Tottenham held by Brentford in entertaining London clash

Tottenham Hotspur started their new Premier League campaign with an entertaining two-all draw against Brentford on Sunday afternoon at the GTech Community Stadium.

A relentless first half saw all four goals scored as Spurs began life without Harry Kane under new manager Ange Postecoglou.

New look Spurs attack

Richarlison and Son Heung-min lead the attack with Dejan Kulusevski and new signing James Maddison pulling the strings in midfield.

It was however, defender Cristian Romero who scored the opening goal with a close-range header from Maddison’s freekick shortly before the Argentine was subbed off the field due to a head injury. Brentford pulled level in the 26^th minute when Bryan Mbeumo scored from the spot after Son clipped Mathias Jensen in the box.

Brentford take lead

The hosts then turned the game on its head just ten minutes later when Yoane Wissa’s long-range effort deflected off Micky van de Ven to scrape past Guglielmo Vicario in the Tottenham goal. Spurs hit back and restored parity deep into first-half stoppage time as Emerson Royal scored with a brilliant effort as both sides headed into the tunnel with nothing to separate between them.

Tottenham were the better of the two sides in the second half and came close to taking the lead on several occasions.

Brentford keeper, Mark Flekken, however, stood in the visitors’ path making smart saves from Son and Richarlison.

Spurs did have the majority of the ball and looked settled under their new manager but lacked a midfielder who could unlock the opposition defense.

Postecoglou had Giovani Lo Celso on the bench at his disposal but decided not to introduce the Argentine even when Oliver Skipp looked out of depth in the middle of the park.

Brentford would perhaps be the happier of the two sides as the game ended 2-2, a point each of either side.

Brentford will now travel to Fulham next Saturday for another London derby while Postecoglou will lead out Tottenham in front of his first home game when they host Manchester United on the same day.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Action Plus