Tottenham 3-1 Coventry: Maddison and Marmoush fire Spurs to first home win of the season

Tottenham finally turned possession into points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, beating Coventry City 3-1 to move level with the Sky Bet Championship-bound visitors and out of the relegation zone on goal difference. James Maddison's early strike, a second-half header from Omar Marmoush and a stoppage-time third from substitute Ben Davies gave De Zerbi's side their first home league win of the 2026 campaign.

How the match unfolded

Spurs began on the front foot and were ahead inside 15 minutes, Mohammed Kudus squaring for James Maddison to sweep home the opener. Coventry, beaten in each of their previous three away trips, absorbed the pressure and levelled shortly after the restart when Jack Rudoni turned in Brandon Thomas-Asante's cross — the visitors' only shot on target of the evening.

The response was immediate. Nine minutes later Andrew Robertson delivered for Omar Marmoush to restore the lead, and Coventry's discipline then unravelled: three second-half yellow cards, and a tiring back line that had no answer as Tottenham racked up 16 shots and 65% of the ball. Ben Davies, on for the final 20 minutes, added the gloss in the 90th minute, finishing from Dominic Solanke's knock-down.

The key numbers

• Expected goals: Tottenham 0.86 — 0.81 Coventry
• Possession: 65% — 35% in Tottenham's favour
• Shots on target: Tottenham 5, Coventry 1
• Pass accuracy: 89% for Spurs against Coventry's 78%
• Coventry's 3-1 defeat leaves them 18th, inside the relegation zone on goals conceded

What it means

The win takes Tottenham to 6 points after seven rounds — level with Coventry but ahead on goal difference, climbing to 17th while Frank Lampard's side stay 18th on a conceded-column that now reads 14. For De Zerbi, whose side had drawn three of their previous four, the relief was as obvious as the margin was flattering: an xG of under one disguised a control that the scoreline deserved. Coventry, with one win in their last five, head into Round 8 searching for the away resilience that kept them up last season.