Tottenham held by Brentford to dent top-four hopes

Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League suffered another blow as they limped to a disappointing 0-0 draw at Brentford.

After Arsenal moved into the Premier League’s top four by beating Manchester United in the lunchtime kick-off, Spurs fluffed their lines with a sub-par performance in west London.

They looked devoid of all attacking creativity and for the second successive game they failed to have a shot on target.

It could have been even worse as Ivan Toney was denied by the woodwork twice as Brentford almost made it four wins in a row.

Tottenham’s front three of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski were again blunted and it looks as if Spurs, who had scored a glut of goals in recent weeks, have been found out.

Their top-four hopes remain in their own hands, however, as they still have Arsenal to play at home in a game that is looking like being decisive in the race.

The narrative before the match was about Christian Eriksen coming up against his former club for the first time since leaving in January 2020 and then suffering a cardiac arrest at last summer’s European Championship.

And the Denmark international was instrumental to a strong Brentford start as he directed play.

A touching moment as Christian Eriksen receives a round of applause from Spurs fans in the away end