Kulusevski Returns After 526 Days as Maddison Scores in Spurs' First Win

Tottenham’s first win of the season arrived with its two missing playmakers inside it. James Maddison started a football match for the first time since May 2025 and scored the opening goal, and Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench for his first competitive action in 526 days, as Spurs beat Coventry City 3-1 at home on Monday to climb off the bottom of the Premier League. Reuters put the wait at 148 days since Tottenham’s last league win; the loudest noise of the night was reserved for a substitute who had not played since the spring of 2025.

What happened on Maddison and Kulusevski’s return night?

The returns framed the whole match. Tottenham’s confirmed lineup named Maddison in the starting eleven for his first competitive start since May 2025 and Kulusevski among the substitutes, his first matchday squad in 17 months, the club announced. Maddison scored after 14 minutes, Jack Rudoni levelled early in the second half, Omar Marmoush restored the lead with his first goal for the club, and Ben Davies added a late third, Reuters reports. Kulusevski was introduced off the bench late on, to what Reuters called perhaps the biggest cheer of the night.

How long had Kulusevski been out, and what did his return look like?

526 days, by Football London’s count, since a complicated knee injury two seasons ago. Reporting on his recovery describes two operations on a serious patella injury across more than 500 days away from matchday squads. A place on the bench is not a comeback completed, and a late cameo is not proof of fitness. It is still the first time since May 2025 that his name has appeared on a Tottenham team sheet and then on the pitch, for a winger whose game is built on carrying the ball and creating from the right. The reception told its own story: a home crowd that had waited 148 days for a win saved its biggest cheer for the returning substitute.

What did Maddison do on his first start since May 2025?

He scored the goal that started the win, against the club where his career began. Maddison curled in the opener from outside the box after 14 minutes, in his first start in what Football London counts as 536 days. He had appeared as a substitute this season, but Monday was the first time Roberto De Zerbi trusted him from the start, in a side that had scored only three league goals all season before this match, Reuters reports. His shift ended in the second half as Spurs managed the closing stages. For a team that has struggled to create anything, the difference a fit Maddison makes was visible in one touch of quality.

Why did this win matter so much to Tottenham?

Because of where it started. Spurs began the night bottom of the table and winless, with three draws and three losses from their first six league games, USA Today reports, and Reuters notes they were the last of the 92 clubs in England’s league system to win a match this season. The 3-1 result moved them up to 16th with six points, one place ahead of Coventry. A club that spent upwards of £308 million in the last transfer window, per Reuters, had been sitting in the position relegation is named for. One win does not fix a season, and the league has already produced its share of disputed nights, from Gravenberch’s red card at Anfield to the subjective offside that ruled out a Hull goal against Everton. But it changes the conversation around Spurs from who is missing to what the team is supposed to look like.

What did De Zerbi and the players say afterwards?

De Zerbi kept it plain. “We are very happy for the result and we played much better than in other games. It was important to get this win,” he said, Reuters reports. Defender Jan Paul van Hecke pointed at the patience the night required: “We knew we wanted to win and today was the day, so hopefully we can kick on from here. We needed to be patient. It was not an easy game with Coventry’s low (defensive) block.” The rest of the team sheet showed the constraints behind the returns: Rodrigo Bentancur suspended, Pedro Porro out with a hamstring injury, Destiny Udogie held back over a knee problem, and Tosin Adarabioyo making his first league start for the club.

What comes next for Spurs and the two returners?

A trip to Chelsea on Saturday, which is a harder test of everything Monday suggested. Chelsea’s own weekend ended in a refereeing row, after Morgan Rogers stayed on at Everton when three former officials said he should have been punished, and they will host a Spurs side suddenly able to name its creators again. The week’s questions are specific: whether Maddison can start twice in six days, whether Kulusevski’s minutes grow beyond a cameo, and whether Porro returns at right back. Monday also belonged to the same theme elsewhere, a young forward scoring twice in two minutes on his first start for Celtic, but no first start or first appearance carried 526 days behind it. If both playmakers come through the week, Tottenham’s bottom-of-the-table start starts to look like an injury story. If either breaks down again, it starts to look like the team itself.