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The story should have been about Mathys Tel deciding it was time to unfurl the brilliance that took the French forward to Bayern Munich when he was a teenager. Tottenham were closing in on survival when the 21-year-old broke the deadlock against Leeds United but Roberto De Zerbi has been in north London long enough to know nothing is straightforward when his team play at home.
Disaster was on the way, Tel’s wild challenge on Ethan Ampadu allowing Dominic Calvert-Lewin to equalise from the spot. Tottenham, who have not won at home in the league since December, had missed the chance to move four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham with two games to play. It is likely that this shootout for survival with West Ham will come down to whether Tottenham can win when they host Everton on the final day.
Tottenham’s task was to make sure that forcing their fans to will Arsenal to victory against West Ham on Sunday was not going to become yet another indignity. For all the recent positivity, though, this was a team who have almost forgotten the meaning of home advantage and in that context it was hard not to feel it was a bit forced when the enthusiastic shouting man with the microphone used a pre-match interview with Glenn Hoddle to claim there has barely been the slightest whiff of mutiny in N17 this season.
To be fair there was logic to the messaging. This was a night for everyone to pull together. If there were errors from the Tottenham players it was down to the home fans not to let the anxiety tumble down from the stands. That, though, was easier said than done. It took a while for Tottenham to hit their stride against awkward opponents and it would have been interesting to see the reaction from the crowd when a bizarre attempted clearance across the face of his own goal from Mathys Tel almost turned into a cross for James Justin, who was poised to pounce before Kevin Danso intervened and headed away.
With their battle against relegation already won, Leeds tried to press against those vulnerabilities. A low header from Joe Rodon midway through the first half drew an excellent save from Antonin Kinsky and told Tottenham that it was time to wake up.
There was no lack of effort from the hosts. However, after two consecutive away wins there were reminders that they can lack imagination when the onus is on them to play on the front foot at home. The football was brisk and energetic but there was little flair. The best early moment came from Pedro Porro sliding a pass to Richarlison. The striker was onside but his touch was heavy and allowed Rodon to mop up.
Richarlison spurned another chance, snatching at a cross, and Tottenham tried to go through the gears. The pressure grew, although the anguished howls that followed a glaring miss from João Palhinha were matched by the sighs of relief when the VAR checked for a possible Leeds penalty and deemed Dominic Calvert-Lewin was offside by a toenail before being brought down by Destiny Udogie.
With Conor Gallagher, Rodrigo Bentancur and Palhinha not the most creative of midfield trios, thoughts turned to whether De Zerbi would gamble on bringing on James Maddison. Six minutes into the second half, though, inspiration arrived in the form of a majestic finish from Tel. The winger was lurking on the edge of the area when Leeds failed to clear a corner from Porro and, after killing the ball with one touch, there was something effortless about the way Tel curled a shot with no backlift beyond the dive of Karl Darlow, who brushed the ball with his fingertips before it flew into the top corner.
The noise was deafening. The tension lifted, Tottenham flew forward again. Randal Kolo Muani, persistent on the right, almost got behind Leeds. Richarlison missed another chance, shooting over from close range. The ball almost broke to Palhinha on the edge of the area but he stayed true to himself and leapt into a meaty challenge instead of trying a shot.
Tottenham began to make silly decisions. Palhinha earning a booking for catching the Leeds substitute Lukas Nmecha was a sign that Tottenham were losing their cool. Then Tel demonstrated that he had more than one way to hurt Leeds. A magician at one end and an accident waiting to happen at the other, he decided the best way to get the ball away from his area was with a needless bicycle kick.
Lost in his own little world, Tel had no idea that he was about to kick Ampadu in the head. It was a blatant foul, although apparently not quite clear enough for Jarred Gillet. The Australian was seemingly incapable of refereeing the actual game and had to be taken to the pitchside monitor to confirm that Tel had almost decapitated an opponent.
After review, a penalty was awarded and Calvert-Lewin equalised emphatically, giving West Ham fresh hope. Tottenham were frazzled. De Zerbi eventually turned to Maddison, on to huge acclaim after returning from a knee injury to make his first appearance of the season, but Leeds have kept the relegation battle alive. They almost even nicked it during 13 minutes of added time, only for Sean Longstaff to hit the bar and then skew a shot wide.
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