- Published
Whisper it quietly, but could Spurs finally be on their way back?
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Spurs → publish → way
Tottenham's 2-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday moved them up to the heady heights of 12th in the Premier League - their highest league position since 2 January.
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win → move → January
And, after back-to-back 17th-placed finishes, there are growing signs Roberto de Zerbi's side are showing there is real light at the end of a pretty dark tunnel.
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side → place → tunnel
Saturday's impressive win at Stamford Bridge was just the second time they have won two league games in a row in 42 attempts - inspired by starring roles from James Maddison and Mathys Tel.
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they → win → Maddison
It was also the first time they have enjoyed as much as 68% possession in a match since April 2025.
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they → enjoy → April
The win was deserved too, although Chelsea certainly gave them a helping hand with goalkeeper Mike Penders punching the opener into his own net and Cole Palmer sent off for two yellow cards.
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Palmer → deserve → cards
It left De Zerbi glowing with positivity, despite another injury setback for Maddison.
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It → leave → Maddison
"I think we have put something different into Tottenham in the last period," he said.
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he → think → period
"We have changed the spirit of the group and improved the performances of the players, especially some of the more fragile players, maybe the younger players.
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We → change → players
Archie Gray is younger but he is already mature because he has the right mentality.
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he → have → mentality
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Rob Green added on BBC Radio 5 Live: "A dream afternoon for Tottenham.
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Green → add → Tottenham
They looked controlled, looked at ease, they looked like they were comfortable on the ball.
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they → look → ball
"Results like this galvanise a side.
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Results → galvanise → side
When you look at the players coming back, yes Maddison got injured and he'll be a question mark over the next few weeks, but players coming back, momentum coming back - you feel, and say it quietly, Tottenham might just be coming back.
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Tottenham → look → it
'A big statement' as Maddison and Tel star
Italian De Zerbi was appointed Spurs boss at the end of March 2026 with the club in crisis.
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club → appoint → crisis
He arrived as the club's third manager of the campaign and, with seven games remaining, Tottenham were just one point clear of the drop zone.
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Tottenham → arrive → zone
After securing safety, albeit after a few scares, the club spent more than £300m on summer signings for the first time in their history as they backed De Zerbi to restore them to former glories.
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they → secure → glories
And, after a slow start to the campaign and still lacking firepower in attack, the long-suffering Tottenham fans will be left feeling more positive than they have done for a long time.
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they → lack → time
"Tottenham have made a big statement in a really convincing performance," former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told BBC Sport.
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Keown → make → Sport
"I thought Maddison was magnificent in midfield.
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Maddison → think → midfield
"I thought Tel was magnificent out on the left-hand side, [Mohammed] Kudus on the right was also really effective, and everybody really managed to handle the ball really well on the night.
"
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everybody → think → night
Spurs had almost 70% possession, which is remarkable for a team which was just a few places from the bottom of the table.
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which → have → table
I think what's changed for Spurs is the key personnel."
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changed → think → Spurs
De Zerbi ran on to the pitch to celebrate with the travelling supporters at the final whistle, while his coaches and substitutes raced towards the players in the corner of the ground.
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coaches → run → ground
He has previously spoken of how he inherited players that cried after matches and lost all confidence - and believed his unprecedented control over the summer transfers was vindication for Spurs from last season.
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control → speak → season
It was fitting that Tel, who has attracted criticism from his own supporters since arriving from Bayern Munich for £30m in June 2025, provided the decisive moment to seal just a second league success in 36 years at Chelsea - a stunning low finish after a driving run.
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who → attract → run
The French forward, 21, told Sky Sports: "It is very special because we have come to Chelsea so many times and not got a win.
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we → tell → win
We showed great mentality today and we need to enjoy this win.
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we → show → win
We created a lot of chances today.
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We → create → chances
We walk out together, the goal is something special for me, I'm happy about it and let's keep pushing now."
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's → walk → it
Summer signing Matheus Fernandes added: "We are here to change the club's mentality, we want to beat the top teams, and make this victory for the fans."
The team meeting that changed things
In the summer, Spurs twice broke their transfer record with three of their first signings, as they added centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton, Fernandes from West Ham and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle.
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they → add → Newcastle
And all three impressed De Zerbi against Chelsea as he added: "Jan Paul van Hecke played very well, Matheus Fernandes played very well, Sandro Tonali played very well.
"
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Tonali → impress → Chelsea
I think it was Tonali's best game since joining Tottenham.
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it → think → Tottenham
Omar Marmoush played a good game.
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Marmoush → play → game
It was a tough game for him, but he fought in the right way.
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he → fight → way
"Mathys Tel played very well too.
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Tel → play → ?
I think we won the game with our two wingers, Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel.
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we → think → wingers
They made the difference."
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They → make → difference
It was notable Fernandes, 22, was criticised by his manager last month.
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Fernandes → criticise → manager
The return of Maddison, who missed almost all of last season with a serious knee injury, was key in Monday's 3-1 home victory over Coventry City - and he again looked impressive before being withdrawn in the second half with a suspected groin injury.
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he → miss → injury
…and 13 more, not listed.
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