The 2020–21 season was Tottenham Hotspur's 29th season in the Premier League and 43rd successive season in the top division of the English football league system. After finishing sixth in the 2019–20 league season, Tottenham entered the UEFA Europa League at the second qualifying round, ultimately reaching the round of 16 in the competition where they were eliminated by Dinamo Zagreb. In the FA Cup, the club was knocked out by Everton in the fifth round.
In the Premier League, Tottenham lost their first game at home to Everton, but then went on an unbeaten run into December, topping the league standings for four weeks. With an away loss to Liverpool, the team's form dropped. José Mourinho had guided the club to the Carabao Cup final, where they would face Manchester City. However, because of the dropped form in the league, he was sacked along with his coaching staff on 19 April 2021, and replaced by former player Ryan Mason as interim head coach until the end of the season. Mason's first game in charge was against Southampton at home, which Tottenham won. The next game was the Carabao Cup final, where Manchester City narrowly prevailed 1–0.
This season was notable for Gareth Bale's return from Real Madrid on loan for a season-long second stint at Tottenham, the first time he played in North London after 2012–13.
First-team squad Squad no. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Goalkeepers 1 Hugo Lloris (C) GK 12 Joe Hart GK 22 Paulo Gazzaniga GK 41 Alfie Whiteman GK Defenders 2 Matt Doherty RB / RWB 3 Sergio Reguilón LB / LWB 4 Toby Alderweireld CB 6 Davinson Sánchez CB 14 Joe Rodon CB 15 Eric Dier CB / DM 24 Serge Aurier RB / RWB 25 Japhet Tanganga CB / LB / RB 33 Ben Davies LB / CB - Danny Rose LB / LWB Midfielders5Pierre-Emile HøjbjergDM / CM5 August 1995 (age 25) 8 Harry Winks CM / DM 11 Erik Lamela RW / LW / AM 17 Moussa Sissoko CM 18 Giovani Lo Celso CM / AM / DM 20 Dele Alli CM / AM 27 Lucas Moura RW / LW / SS 28Tanguy NdombeleCM / AM Forwards 7 Son Heung-min LW / ST / RW / SS 9 Gareth Bale RW / SS 10 Harry Kane (VC) ST / SS 23 Steven Bergwijn LW / RW 45Carlos ViníciusST25 March 1995 (age 25)
Transfers Released Date from Position Nationality Name To Notes Ref. 1 July 2020 DF Tariq Hinds Free agent Released 27 July 2020 MF Jonathan Dinzeyi Arsenal Released 27 July 2020 RB Maxwell Statham Watford Released 27 July 2020 MF Maximus Tainio FC Haka Released 27 July 2020 CB Jan Vertonghen Benfica Released 27 July 2020 GK Michel Vorm Retired Released 27 July 2020 MF Rayan Clarke Free agent Released 27 July 2020 MF Phoenix Patterson Free agent Released
Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until Ref. 19 September 2020 RW Gareth Bale Real Madrid 30 June 2021 2 October 2020 ST Carlos Vinícius Benfica 30 June 2021
Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref. 1 August 2020 FW Troy Parrott Millwall 1 February 2021 11 August 2020 CB TJ Eyoma Lincoln City End of season 17 August 2020 CM Oliver Skipp Norwich City End of season 17 September 2020 CM Jack Roles Burton Albion 1 January 2021 18 September 2020 RW Shilow Tracey Shrewsbury Town 25 January 2021 4 October 2020 CB Juan Foyth Villarreal End of season 5 October 2020 LM Ryan Sessegnon 1899 Hoffenheim End of season 9 October 2020 FW Kazaiah Sterling Southend United 4 January 2021 16 October 2020 GK Josh Oluwayemi Maidenhead United 1 January 2021 16 October 2020 CB Cameron Carter-Vickers Bournemouth End of season 23 October 2020 MF Chay Cooper Southend United December 2020 6 January 2021 RB Jubril Okedina Cambridge United End of season 14 January 2021 RW Jack Clarke Stoke City End of season 18 January 2021 DM Harvey White Portsmouth End of season 22 January 2021 GK Brandon Austin Orlando City End of season 25 January 2021 RW Shilow Tracey Cambridge United End of season 28 January 2021 CB Malachi Fagan-Walcott Dundee End of season 1 February 2021 CF Troy Parrott Ipswich Town End of season 1 February 2021 CM Jack Roles Stevenage End of season 1 February 2021 CF Kazaiah Sterling Greenock Morton End of season 1 February 2021 GK Paulo Gazzaniga Elche CF End of season
Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 28 July 2020 MF Alfie Devine Wigan Athletic £500,000 11 August 2020 DM Pierre-Emile Højbjerg Southampton £15,000,000 18 August 2020 GK Joe Hart Free agent Free transfer 30 August 2020 RB Matt Doherty Wolverhampton Wanderers £13,400,000 12 September 2020 RB Keenan Ferguson Sheffield United Free transfer 19 September 2020 LB Sergio Reguilón Real Madrid £25,000,000 21 September 2020 CB Maksim Paskotši Flora Undisclosed 3 October 2020 RB Marcel Lavinier Chelsea Free transfer 3 October 2020 LB Tobi Omole Arsenal Free transfer 16 October 2020 CB Joe Rodon Swansea City £11,000,000
Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 1 July 2020 CB Benjamin Watt Oxford United Free transfer 11 August 2020 RB Kyle Walker-Peters Southampton £12,000,000 17 August 2020CMLuke Amos Queens Park RangersUndisclosed17 August 2020CMArmando Shashoua Atlético BalearesUndisclosed 21 January 2021 LM Anthony Georgiou AEL Limassol Undisclosed 31 January 2021 RW Maurizio Pochettino Watford Free transfer 1 February 2021 GK Jonathan De Bie Molenbeek Undisclosed
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure Summer: £64,900,000
Winter: £0
Total: £64,900,000
Income Summer: £12,000,000
Winter: £0
Total: £12,000,000
Net totals Summer: £52,900,000
Winter: £0
Total: £52,900,000
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions Overview
Premier League
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches The league fixtures were announced on 20 August 2020.
FA Cup
The third round draw took place on 30 November 2020 on the BBC with Robbie Savage selecting Tottenham to play away at Marine of the Northern Premier League Division One North West, the 8th tier of the football pyramid. The draw for the fourth and fifth round were made on 11 January, conducted by Peter Crouch.
EFL Cup
The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on 6 September, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb. On 21 September, Tottenham's third-round game against Leyton Orient was postponed due to multiple COVID-19 positive tests among the Leyton squad. On 25 September, the English Football League issued a statement saying that it "has determined that in line with Carabao Cup Rule 5.1, the Club [Leyton Orient] was unable to fulfil its obligations to complete the fixture by virtue of the Council’s order and shall therefore forfeit the tie" and that "in accordance with Carabao Cup Rules, Tottenham Hotspur have been awarded with a bye to progress to Round Four of the Carabao Cup", where they played Chelsea. The game finished 1–1, and went straight to a penalty shoot-out which Tottenham won 5–4 to progress into the next round. Tottenham won their quarter-final against Stoke City by a 3–1 scoreline to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, played over only one leg, Tottenham then beat 10-man Brentford 2–0 to progress to the final of the competition, which they lost 1–0 against Manchester City.
UEFA Europa League
Qualifying phase
The second qualifying round draw was made on 31 August. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 1 September. The draw for the play-off round was held on 18 September.
Group stage
The group stage draw was held on 2 October 2020.
Knockout phase
Round of 32 The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2020.
Round of 16 The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2021. The order of legs was reversed after the original draw to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Arsenal v Olympiacos second leg in the same city on 18 March, as Arsenal were the domestic cup winners and given higher priority over Tottenham.
Statistics Appearances
No. Pos. Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Europa League Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsGoalkeepers 1 GK Hugo Lloris 38 0 1 0 4 0 5 0 48 0 12 GK Joe Hart 0 0 2 0 0 0 8 0 10 0 41 GK Alfie Whiteman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0+1 0Defenders 2 DF Matt Doherty 13+4 0 2 0 1 0 9 0 25+4 0 3 DF Sergio Reguilón 26+1 0 0+1 0 3 0 3+2 0 32+4 0 4 DF Toby Alderweireld 24 1 3 0 2 0 5 0 34 1 6 DF Davinson Sánchez 17+1 0 2 2 2 0 10 0 31+1 2 14 DF Joe Rodon 8+4 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 0 9+5 0 15 DF Eric Dier 29 0 0 0 4 0 6+1 0 39+1 0 24 DF Serge Aurier 19 2 0 0 3 0 4+1 0 26+1 2 25 DF Japhet Tanganga 6 0 1+1 0 1+1 0 3 0 11+2 0 33 DF Ben Davies 14+6 0 3 0 1+1 1 13 0 31+7 1 55 DF Marcel Lavinier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0+1 0Midfielders 5 MF Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 38 2 1+1 0 3+1 0 4+5 0 47+6 2 8 MF Harry Winks 9+6 0 1+1 1 2+1 0 10 1 22+8 2 11 MF Erik Lamela 5+18 1 2 1 1+1 1 5+3 1 13+22 4 17 MF Moussa Sissoko 15+10 0 2+1 0 2+2 1 6+4 0 25+17 1 18 MF Giovani Lo Celso 11+7 1 0 0 1 0 6+3 4 18+10 5 20 MF Dele Alli 7+8 0 1+1 0 1+1 0 7+3 3 16+13 3 23 MF Steven Bergwijn 13+8 1 1 0 1+1 0 5+6 0 20+15 1 27 MF Lucas Moura 14+16 3 3 1 3+1 0 8+5 5 28+22 9 28 MF Tanguy Ndombele 28+5 3 1+1 2 2 0 4+5 1 35+11 6 47 MF Jack Clarke 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0+2 0 0+3 0 48 MF Harvey White 0 0 1 0 0 0 0+1 0 1+1 0 54 MF Alfie Devine 0 0 0+1 1 0 0 0 0 0+1 1 57 MF Nile John 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0+1 0Forwards 7 FW Son Heung-min 36+1 17 1+1 0 2+1 1 5+4 4 44+7 22 9 FW Gareth Bale 10+10 11 1+1 1 1+1 1 7+3 3 19+15 16 10 FW Harry Kane 35 23 0+2 1 3+1 1 5+3 8 43+6 33 45 FW Carlos Vinícius 3+6 1 2+1 3 0+1 0 5+4 6 10+12 10 53 FW Dane Scarlett 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0+2 0 0+3 0Players transferred out during the season 30 MF Gedson Fernandes 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Goalscorers
The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal. Player Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Europa League Total 1 FW 10 Harry Kane 23 1 1 8 33 2 FW 7 Son Heung-min 17 0 1 4 22 3 FW 9 Gareth Bale 11 1 1 3 16 4 FW 45 Carlos Vinícius 1 3 0 6 10 5 MF 27 Lucas Moura 3 1 0 5 9 6 MF 28 Tanguy Ndombele 3 2 0 1 6 7 MF 18 Giovani Lo Celso 1 0 0 4 58 MF 11 Erik Lamela 1 1 1 1 49 MF 20 Dele Alli 0 0 0 3 310 MF 5 Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 2 0 0 0 2 DF 6 Davinson Sánchez 0 2 0 0 2 MF 8 Harry Winks 0 1 0 1 2 DF 24 Serge Aurier 2 0 0 0 214 DF 4 Toby Alderweireld 1 0 0 0 1 MF 17 Moussa Sissoko 0 0 1 0 1 MF 23 Steven Bergwijn 1 0 0 0 1 DF 33 Ben Davies 0 0 1 0 1 MF 54 Alfie Devine 0 1 0 0 1TOTALS6613636121
Hat-tricks Player Against Competition Minutes Score after goals Result Date Son Heung-minPremier League45+2', 47', 64', 73'1–1, 1–2, 1–3, 1-42-5 (A)20 September 2020 Harry KaneEuropa League2', 56', 74'1-0, 5-2, 6-27-2 (H)1 October 2020 Carlos ViníciusFA Cup24', 30', 37'0-1, 0-2, 0-40-5 (A)10 January 2021 Gareth BalePremier League36', 61', 69'1-0, 2-0, 3-04-0 (H)2 May 2021
Own goals Player Against Competition Minute Score after own goal Result Date Davinson SánchezPremier League 85'3–23-3 (H)18 October 2020 Toby AlderweireldPremier League 59'0–20-2 (H)20 December 2020 Sergio ReguilónPremier League 20'1–11-2 (H)19 May 2021
Disciplinary The list is sorted by shirt number when total cards are equal. Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Europa League Total1MF5 Pierre-Emile Højbjerg90000000030012002DF3 Sergio Reguilón500000200000700MF8 Harry Winks500100000100700FW11 Erik Lamela4100000001005105DF2 Matt Doherty2100000002004106MF18 Giovani Lo Celso500000000000500 7DF15 Eric Dier300000000100400MF17 Moussa Sissoko300000000100400MF28 Tanguy Ndombele300000000100400 10DF4 Toby Alderweireld200000000100300DF6 Davinson Sánchez100000000200300MF20 Dele Alli000100000200300FW23 Steven Bergwijn300000000000300DF25 Japhet Tanganga200000100000300 15FW10 Harry Kane100100000000200FW27 Lucas Moura100000000100200DF33 Ben Davies100000000100200FW45 Carlos Vinícius200000000000200 19FW9 Gareth Bale100000000000100DF24 Serge Aurier000000100000100 Total532030040017007720
Clean sheets The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal. PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupEuropa LeagueTotal1 1 Hugo Lloris 12 0 1 1 142 12 Joe Hart 0 1 0 4 53 41 Alfie Whiteman 0 0 0 1 1TOTALS1211620
See also