Kulusevski returns after 526 days as Spurs beat Coventry; Maddison scores in relief win
Tottenham edged to victory over Coventry in Monday’s match, with Dejan Kulusevski making his first Spurs appearance in 526 days and James Maddison scoring the opener.
Kulusevski’s previous appearance for Tottenham came on 11 May 2025, when the club sat 17th in the table — the position they finished that season and again in 2025-26. A late deflected goal from Ben Davies produced the clincher that moved Spurs up to 16th in the standings.
The club has seen significant change since Kulusevski last played: Ange Postecoglou was sacked that summer despite winning the Flamin’ Bigger Vase, Thomas Frank was subsequently appointed and then dismissed in February, and Igor Tudor was installed in a move organised by sporting director Fabio Paratici, who had already left the club. Roberto De Zerbi later took charge and, amid heavy spending, Tottenham signed 20 players either permanently or on loan at a cost of £530m.
Kulusevski entered the game in the 87th minute when the result was still in doubt. James Maddison, returning from a lengthy absence of his own, opened the scoring with what the report described as an arcing strike against his hometown club; last season Maddison initially sat on the bench on a "vibes-only basis" and finished that campaign with "not much more than 30 minutes of play."
De Zerbi, who said the squad benefited from a sunshine break in Marbella where "his players became less a squad than a family," insisted on collective commitment, saying: "You have to play for your friend and your brother, not like 11 robot players on the pitch." The manager added: "With them in the dressing room there is another atmosphere," as his approach delivered Tottenham’s first league win of the season and helped lift the team off the bottom.
The Football Daily newsletter also flagged live coverage and recent continental results, inviting readers to "Join Scott Murray from 8pm BST for Liverpool 2-1 Villarreal in the Bigger Cup action" while Simon Burnton provided updates from "PSG 3-3 Barcelona, Manchester City 4-1 AEK Athens," and more.
Away from the match report, Dwight Yorke told Morgan Ofori from his home in Dubai: "People still call me a ‘party boy’. That stigma has been overused and has followed me since I retired from football. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy myself as a player. You never hear that I didn’t turn up for training or wasn’t fit … now I’m not a kid trying to get into management for the first time. I’m a manager," and the piece noted he has been linked with the vacant Ghana job.
Reader correspondence included Bob Dunning recalling West Ham players Mervyn Day and Bill Green and their links to Carlisle United, Tim Russell noting that "it’s just a shame Gareth Barry was at Manchester City a few years too late to play alongside David White," and Tommy Boyd remembering a brass band at Highbury in the late 60s. The newsletter invited further letters to the.boss@theguardian.com, awarded today’s prizeless letter o’ the day to Bob Dunning, and provided terms and conditions for competitions. This item is an extract from the Football Daily email; to receive the full edition readers were directed to visit the Football Daily page and follow the instructions.
