Maddison shines on return as Tottenham edge Coventry

By Phil McNulty, chief football writer at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Published 19 October 2026

Tottenham finally broke their winless start to the Premier League season with a narrow victory over Coventry City. Below is a detailed breakdown of how BBC Sport users rated each player’s performance.

Premier League: Tottenham squeeze past Coventry to end winless start – reaction
What do BBC Sport’s player ratings mean? – Published 21 August

Tottenham Hotspur (image source: Getty Images) – Image caption: James Maddison toned down his goal celebration as he is from Coventry and started his career at the club.

**Tottenham players**
Antonin Kinsky – 5 points: mis‑judged a first‑half corner and was not effective on the ball.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 6 points: strong in aerial duels and physical battles until he left the field injured.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 5 points: an uneven display, lost possession that led to Coventry’s goal but did make one courageous clearance.
Micky van de Ven – 7 points: excellent tackle on Brandon Thomas‑Asante in the first half and solid overall.
Archie Gray – 6 points: busy, tried to add creativity for Spurs.
Sandro Tonali – 6 points: showed occasional sparks but still falls short of his £100 million price tag and needs more output.
James Maddison – 8 points: scored a brilliant strike on his first start in 18 months, constantly probing, enjoyed his return to the lineup before fatigue set in.
Andrew Robertson – 6 points: made his usual surging runs and joined the attack, but picked up an injury.
Mohammed Kudus – 5 points: mixed performance, some good moments but often lacked a decisive end product.
Omar Marmoush – 6 points: struggled early but later netted a superb goal.
Dominic Solanke – 5 points: worked tirelessly, received a booking and had a shot from a turnover in the first half.

**Substitutes (Tottenham)**
Conor Gallagher (on 69 for Maddison) – 5 points: could not make an impact.
Mateus Fernandes (on 69 for Adarabioyo) – 5 points: limited effect.
Ben Davies (on 69 for Robertson) – 6 points: used his experience to help close out the win and scored a goal.
Mathys Tel (on 87 for Marmoush) – rating not listed.
Dejan Kulusevski (on 87 for Kudus) – rating not listed.
Unused substitutes: Dubravka, Senesi, Olusesi, Williams‑Barnett.

**Coventry City players**
Carl Rushworth – 5 points: had no chance on the first two goals but conceded a horror goal from Ben Davies.
Milan van Ewijk – 6 points: long throws created threats, suffered an elbow injury while challenging for Marmoush’s goal.
Bobby Thomas – 7 points: crucial headed clearance and a defensive pillar.
Ethan Pinnock – 6 points: dependable performance as Coventry remained organized at the back.
Jay Dasilva – 5 points: quiet night, booked for a challenge on Kudus.
Caleb Yirenkyi – 5 points: limited influence, substituted and booked for a poor challenge on Gray.
Matt Grimes – 5 points: constantly busy but failed to make a significant impact.
Brandon Thomas‑Asante – 5 points: industrious, only prevented from scoring by Van de Ven’s first‑half tackle.
Jack Rudoni – 6 points: showed great determination to win his goal.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto – 7 points: delivered dangerous balls and had a good chance in the first half.
Sidiki Cherif – 6 points: provided useful lay‑offs, worked hard, later injured his shoulder in an awkward fall.

**Substitutes (Coventry)**
Frank Onyeka (on 60 for Yirenkyi) – 5 points: no effect.
Taiwo Awoniyi (on 60 for Cherif) – 5 points: energetic but failed to create a threat.
Ephron Mason‑Clark (on 78 for Thomas‑Asante) – rating not listed.
Gustavo Hamer (on 78 for Sakamoto) – rating not listed.
Kaine Kesler‑Hayden (on 87 for Rudoni) – rating not listed.
Unused substitutes: Bentley, Simms, Mfuni, Torp.

**Player of the match**
James Maddison – average rating 7.73, wearing number 10.

**Top individual ratings (Tottenham)**
Dejan Kulusevski – 6.93 (21)
Ben Davies – 6.88 (33)
Archie Gray – 6.71 (14)
Omar Marmoush – 6.67 (22)
Micky van de Ven – 6.46 (37)
Andrew Robertson – 6.40 (3)
Mohammed Kudus – 6.38 (20)
Sandro Tonali – 6.13 (16)
Antonin Kinsky – 6.06 (31)
Mathys Tel – 6.05 (11)
Tosin Adarabioyo – 6.05 (4)

**Lower‑rated Tottenham players**
Conor Gallagher – 5.82 (8)
Jan Paul van Hecke – 5.81 (6)
Dominic Solanke – 5.78 (19)
Mateus Fernandes – 5.77 (18)

**Top individual ratings (Coventry)**
Jack Rudoni – 6.40 (5)
Ben Thomas – 5.80 (4)
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto – 5.80 (7)
Brandon Thomas‑Asante – 5.62 (23)
Sidiki Cherif – 5.58 (49)
Ethan Pinnock – 5.58 (2)

**Lower‑rated Coventry players**
Milan van Ewijk – 5.44 (27)
Jay Dasilva – 5.43 (3)
Matt Grimes – 5.35 (6)
Caleb Yirenkyi – 5.29 (8)
Taiwo Awoniyi – 5.07 (14)
Frank Onyeka – 5.02 (16)
Ephron Mason‑Clark – 4.98 (10)
Carl Rushworth – 4.88 (19)
Kaine Kesler‑Hayden – 4.84 (20)
Gustavo Hamer – 4.75 (38)

After the rating window closed, the figures shown reflect the average of all submissions by BBC Sport users.

Related topics: Football, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Coventry City.

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Published 8 June.