Tottenham beat Coventry to claim first Premier League win of season

Taiwo Awoniyi and Frank Onyeka featured for Coventry City, but were unable to prevent a 3-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in Monday’s Premier League fixture.

Both Nigeria internationals were introduced in the 60th minute, with Coventry eventually beaten by three second-half goals from Tottenham after James Maddison had opened the scoring.

The result gave Tottenham their first league victory of the season at the seventh attempt and lifted them out of the relegation zone. They moved to 16th place with six points, while Coventry remain 17th, also on six points.

Maddison marked his first start in 526 days with a superb finish in the 14th minute. The midfielder, a former Coventry academy player, met a pass created by Mohammed Kudus and struck first time from outside the penalty area, curling the ball into the top corner.

Tottenham were unable to carry that advantage into the second half. Coventry took advantage of poor defending from the hosts to equalise only four minutes after the restart.

The visitors’ response came in the 58th minute when Omar Marmoush restored Tottenham’s lead. The forward scored his first goal for the club with another curling effort from the edge of the area.

Ben Davies then completed the scoring in the sixth minute of added time, sending a left-footed strike into the net to secure Tottenham’s first league win of the campaign.

It was also Roberto De Zerbi’s first league victory as Tottenham manager. His side had spent last week in Marbella for warm-weather training before returning to action against Coventry.

For Awoniyi and Onyeka, the match ended in defeat despite both players being brought on for the final half-hour. Coventry could not find another equaliser after Tottenham regained the lead through Marmoush.