Tottenham experience familiar frustration but James Maddison and Dominic Solanke excite in Leicester draw

Tottenham had to settle for a point against newly-promoted Leicester, as Jamie Vardy made the visitors pay for squandering a succession of chances.

Spurs had a slew of openings either side of Pedro Porro’s well-taken goal – a glancing header from James Maddison’s cross – but Leicester fought back after the break, with Vardy nodding them level.

Here are four Tottenham talking points from the match…

Familiar frustration for profligate Spurs

In many respects, this game bore plenty of the familiar hallmarks of Ange Postecoglou’s first season at Tottenham.

Spurs were hugely impressive for an hour, deservedly took their lead but squandered a succession of openings, and were made to pay after switching off defensively.

They nearly won it in a late rally but Postecoglou will be deeply frustrated that his side were not out of sight by half-time, and this goes down as two points dropped.

For a young Spurs side, a draw was a reminder of the importance of being clinical in front of goal – something Postecoglou emphasised over and over again last term.

Maddison nearly back to his best

James Maddison was back at Leicester and back to something like his brilliant best.

The Spurs playmaker has not played this well since the first 10 games of last season, before his brilliant form was disrupted by an ankle ligament injury.

Here, he was full of verve, and created Spurs’ goal with a cross for Porro before visibly tiring in the second half.

After a difficult second half of last season, which culminated in his axing from England’s Euro 2024 squad, this was a welcome return to form for Maddison and a strong start to what feels like a big season ahead for the 27-year-old.

Solanke starts well

Tottenham’s £65million signing will be frustrated not to have marked his debut with a goal after having three efforts saved by Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

He might have done better with an early header from Heung-min Son’s back-post cross and a fierce shot in the second half.

Nonetheless, this should go down as an encouraging bow for Solanke, who led the line with characteristic energy and linked up well with his team-mates.

As Postecoglou predicted, the 26-year-old looks a good fit for this Spurs team, capable of pressing from the front and holding up the ball. If Solanke continues to work this hard, the goals will surely come.

Bentancur injury a concern

This season was supposed to be a fresh start for Rodrigo Bentancur following a grim succession of injuries, which began when he tore his ACL here at the King Power in February 2023.

So it was particularly cruel when the Uruguayan was stretched off midway through the second half with an apparent head injury following a collision at a corner.

Spurs were able to use a concussion substitute, introducing Archie Gray for his debut, which leaves Bentancur almost certain to miss next weekend’s visit of Everton.

Everyone connected to Spurs will hope his injury is no more serious than a nasty clash of heads.