Brentford 2-2 Tottenham: Kane and Hojbjerg seal fightback point for Conte's side
Astro Arena
December 26, 2022 07:38 MYT
December 26, 2022 07:38 MYT
Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored in the space of six second-half minutes as Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to claim a draw against Brentford in the first Premier League game following the World Cup on Monday. - stadiumastro
Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored in the space of six second-half minutes as Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to claim a draw against Brentford in the first Premier League game following the World Cup on Monday.
Spurs, boasting a line-up including a host of players who featured at Qatar 2022, were dismal in the opening hour in west London and deservedly found themselves two goals behind courtesy of efforts from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
Kane, playing for the first time since his vital penalty miss in England's quarter-final defeat to France, pulled one back for Antonio Conte's side with 25 minutes remaining.
And the visitors claimed a share of the spoils soon after when Hojbjerg coolly slotted home his fourth league goal of the season.
Brentford were rewarded for a bright start in the 15th minute when Janelt prodded in his second goal of the season from close range after Fraser Forster had kept out Mathias Jensen's deflected strike.
Spurs scarcely improved after that, with only the outstretched leg of Forster preventing Mathias Jorgensen putting the hosts 2-0 up 10 minutes before the interval, while Toney saw an effort ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time.
A Spurs improvement failed to materialise after the break, with Brentford doubling their advantage in the 54th minute when Toney poked home Christian Norgaard's knockdown from a corner.
Conte's men halved the deficit against the run of play after 65 minutes when Kane superbly headed home Clement Lenglet's cross from eight yards.
The away side sealed a point soon after when Hojbjerg sent a composed finish past David Raya from the middle of the penalty area following good work from Dejan Kulusevski.
Late Spurs pressure failed to yield a winner, although Kane came close when his header hit the crossbar.