Brentford v Tottenham: Premier League – live | Premier League

29 min Mbeumo’s deep, flighted corner is claimed at the second attempt by Forster.

28 min Mbeumo’s free-kick is headed over his own bar by Dier.

27 min Hojbjerg fouls Mbeumo 25 yards from goal, a fair way to the left of centre.

26 min Kulusevski glides elegantly away from Mee on the right, cuts into the area and cracks a low drive straight at Raya. That was a lovely little run from a highly watchable player.

25 min The stretching Mbeumo just fails to control a long pass over the top. Had he done so, he’d have been through on Forster.

25 min Son’s long-range shot bounces gently through to Raya.

23 min There’s a long way to go, and Spurs have had comebacks galore this season, but at the moment Brentford look hungrier and sharper.

21 min Henry squares up to Kulusevski, who fouled him and then seemed to leave his foot in as he walked past.

21 min Spurs aren’t at the races yet.

19 min “Kudos to Mary Waltz for her dedication,” says Joe Pearson. “As I am an old person, I sometimes wake up at 4.30am. But I don’t get up that early intentionally just to watch football. There are such things as DVRs after all.”

18 min Jensen’s corner is looped towards goal by a Brentford player and pushed away a little nervously by Forster. I thought he might have been fouled but the referee disagreed.

17 min This is the fifth consecutive Premier League game in which Spurs have conceded the first goal.

Mee’s speculative ball forward was headed on expertly by Toney to Mbeumo on the left wing. His deep cross picked out Norgaard, whose volley was going well wide until it hit Lenglet and ricocheted towards goal. Forster made a smart reaction save but Janelt gobbled up the rebound from six yards.

GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Spurs (Janelt 15)

13 min “Just me, or does the Brentford pitch look awful?” asks Steve Coleman. “Faded rugby lines never help, but has the feel of a ground that’s been cut with a pair of scissors.”

I wondered about that as well – some players look like they are running through treacle.

12 min Kane whips the free-kick into the wall and behind for a corner.

12 min “Rob, greetings from cold, pitch dark California,” writes Mary Waltz. “Boxing Day means nothing to most Americans but the return of the PL is reason enough to get up at the crack of dawn. No depression for Harry Kane, he has already left that penalty miss in the past.”

11 min Son is cleaned out on the edge of the D by Ben Mee. This is a really good opportunity for Spurs.

8 min I think Harry Kane is being booed by the Brentford fans, though he hasn’t been on the ball enough for me to be sure.

7 min Spurs are really struggling to get out. Thomas Frank will be really pleased with this start.

6 min Brentford have made the better start, causing Spurs a few problems with long balls and set pieces.

3 min Jensen’s corner is flicked on at the near post and headed away crucially by Lenglet at the far. There was a player behind him who would otherwise have had a simple headed chance.

2 min Janelt plays a one-two with Toney and finds Mbeumo, whose cross hits Doherty and goes behind for the first corner.

1 min Peep peep! After a minute’s applause for the late George Cohen, Spurs’ Dejan Kulusevski gets the match under way.

Ready? Well tough, the players are out on the field, the Brentford fans are singing Hey Jude, and the Premier League is about to resume.

Antonio Conte on Harry Kane

You can have a good tournament – he played really well – but at the same time he missed an important penalty. This is football. It’s important now to move on and focus on Tottenham.

Thomas Frank, who has signed a new five-year contract at Brentford, is chatting to the Amazon Prime team. He’s as jaunty and engaging as ever, and yes they did ask him about Ivan Toney: “If there’s one player I believe is mentally strong enough to deal with everything around him, it’s Ivan. He’s a remarkable character.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Toney’s state of mind,” says Ian Copestake. “He will clearly back himself.”

And there it is!

Previously on Premier League

“Don’t you think the 1966 World Cup final is a contender for the best final?” says Francis Mead. “I’m old enough to have watched it live. It had a dramatic last-minute equaliser, an incredibly dramatic last-minute goal sealing the win, and also the still (rightly) contested third goal by England, as well as a hattrick. Maybe the 2022 is the best – but I think 1966 is in there, along with 1954 if you like.”

Yes, fair point. It is, in the parlance of our time, in the conversation along with 1930, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1986 and 2022.

Team news: Kane starts

Preamble