James Maddison says it is a “dream” to return to Tottenham’s starting line-up in goals after a few “dark days” during his injury recovery.
Maddison marked his first Premier League start since April 2025 against Liverpool with a stunning 14th-minute opener in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Coventry City on Monday.
Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies were also in Roberto De Zerbi’s side as they saw Jack Rudoni make things right for the Sky Blues early in the second half.
But Maddison produced a superb finish at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, curling his effort over Carl Rushworth and into the top left corner.
Since making his Premier League debut in August 2018, Maddison has now scored 21 goals from outside the box, at least twice as many as any other player (Kevin De Bruyne and James Ward-Prowse, 19 each).
It was the result of Spurs’ just their sixth win in their last 37 Premier League home games (10 L21) and their fourth league win in 2026 (P27 D10 L13).
It was Matdison’s first competitive start for the club since recovering from a nightmare anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury suffered last August following the 2024-25 Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt.
Maddison was quite emotional when he got his goal, telling Sky Sports: “They’re a bit of a blur. They’re the ones you dream about. Last year recovering from the ACL, those dark days.
“They are the goals you dream of, those goals. Always a light at the tunnel for you. And for Dejan Kulusevski, I was proud of him because I knew exactly how he felt.
“Those moments and those goals make everything worth it.”
21 – Since making his Premier League debut in August 2018, James Maddison has scored 21 goals, at least two more than any other player (Kevin De Bruyne and James Ward-Prowse, 19 each). Bullseye.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 19, 2026
For the first time in 36 games, Spurs scored 2+ goals in a Premier League match, and it was the first time since MD1 last season that they scored 3+ goals at home against Burnley (3-0).
Spurs also became the first team to score three field goals in a Premier League game since Fulham against Leicester City in May 2023.
There was also an impressive moment for Kulusevski, who made his first Premier League matchday squad in 526 days, when he replaced Mohammad Kudus in the 87th minute, prompting a standing ovation from the home fans.
It’s a result that takes the pressure off De Zerbi ahead of this weekend’s clash with Chelsea and the Spurs boss is confident his side can build on this morale-boosting win.
“I’m very happy with the result, the attitude, the spirit and the reaction after the goal we conceded,” said De Zerbi. “To be honest, we didn’t play as well as in the last games.
“But now, because of our responsibility, they deserve credit for defending very well and compactly.
“When we got out of Kudus and Robertson, we didn’t push the ball at the right pace. We were too predictable, maybe playing three at the back.
“At first we played three at the back because of injuries. Kudus on the right and Robertson on the left and three number 10s with different characteristics.
“We scored two goals with these players but we can’t forget Solanke because he played very well.
“A fantastic moment and a fantastic person [Dejan]. We celebrated him in the locker room after the game. He is perhaps the most important thing after this victory.
“Now we have to understand that we can win because after two or three seasons like this the mental aspect is decisive. We have to thank the fans especially in the last part of the game. They were fantastic.
“They suffered a lot. We have to push, we must improve the quality of the game, but we are a good team, a very good team.”