An early goal from Vitaly Janelt and a close-range strike from Ivan Toney put Brentford 2-0 up shortly after the break as Tottenham battled the hosts.
Harry Kane shook off his World Cup disappointment and Tottenham Hotspur woke up to a 2-2 draw at Brentford on Monday as the Premier League roars back to life.
An early goal from Vitaly Janelt and a close-range strike from Ivan Toney put Brentford 2-0 up shortly after the break as Tottenham battled the hosts.
However, Antonio Conte’s side are used to playing their best football when they are behind and it proved to be the case again.
Kane, whose missed penalty just over two weeks ago doomed England to a quarter-final defeat by France, headed home in the 65th minute to give his side a lifeline.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, one of five Tottenham starters at the World Cup, equalized with a calm finish and Kane almost won with a header against the crossbar.
Tottenham are fourth with 30 points, while Brentford are ninth ahead of the rest of the day’s games.
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Forty-four days after the Premier League shut down for its first mid-season World Cup, all eyes were on the players involved in Qatar, and Kane in particular.
The striker broke England’s scoring record with his 53rd goal against France, but the lasting memory of the night was his late penalty miss as England lost 2-1.
Kane, along with most of his teammates, was barely in the game at Brentford before half-time.
ENGLAND HEART ACHE
But any suggestion he might have been weighed down by his England heartache was answered when he rose to meet Clement Lenglet’s cross and head it past David Ray.
He instantly fired up a Tottenham side that had gone six consecutive Premier League games under the hammer and six minutes later a fine passing move ended with Dejan Kulusevski cutting back to Hojberg who coolly fired past Raya.
Tottenham were suddenly full of energy after their early lethargy and looked as if they could claim the three points as they finished the game in a dominant fashion.
It couldn’t have been more different from the opening 55 minutes as Brentford picked up where they left off in their shock victory over champions Manchester City last month.
They outplayed Tottenham physically, were quicker on the ball and posed a far greater threat on Boxing Day in south-west London.
Brentford took the lead in the 15th minute when Bryan Mbeumo’s deep cross was met by Mathias Jensen on the volley and the ball was only half-stopped by Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster, replacing rested France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, before Janelt converted. . from close.
Tottenham responded with Kulusevski creating a couple of chances, but Brentford were denied a second goal before half-time when Toney’s effort was ruled offside.
When Toney made it 2-0 in the 54th minute after a corner was met by Tottenham defender Eric Dier with a cut-out, Brentford looked to be in full control, but Tottenham suddenly flicked the switch.
Conte’s side have now taken 13 points from conceeeeeeeeeeding chances this season, the most in the Premier League.
“There was only one team on the pitch until the Kane goal,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank told Amazon Prime.
“It was a very good performance and the players are disappointed.”