Tottenham 1-1 Sunderland: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Brian Brobbey rocket cancels out rare Ben Davies goal

Brian Brobbey's rocket cancelled out a rare goal from Ben Davies as Sunderland fought back to draw 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

In their first top-flight meeting with the Black Cats in almost nine years, Tottenham were dealt a crushing early injury blow, as Mohammed Kudus went off to join Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison on the sidelines.

However, Thomas Frank's men were still in the ascendancy and deservedly took the lead on the half-hour mark, through perhaps the unlikeliest outfield scorer in veteran Davies.

Regis Le Bris's Black Cats found a second wind in the second half, though, and struck a merited leveller 10 minutes before the end of normal time through Brobbey.

Sunderland's point keeps them in the top half of the Premier League table, just one adrift of fifth-placed Manchester United, while 13th-placed Spurs are three points further back than the Black Cats.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

On the bright side, it is not another home defeat for Spurs. On the other hand, they could maybe have had few complaints had they taken zero points from Sunday's encounter.

The Lilywhites tackled a Sunderland side who had scored just four Premier League away goals before today, and their bright, effervescent play both before and after Kudus went off suggested that an increasingly rare win could have been on the cards.

However, Frank's men allowed their visitors back into the game as the second half progressed, and even though Sunderland generated just 0.48 Expected Goals, the newly-promoted side were more than worth a point.

Above all else, though, injuries to both Kudus and Wilson Odobert will no doubt have fans crying out for reinforcements in the transfer market, especially after the £35m sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace.

Frank was subjected to another smattering of boos at full time, but against a team whom Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have all failed to beat this season, this is far from Spurs' most disastrous result of the season.

TOTTENHAM VS. SUNDERLAND HIGHLIGHTS

Ben Davies goal vs. Sunderland (30th min, Tottenham 1-0 Sunderland)

"The set-piece does the trick again for Spurs" ?

Ben Davies reacts sharply in the box to give Spurs the lead against Sunderland ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/2wDJ1hazes
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2026

Davies starting for Spurs today was a surprise. Davies scoring Tottenham's first goal of 2026 is in the seismic shock category!

Mathys Tel whips in an inswinging corner to the back post, where Cristian Romero picks out Micky van de Ven, and the Dutchman's low shot is side-footed in by Davies from close range.

80th min: Tottenham 1-1 Sunderland (Brian Brobbey)

How about that for a team goal!

Sunderland play some lovely one-touch football in Spurs' final third, and Enzo Le Fee lays off Brobbey, who rifles in an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner from close range to bring the visitors level!

MAN OF THE MATCH - BEN DAVIES

BEN DAVIES!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/CZ4uAjOopK
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 4, 2026

Now very much a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency player, the long-serving Davies proved that he can still play a crucial part for this Tottenham team with vital contributions in both defence and attack.

The Welshman displayed tremendous reactions to steer in Van de Ven's strike - one of two shots he had on target - and his defensive awareness was also evident before he went off to a standing ovation.

TOTTENHAM VS. SUNDERLAND MATCH STATS

Possession: Tottenham 49%-51% Sunderland

Shots: Tottenham 13-10 Sunderland

Shots on target: Tottenham 5-3 Sunderland

Corners: Tottenham 3-5 Sunderland

Fouls: Tottenham 9-6 Sunderland

BEST STATS

No side have received more yellow cards than Tottenham in the Premier League this season (49). ?#TOTSUN
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) January 4, 2026

Ben Davies nets his first Premier League goal since December 2023. ?#TOTSUN
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) January 4, 2026

WHAT NEXT?

Spurs have just two full days to recover before their trip to Bournemouth on Wednesday, which precedes their FA Cup third-round tie at home to Aston Villa on January 10.

As for Sunderland, the Black Cats also return to action on January 7 away to Brentford, before their FA Cup opener away to Everton next Saturday lunchtime.