Son’s emotional return sets scene for vital Spurs win in Champions League

Spurs twice came from behind to earn points at Newcastle United, got past Frank’s former club Brentford and then added to this mini-revival with a convincing 3-0 win against Slavia Prague.

Before the victory against Brentford, Spurs had played 16 league matches at home in 2025, winning just three and losing 10. This is the course Frank needs to return to.

It wasn’t a perfect performance, a mediocre Slavia team was given too many opportunities, but Spurs were always in control and are now on the edge of the top eight places in the Champions League standings, which guarantee automatic entry into the knockout stage.

In the context of the Champions League, it was also an excellent response to the 5-3 defeat away to Paris St-Germain in the last game, where Spurs played really well for an hour before being overpowered by their sheer quality.

This heavy defeat was unusual for this season; Spurs have kept four clean sheets and conceded seven goals in total from their six matches so far.

If Frank is looking for vital signs of improvement, he will also spot them in Xavi Simons’ improved performances in his last two games; He will score one goal against Brentford and score another and then make an important contribution against Slavia.

He was joined by Mohammed Kudus to pose a real threat and even create competition among themselves when Spurs were awarded two penalties in the second half.

Before that, Spurs had been given a huge boost with their first goal in the 26th minute; Slavia defender David Sima confidently headed home goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek after Cristian Romero’s strike on Pedro Porro’s corner.

Spurs’ victory was sealed with these two spot kicks in the second half; Simons was eager to score the first goal before Kudus successfully took charge, but then got his chance when he was brought down by Igoh Ogbu.

At that time, Kudus was replaced by Mathys Tel. Captain Romero handed the ball to Simons, who completed the formalities.