Tottenham Hotspur finally got their first win of the 2026/27 Premier League season on Monday night, and the pundits cheering on their relegation chances will have to wait another week. Spurs really needed the result and all three points against newly promoted Coventry, and while Roberto De Zerbi and many fans remarked that they had actually played better football in a couple of their other games, the result and the 3-1 victory are what matter most.
Many Spurs fans expected that James Maddison would be a deciding factor against Coventry, his childhood club, and with a brilliant opening goal in which he curled the ball into the top corner like only an expert technician can, the England international made it apparent that he was exactly what Spurs were missing for the past several months.
Tottenham just are not the same team without players who can decide games and effect the final score with technical quality, and Maddison is not only a great creator, but he is also one of the few Premier League playmakers reliably capable of scoring 10 goals per season.
James Maddison changes games for Spurs
With Madders, the big question has always been health, but he was finally able to start a Premier League game for Spurs since his torn ACL at the end of the 2024/25 season. Spurs have outplayed their opponents this season in terms of possession and swarming them out of possession, dominating on and off the ball. But they did not win a game until Matchday 7 against Coventry because of their inability to score goals - or even create clear chances.
James Maddison had that great goal of his own, and he also created a chance and drew four fouls. Actually, Tottenham Hotspur will hope that he has more impactful games as a creator going forward, but this was a classy performance from Maddison in the middle of the park, both in terms of being the deciding factor in a game and in terms of his all around play in helping the team drive the ball forward.
Maddison is a complete player, and he fits the Tottenham midfield in more ways thatn just creative output. But what Tottenham were missing the most, by far, was that ability for a player to win games on their own, and that's why Spurs were unable to convert their possession and positive play into actually winning. Going forward, Madders is obviously a must start for Tottenham and their biggest key to converting possession into goals.
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