Mathys Tel was hero and villain as Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United on Monday — a result that leaves their English Premier League future hanging in the balance.
The Frenchman broke the deadlock early in the second half to ease the tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but then gave away a penalty with a reckless attempted clearance.
In the dying minutes, Spurs were grateful to Antonin Kinsky, who produced an astonishing save to deny the visitors a win.
Photo: Action Images via Reuters
Tottenham are now two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with just two games left this season.
The Hammers on Sunday lost 1-0 to Arsenal — a result that guaranteed the safety of Leeds and Nottingham Forest, and left Spurs and West Ham scrapping it out for the final relegation spot.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley are already down.
Photo: Reuters
Spurs coach Roberto De Zerbi, who only arrived in late March, pledged his players would “fight until the end.”
“[When] we lost to Sunderland, it was impossible to see ourselves two points above the relegation zone with two games to go,” he said. “Now we have to be positive and work. We have the quality to make other points and stay up. I think we deserve to stay up. We will fight until the end.”
“When you are fighting relegation, you have to fight stronger with the legs than with the head. We have to push until the end. Even if we had won today, it wouldn’t have been finished yet,” he added.
Tottenham came into Monday’s match with just two home wins in the league under their belt all season.
Kinsky got down smartly to his right to keep out Joe Rodon’s header in the 21st minute and at the other end, Joao Palhinha fired over from close range.
Tottenham broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half when Tel controlled the ball instantly after it fell to him following a Pedro Porro corner.
The Frenchman picked his spot, curling the ball past a diving Karl Darlow.
However, with about 20 minutes of normal time to go, Tel attempted an overhead kick to clear the ball from his own penalty area, making contact with the head of the onrushing Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu.
Referee Jarred Gillett ruled that it was a penalty after a video assistant referee check, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin smashed the ball home.
Midfielder James Maddison was given a rousing welcome by the home crowd when he was introduced as a late substitute — his first match of the season after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Then the referee signaled 13 minutes of added time — a decision that lifted the home crowd further.
However, Leeds came agonizingly close to a winner, with Kinsky produced a remarkable save onto the crossbar in the 98th minute from point-blank range to deny Sean Longstaff.
In a frantic finale, Spurs had a last-gasp penalty claim turned down after Lukas Nmecha got the faintest of touches to the ball before Maddison went to ground.
The point lifts Spurs to 38 points — two clear of West Ham, who have an inferior goal difference.
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