Tottenham manager Thomas Frank praised his team’s character after grinding out a 2-1 win at Leeds, with Mohammed Kudus’ first goal for the club propelling Spurs to second in the Premier League.
Noah Okafor cancelled out Mathys Tel’s opening for the visitors in an action-packed first half.
However, when Storm Amy brought torrential rain and violent gusts to Elland Road in the second half, Spurs stood firm and won the game with a deflected shot from Kudus, inflicting Leeds’ first home league defeat in almost a year.
“I think the character was the foundation,” said Frank. “To go here and get through the spells where everything was not perfect and to keep the focus.
“We needed a win… That feeling to get over the line, to get three points, was big.”
Spurs are within one point of leaders Liverpool, but Arsenal can take the lead later on Saturday when they visit West Ham.
Tottenham needed late comebacks to avoid defeats against bottom-placed Wolves and Champions League debutants Bodo/Glimt in the last week.
Frank made six changes to the side that began in the Arctic Circle on Tuesday, and the visitors responded with a considerably more focused performance.
However, Leeds will rue wasted opportunities to avoid their first league defeat at Elland Road since September 2024, when they lost to Burnley.
“You can accept the defeat if it is against a top side like Tottenham,” said Leeds boss Daniel Farke.
“I am still happy with the performance. If we deliver performances like this, we will be fine in the end.”
In seven minutes, Joe Rodon could have put the home side ahead with a header off the post from Sean Longstaff’s free kick.
Tel was left out of Spurs’ Champions League squad after failing to impress since making a permanent move from Bayern Munich during the summer window.
The Frenchman was given a rare opportunity to start in the center of a front three and capitalized with his first goal of the season.
Kudus set up Tel, whose powerful shot deflected off Pascal Struijk, leaving Karl Darlow helpless.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a great chance to level, and Kudus did the same at the other end as a brilliant Spurs counter-attack opened Leeds up.
Farke’s team, on the other hand, deserved to be level at halftime.
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario should have done better, however he could only wade off Brenden Aaronson’s shot back into the path of Okafor, who scored his second Leeds goal from an empty net.
Tel came close to adding a second with a looping header that hit the crossbar in first-half stoppage time.
The second half began similarly end-to-end, with Vicario denying Calvert-Lewin with his feet.
Kudus then scored the game-winner for Tottenham with a charging run infield before unleashing another powerful shot that tricked Darlow thanks to a deflection off Gabriel Gudmundson.
Last season, Tottenham lost more points from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League, finishing just above the relegation zone in 17th.
However, Frank has changed this and Spurs have yet to drop points after taking the lead in a match.
Despite a scare deep into stoppage time, Vicario redeemed himself with a fine save low to his left from Joel Piroe.
The defeat leaves Leeds in 12th with eight points.
