel Gudmundsson helped Spurs regain the lead in the 57th minute.
The Sweden left-back was dispossessed near the penalty are by Kudus, who darted inside and arrowed a low left-footed inside Darlow’s near post, via another deflection off Struijk.
But after edging back in front, Spurs were unable to dictate the tempo and Leeds went close when Longstaff thundered a low shot narrowly wide.
Leeds swept forward in the closing stages, but substitute Joël Piroe was foiled by Vicario’s low save and Struijk’s header was deflected narrowly over.
Information from PA contributed to this report.
