Tottenham missed the chance to reclaim fourth place from Arsenal after a disappointing goalless draw at Brentford that saw Antonio Conte’s side fail to have a shot on target.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney saw two headers hit the woodwork as he struck the bar (18) in the first half before heading against the post in added-time (90+1).
Spurs also needed a Harry Kane clearance off the line from Pontus Jansson’s header (66) to ensure they did not suffer a second consecutive defeat after last weekend’s home loss to Brighton.
Brentford midfielder Christian Eriksen, who was facing his former side for the first time since leaving Spurs two years ago, also went close twice for the home side.
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The goalless draw means Spurs are fifth, two points behind Arsenal who moved fourth following their victory over Manchester United on Saturday.
Both sides have five games left to play, including the north London derby on May 12 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, live on Sky Sports.
Brentford, meanwhile, are now unbeaten in their last four games with Thomas Frank’s side up to 11th in the table.
Spurs produce insipid display
Before kick-off in west London, Tottenham had been knocked out of the top four by Arsenal’s 3-1 home win over Manchester United.
And the pressure applied by Mikel Arteta’s side, coupled with last week’s damaging home defeat to Brighton, saw Tottenham start nervously as Brentford, buoyed by three straight wins, took control of the game.
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Eriksen created Brentford’s best chance of the half as his corner was headed against the bar by Toney in the 18th minute.
Spurs were so underwhelming in the opening 45 minutes that their most threatening attempt came from Rodrigo Bentancur’s wild effort (28) that went well over.
Conte would surely have given his team a stern half-time team talk and it appeared to work as Spurs began the second half well, mounting more attacks with Kane having an effort (52) deflected over the bar by Bees skipper Jansson.
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It was roles reversed 14 minutes later as Kane cleared Jansson’s header off the line. The rebound fell to Eriksen whose low shot from a tight angle was saved down low by Lloris and then scrambled away by Ben Davies.
Eriksen’s effort was his second in as many minutes, a shot from distance deflecting just wide of Lloris’ post.
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Both teams came close to finding a winner in added-time as Toney hit the post from Eriksen’s free-kick in the 91st minute, with Bryan Mbeumo putting the rebound in the side-netting.
A minute later, Kane then attempted an audacious scissor-kick that whistled just wide of David Raya’s post.
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But it was a rare moment of quality in a poor Spurs performance that has handed the initiative to their north London rivals Arsenal in the race for Champions League football.
Frank: An extremely impressive performance
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank:
“[Eriksen] is obviously fantastic. I think we are all happy he is playing football again and he’s enjoying it. You can see him playing with a smile.
“He played a good game today but I would say I think it was the whole team.
“I think against a full-strength Tottenham side and we have a lot of injuries and we had to move players around.
“[We were] without our normal two centre-backs, normal wing-back and normal number six – one of our most consistent players in Christian Norgaard – we kept Tottenham to more-or-less nothing.
“The front two of Harry Kane and [Heung-Min] Son, the most dangerous in the Premier League, were kept very quiet. Plus, we were good on the ball and we created chances. I think it’s an extremely impressive [performance].”
Opta stats: Fourth PL game this season without a shot on target for Spurs
- Only Chelsea (18) have won more points in Premier League London derbies than Brentford (15) this season, while the Bees have conceded fewer goals in such games than any other side (7).
- No side has won fewer points in Premier League London derbies this season than Tottenham (10), while they have scored fewer goals in such games than any other side (9).
- Tottenham have failed to register a shot on target in a match for the fourth time in the Premier League this season, twice as many as any other side.
- Tottenham have now had two 0-0 draws in the Premier League this season, having had just one 0-0 last season. They last had more in a single campaign in 2015-16 (3).
- Since his Premier League debut for Brentford in February, no player has created more chances for the Bees than Christian Eriksen (14), with the Dane creating a game-high four chances today.
What’s next?
Tottenham face Leicester at home on Sunday, May 1 – kick-off 2pm – and that is followed by two huge matches for Antonio Conte’s side as they go to title-chasing Liverpool on May 7 and then host top-four rivals Arsenal in the north London derby on May 12, live on Sky Sports.
Next for Brentford is a trip to Old Trafford, as Thomas Frank’s side play Manchester United in the Monday Night Football on May 2, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
Tottenham’s remaining fixtures
April 30 – Leicester (h)
May 7 – Liverpool (a)
May 12 – Arsenal (h), live on Sky Sports
May 15 – Burnley (h)
May 22 – Norwich (a)
Spurs draw at Brentford to drop points in top-four race
Source: Healthy Lifestyle
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