LONDON
Tottenham Hotspur wasted a golden chance to ease their Premier League relegation fears as Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty earned Leeds United a 1-1 draw in North London on Monday. A first home win in the league since December would have put Spurs four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with two games left and in sight of salvation after a woeful season.
It looked on the cards when Mathys Tel struck with a stunning effort early in the second half, curling a right-footed shot into the top corner to raise the roof in the stadium. But Tel’s night took a turn for the worse as he conceded the penalty that Calvert-Lewin thumped home in the 74th minute.
As Tottenham’s nerves frayed, Leeds could have won it in stoppage time but Sean Longstaff’s strike was superbly diverted onto the underside of the bar by goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
The result left 17th-placed Spurs on 38 points with West Ham on 36 after 36 games. Tottenham’s next game is away at bogey club and fierce rivals Chelsea on May 19, two days after West Ham go to Newcastle United on May 17.
Roberto De Zerbi has taken eight points from his first five games in charge of Tottenham but is yet to solve the club’s home form and their fate may now rest on beating Everton in north London on the last day of the season.
“We made too many mistakes,” he said. “I think we deserved to win anyway but maybe the pressure, the crucial game, the crucial part of the season, we suffered too much. It will be tough until the end of the season, until the last game.”
After a 15-game winless league run plummeted Tottenham towards a first relegation since 1977, successive away wins under De Zerbi changed the mood.
West Ham’s dramatic 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday had also given Tottenham the opportunity to establish a safety buffer ahead of their daunting trip to Chelsea.
But it was never going to be that straightforward, especially for a Spurs side who had won only two of their 17 home league matches this season.
