Mohammed Kudus’ stats are incredible – Tottenham’s three winners from victory vs Brentford
Tottenham ended their five-game streak without a win as Richarlison and Xavi Simons scored in a 2-0 victory over Brentford in North London.
Thomas Frank left Brentford for Tottenham in the summer and faced them for the first time on Saturday (6 December) afternoon in real need of three points.
Spurs looked the most likely early on and took the lead in the 25th minute as Richarlison poked home from Xavi Simons‘ cross following Pedro Porro’s lofted through ball.
Simons has struggled since joining Tottenham, but he bagged his first goal for the club just before half-time with a mazy run and cool finish after winning the ball back on the halfway line.
It ended 2-0 to the hosts and Football Insider have picked out three Tottenham players who impressed and will feel like shoo-ins to start their next game following their strong respective performances.
Mohammed Kudus
Mohammed Kudus has been a shining light for Spurs this season amid some poor form as a team, and he continued his impressive recent run with another top showing against Brentford.
The 25-year-old playmaker was not involved in either of their goals, but that arguably made him stand out even more as he was their main threat going forward and received a standing ovation when going off in the 80th minute.
Kudus created more chances than any other player (2), completed the most dribbles (5), had 92% pass accuracy (34/37), won eight ground duels and also won two fouls. He was excellent and Spurs will feel lucky to have him in their squad.
Xavi Simons
Simons has needed time to bed into his new surroundings in North London, and this finally felt like the emergence of him onto the Premier League scene after a slow start to the campaign.
The Dutchman was at his dazzling, quick-footed best, particularly in the first-half as he set Richarlison up with an inch-perfect cross and then scored his first Spurs goal with the confidence of a player who had netted 10 times already this season.
The strike saw him win the ball back instantly after losing it on the halfway line before breezing past a number of Bees defenders and slotting it past Caoimhin Kelleher for 2-0.
Manager Frank admitted that he needed the “extra bit of confidence” from scoring, and so Spurs fans will hope that this is the start of him being a key player to their aims of finishing in the top five this season.
Micky van de Ven
Micky van de Ven has been a standout for Tottenham over the last 18 months and he was at his imperious best against Brentford on Saturday.
Spurs’ other Netherlands international star shone next to captain Cristian Romero once more as he completed 38 of 41 attempted passes and made seven defensive contributions to keep the in-form Igor Thiago at bay.
He put in a pivotal tackle on Thiago just before the hour mark after the Bees’ striker thought he was clean through against Vicario, with a goal potentially set to get the visitors back in the game at 2-1 with 30 minutes to go.
Van de Ven has been linked to Real Madrid following a superb start to this season, but performances like this prove that Tottenham cannot sell him if they are serious about being an elite side in the years to come.