Premier League

TOTTENHAM 3 (Solanke 8, Johnson 28, Maddison 85)
BRENTFORD 1 (Mbeumo 1)

TOTTENHAM served up an early season kick-starter this afternoon (Saturday) in an impressive 3-1 demolition of Brentford.

Goals from Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison earned Ange Postecoglou a much-needed three points, and in a manner that pleased.

Speaking after the game, the Spurs manager said: “We were relentless the whole game and we deserved the win.

“We thought we could put our energy and intensity to good use. I was really focussed in making sure we dominated when we wanted to dominate.”

Postecoglou also praised his side’s ability to manage the game when they were not on the ball. He added: “We knew they’d try and play out, and that was great for us because we could press hard.

“The back four managed things well and the midfielders played a key role. It was a strong performance across the board. They know Brentford, know they are aggressive and we love that part of the game.”

But it didn’t begin well.

Bustling Bryan Mbeumo – who was outstanding for the visitors – got Brentford off to a dream start with a brilliant volley on just 27 seconds.

Brentford took the kick off and went straight for the jugular. The ball swished from right to left and after a muddle in the middle, a cross found the unmarked Mbeumo. He walloped home athletically.

It was almost too early for any recriminations – and Postecoglou noted afterwards how impressed he had been by the response, saying “the boys acted like it never happened and got on with it”.

And instead of navel-gazing, Tottenham did exactly that. It took seven minutes to draw level. Maddison won the ball high up on the press and his touch took him within striking distance. His low shot was parried by Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal and Solanke was on hand to calmly tuck the rebound away and open his account on his first start at home.

Spurs had already tried to pick themselves up, having won two corners in quick succession, and after equalising they did not rest.

Heung Min-Son saw a shot saved well when he worked space at the edge of the box, while Solanke nearly bustled his way in. Johnson also won it high and had his shot blocked.

It looked like it was coming and it arrived via Johnson on 28 minutes. Maddison again won possession and handed it over to Son to burst forward centrally. It created space for Johnson and he made no mistake. The winger got up to full pelt and his low shot across Flekken left the keeper clutching at air.

Brentford managed to settle a little before half-time and were helped by some wobbly clearances by Guglielmo Vicario. The keeper redeemed himself when he kept Spurs ahead midway through the second half with a fine one-handed stop from a header by Kristoffer Ajer.

With Spurs failing to make things safe, Postecoglou shored things up with Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma. It successfully closed down the game and the icing on the cake came via Maddison on 84.

It was created by the brilliance of Cristian Romero. A loose ball in the middle was up for the taking and Maddison was ready to pounce. But Romero vocally shoved his teammates away and then slipped a perfect pass into the path of Son.

The forward saw Maddison galloping up on the left, and after nutmegging Sepp van den Berg with a through ball, Maddison calmly chipped Flekken.

It was an across the board impressive performance, and one that felt due – a season kick-starter of a showing.

TOTTENHAM: Vicario, Romero, Van de Ven, Porro (Gray 87), Udogie, Bentacur (Bissouma 62), Kulusevski, Maddison (Bergvall 87), Son, Solanke (moore 87), Johnson (sarr 69)
Substitutes not used: Forster, Dragusin, Werner, Spence

BRENTFORD: Flekken, van den Berg, Carvalho (Trevitt87), Mbeumo, Ajer (Roerslev 78), Yarmoliuk (Schade 62) Collins, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard (Konak 78), Janelt
Substitutes not used: Valdimarsson, Mee, Meghoma, Kim, Yogane