Tottenham duo Brennan Johnson and James Maddison brutally mocked Neal Maupay after the north Londoners came from behind to beat Brentford in the Premier League. Maupay had mimicked Maddison’s trademark celebration in the first half, only for the England playmaker to have the last laugh.
Maupay gave Brentford the lead after 15 minutes. Known for his liking for winding up the opposition, the Frenchman ran straight to the Spurs fans and performed Maddison’s usual dart-throwing celebration.
However, it was a move that was always likely to come back to haunt the forward. Spurs scored twice within a minute early in the second half, with Destiny Udogie and then Johnson putting Ange Postecoglou’s side ahead.
Johnson was mobbed by his colleagues and when Maddison joined the celebration, the pair aimed a cheeky dig at Maupay. Both pulled mock grimacing expressions and mimed throwing a dart poorly.
It was apparent that the celebration had been pre-planned after the pair had seen Maupay attempt to take a jibe at Maddison.
Maddison savagely told TNT of Maupay afterwards: “He hasn’t scored enough goals to have his own celebration.”
Spurs went on to seal a big three points in their race to finish in the top four. Richarlison scored a third before Ivan Toney bagged a consolation for the visitors.
Postecoglou was unhappy with his side’s first-half display. He bluntly joked that his players were talking to the referee more than playing football in the opening 45 minutes.
The Australian said: “We were getting dragged into things, that’s not who we are. We were chatting to the ref more than we were playing football. We are naive at times, focusing on the wrong things, but that’s all part of our growth.
“The lads showed character to come back, for 25 minutes of the second half we were outstanding, the type of team we can be. It could have been easy to drop our heads.”
Spurs moved up to fourth in the league by beating Brentford, leapfrogging Aston Villa based on a better goal difference. Maddison’s return to fitness is likely to play a major part in the race for fourth place.
The 27-year-old suffered an ankle injury in November and his absence coincided with a dismal dip in form. Now fit again, Maddison made his first start since his injury against Brentford and performed well.
