What was your favorite Tottenham Hotspur match in 2018?

2018 may or may not have been a good year for you personally, but there’s little denying it was a pretty great year to be a Tottenham Hotspur supporter. Sure, the trophy case is still empty, but Spurs have and continue to have a hell of a good team, and the calendar year provided a number of fantastic moments for Spurs fans to latch onto.

And latch onto them we did. From the first win at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League era to a historic 1-1 draw against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, 2018 gave us plenty to cheer about.

We know there are still a few matches left to play before year’s end, but we thought we’d take this opportunity to take a look back and bring you our favorite games from the past 12 months. And we want to hear from you, too! Vote in the poll, put your favorite Spurs match in 2018 in the comments, and tell us why you loved it.

Tottenham 2-0 Manchester United (Jan. 31, 2018)

Ryan Rosenblatt

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Remember last season when Manchester United were in second place so they thought they were actually good and not one of the luckiest teams in the history of the Premier League - the statistics say this, not me - with a goalkeeper who, despite being the best in the world, was somehow playing way above his level? Of course you do, because we all have at least 584 friends who support Manchester United, every one of which was convinced that the Red Devils were actually good and made it their life’s mission to tell you so.

That is why when Harry Kane knocked down a long ball for Dele Alli, who faked a shot before backheeling it for Christian Eriksen to slot home 11 (11!) seconds into the match at Wembley it was so sweet to turn to those Manchester United fan friends you were watching with and give them a shit-eating grin so big the Cheshire Cat would be proud. That Phil Jones - regular starter on a team they were convinced was very good - finished beautifully into his own net made it all the better and wrapped up what was the most satisfying of matches for someone whose primary interest in sports is watching his friends’ dreams be crushed.

And seeing how this season has gone at Old Trafford, annihilating those same friends’ belief in their club, the sport and life itself has only made that beautiful January day - which I might remind you was a celebration of reality and jubilee after just 11 seconds - all the sweeter.

Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham (Feb. 4, 2018)

Joel Wertheimer

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In 2018 we learned from Samin Nosrat that there are four essential elements to great cooking, and, well, we learned the same from this epic match. It started poorly when Eric Dier left a fat ball for Mohammed Salah to scoop up and turn into an easy goal in the 3rd minute of the match. After trailing for much of the match, in the 80th minute Victor Wanyama added heat, searing a punched ball from the Liverpool keeper through the back of the net in one of the best, most unexpected goals you’ll ever see.

Somehow, the match managed to get weirder from there. Harry Kane went down in the box, and missed a penalty in the waning minutes of the match, denying Spurs the lead and likely win. Then, the acid came, with Salah scoring an incredible goal in the 91st minute, almost assuredly giving Liverpool the win. But the match lacked salt until Erik Lamela went down in the penalty area in the 94th minute, when Virgil Van Dijk swung his leg on a contested ball and hit Lamela in the butt. Harry Kane then redeemed himself, sweetly putting the penalty in the right corner. And the salt, the salt made the match so good.

Chelsea 1-3 Tottenham (April 1, 2018)

Dustin Menno

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On February 10, 1990, the #1 single in the UK was “Nothing Compares 2U” by Sinead O’Connor. The big movies that year were Ghost, Home Alone, and Dances with Wolves. The Premier League didn’t exist. Harry Kane wouldn’t be born for three more years. It was also the last time Tottenham Hotspur had beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Spurs got goals from David Howells and Gary Lineker to beat a pre-Abramovitch Chelsea that featured Graham Roberts, Steve Clarke, and Kevin Wilson in its starting XI, by a score of 2-1.

28 years. That’s a long time. I didn’t bother counting up the number of games in all competitions, but suffice it to say that it is many. Most Spurs fans had the April Fools Day match at Stamford Bridge penciled in as a loss. And why wouldn’t they? Spurs don’t win at the Bridge. Ever.

And a half hour into the match, with Harry Kane on the bench, fresh back from an ankle injury, it didn’t look like they would that day either. Alvaro Morata got free in Spurs’ box and headed home past Hugo Lloris to put the home side up 1. But this was a Spurs side that was still five points ahead of Chelsea in the table and was still working to solidify a place in the top four. With Kane absent, it was Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli who took over the match.

Eriksen, who had a number of chances in this match, first fired a wondergoal from the top of the box past a diving Willy Caballero at the stroke of halftime to level the score. Dele Alli then scored two goals in four minutes, including controlling a long pass out of the back from his buddy Eric Dier and half-volleying it past Caballero to put Spurs in front, and leading to what might be the best football photo ever taken.

The cool thing about this match wasn’t that they played well against Chelsea. They’d done that before. It was that they played well and managed to not Spurs away the win in the dying moments. Pochettino was able to put Harry Kane on as a human victory cigar. Spurs got their first win at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League era, and amazingly, it almost felt routine.

Tottenham 5-4 Leicester City (May 13, 2018)

Dustin Menno

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Matches played on the final day of the season are usually irrelevant except if they have an impact on the title, the top four, or the bottom three. Everything else is more or less dead rubber, and it usually means teams tend to go through the motions. But that wasn’t the case when Spurs hosted Leicester at Wembley for matchday 38 in May. Far from a boring, play-it-out-and-hit-the-beach affair, this match was absolutely bonkers, a nine-goal thrill-fest that made you want to put your pants on your head and set them on fire.

It started with a Jamie Vardy header from close range from a whipped in free-kick by Riyad Mahrez in the fourth minute, and was followed by a midfield giveaway that led to a breakaway counter attack and a Harry Kane equalizer three minutes later. Leicester were up 3-1 two minutes into the second half thanks to a near post blast from Mahrez and a poacher’s goal from Kelechi Iheanacho. Things looked grim.

But Spurs had other ideas, and scored three goals in the space of 11 minutes (Lamela, Fuchs OG, Lamela again) to take the lead, only to be pegged back AGAIN by Vardy in the 73rd minute to make it 4-4. So when Harry Kane lashed a curler past Jakupovic three minutes later for the winner, the Wembley crowd went into absolute hysterics. I don’t remember exactly what my reaction to that goal was. I do recall that I spilled my drink. There might have been a little dance around my living room, I can’t confirm or deny.

There wasn’t really any reason for either team to go for it like that, but that didn’t really matter. That match did have SOME significance, though — the three points ensured Spurs finished third in the table behind the Manchester clubs, hilariously finishing above Liverpool for the seventh time in eight seasons. It wasn’t the most important match Tottenham played in 2018, but damned if it wasn’t one of the most fun to watch.

Barcelona 1-1 Tottenham (Dec. 11, 2018)

Sean Cahill

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Tottenham Hotspur’s sixth and final matchday of the Champions League group stages just a couple of weeks ago sure seemed like climbing Mount Everest without gear. Yes, Spurs controlled their fate, but it was on the road at one of the most difficult venues in all of European Football: Camp Nou. Waiting for them was a Barcelona side that had already wrapped up the group, yet even with their rotation, it was still a formidable side to deal with.

I watched the match at work as much as I could during a meeting, trying to keep my nervousness at a minimum as Spurs tried hard to push for the equalizing goal after giving up the early goal to Ousmane Dembele. It was about halfway through the match that I realized something rather important...

Spurs weren’t just holding their own against Barcelona; They were beating them in just about every aspect of the match.

Again, I understand that Barcelona were not trotting out Messi, Suarez, etc. On the other hand, that lineup that Spurs faced that day could probably win most leagues on its own. Yet Tottenham Hotspur, somehow with life on that final matchday, managed to nip an equalizer in the final minutes and secure the 1-1 draw. It was not only well deserved, but even that draw felt like it was understating the performance. Spurs should have won that match, yet Cillessen stood on his head and made several key saves as our boys peppered 17 shots that night, with seven of them on target. By the time Lucas Moura’s goal in the 85th minute hit the back of the net, I had left work and was at my local supporters’ club location, watching it erupt to celebrate.

When the match came to an end, about half the bar was looking at their phones to see how Inter-PSV was going. The full time alert signaled a huge celebration, one that I’m certain was echoed in every household that has a Tottenham supporter in it.

I loved this match. Through all the injuries and all the rumors, this match came at such a great time. Spurs are still on their record points in the Premier League and suddenly are nipping at Manchester City’s heels for second. They’re in the semi-finals of the League Cup after dismantling Arsenal at the Emirates to avenge their 4-2 loss earlier in the month.

Yet with everything going on, that 1-1 draw at Camp Nou will remain in my memory. Spurs played spectacular football that night, and it’s a reminder of just how good they can really be even in the most hostile of grounds.

Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham (Dec. 19, 2018)

Pardeep Cattry

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This month’s League Cup quarterfinal victory is more than just a pairing of achieving a semifinal berth and doing so against your greatest rival. The game provided entertainment for neutrals and those supporting the team in white, skill and flair from two of Spurs’ stars, and a bit of undeniable fun through shithousery.

The match was open to start, possibly because both sides rotated a bit, but after a few Danny Rose tackles that didn’t bother the referee, Spurs were up. Son Heung-min continued a brilliant run of form with a goal in the 20th minute, and it was if tensions were quickly evaporating. The mood became much more celebratory as the match progressed, even as Moussa Sissoko spectacularly sent a perfect ball over the goal to put the team up 2-0 before halftime. It wasn’t a big deal; the second would eventually come.

Dele Alli marked a performance that proved that he is an incredibly gifted, versatile, and indispensable midfielder by chipping Petr Čech in the 59th minute for 2-0. It was a finish that essentially put the match out of Arsenal’s reach. There was not much that could stop Spurs at that point, no matter that Granit Xhaka tried to pick a fight with Spurs players or that one Arsenal fan threw a bottle at Alli in an act of anger and stupidity. In every method imaginable, Spurs were winning; every last player could end Xhaka’s attempts with a simple stare or two, and Alli had a very memorable way way of responding to that fan:

By match’s end, it essentially felt like a celebration. It might not have been perfect, but it was as satisfying as one could ask and a match that will be instantly remembered.