Tottenham came from a late deficit to beat Leeds 4-3 on Saturday.
Spurs had a poor defensive performance for long stretches, but Antonio Conte’s side persevered and ended the season on a high.
Leeds almost conceded a goal in the first five minutes when Eric Dier played a back pass to Hugo Lloris and Rodrigo just had to slot the ball in.
On the other hand, Dier should have converted a cross better after a quick Spurs attack that saw Harry Kane and Richarlison waiting in the penalty area.
Leeds took the lead in the tenth minute after Crysencio Summerville slipped between Dier and Emerson Royal and fired the ball past Lloris into the net.
A cross from Dejan Kulusevski was deflected towards goal by Emerson Royal but Illan Meslier saved the ball and the hosts had to wait for a quick equaliser.
Spurs shifted into higher gear and had a superb opportunity when Ben Davies broke into the box and put it down to Emerson, who fired the ball just over the goal.
Summerville almost scored his second of the afternoon on a counterattack, but this time Lloris saved the ball and Rodrigo Bentancur rebounded with a tackle from Brenden Aaronson’s goal. Rodrigo hit the post for the visitors shortly after, but the flag was raised for a late offside position.
Tottenham equalized from a corner kick which Kane headed in despite Meslier being fouled by Clement Lenglet.
In an open game, Spurs almost scored another goal when Kulusevski was pushed through, but Meslier came out to stop him in a similar fashion to Lloris against Summerville.
Leeds took the lead again after Tottenham failed to clear a corner kick. Rasmus Kristensen headed over the unsettled defender and Rodrigo completed.
After half-time, Conte’s men rushed out of the starting blocks and Ben Davies equalized after Kane’s first try was cleared off the line.
Kulusevski, starting for the first time since September, nearly gave Spurs the lead after being sent on by Richarlison, but his outside instep shot went wide.
Leeds took the lead for the third time after Rodrigo was fouled in the penalty area. Spurs were annoyed that a foul on Rodrigo Bentancur in the build-up play was not punished.
And for the third time, Tottenham found a quick response after Bentancur slammed the ball into the net from a Davinson Sanchez cross.
Just a few minutes later, the Spurs took the lead for the first time: Kulusevski asserted himself on the outside line and passed to Bentancur, who scored his brace.
Tyler Adams, who dominated midfield for much of the afternoon, later received his second yellow card for a nasty foul on Yves Bissouma.
In four minutes of added time, Spurs ended their run of two straight defeats while Leeds’ recent good form came to an abrupt end.
TW: Hugo Lloris – Mark: 5/10 – Didn’t cover himself in glory with his shots, but that was overshadowed by Meslier’s shortcomings. IV: Eric Dier – Mark: 3/10 – Another haphazard and flawed performance from a defender who could be in the starting XI for England at the World Cup. Oh dear.IV: Clement Lenglet – Grade: 5/10 – Had a hard time dealing with Leeds pressing but wasn’t the biggest culprit.IV: Ben Davies – Grade: 6/10 – Scored a crucial goal in the game , but wasn’t that great on defense either.RM: Emerson Royal – Grade: 3/10 – Ended almost every Spurs attack in one way or another. The fans stabbed him in the back and his substitution was acknowledged with jubilation.CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – grade: 9/10 – did a good job and crowned his good performance with two well-played goals.CM: Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg – grade : 5/10 – Was completely off track in an intense game, played bad passes and was forced to make mistakes.LM: Ivan Perisic – Grade: 6/10 – Appeared battered from the start, but that’s due to the extra strain lately at least understandable.RA: Dejan Kulusevski – Grade: 9/10 – The creator of almost all of Spurs’ attacks. Would have deserved more as his teammates were lavish on his passes most of the time but at least Bentancur delivered in the end.LA: Richarlison – Grade: 6/10 – Showed plenty of energy on his return. Didn’t have too many chances to score though. ST: Harry Kane – Grade: 8/10 – Made his goal very well and linked the game when things got difficult. Substitute: Matt Doherty (57th for Emerson) – Grade: 6/10 Substitute : Davinson Sanchez (57th for Lenglet) – Grade: 6/10Substitute: Yves Bissouma (68th for Richarlison) – Grade: 6/10Trainer: Antonio Conte – Grade: 6/10 – His substitutions were crucial, but so is his Blame Spurs for being in a situation like this.
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Bentancur seals late 4-3 comeback win over Leeds: Tottenham’s pros’ notes.
