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 Cupfinal, 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,[1] and replaced by former player Ryan Mason as interim head coach until the end of the season.[2] 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.
Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) If the champions, relegated teams or qualified teams for UEFA competitions cannot be determined by rules 1 to 3, rules 4.1 to 4.3 are applied – 4.1) Points gained in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.2) Away goals scored in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.3) Play-offs[51] Notes:
^Since the winners of the 2020–21 FA Cup, Leicester City, also qualified for the Europa League based on league position, the second Europa League group stage berth allocated to England was transferred to the sixth-placed team.
^Since the winners of the 2020–21 EFL Cup, Manchester City, qualified for European competition based on league position, the Europa Conference League berth awarded to the EFL Cup winners was transferred to the highest-placed Premier League team not already qualified for European competition, the seventh-placed team.
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.[56] The draw for the fourth and fifth round were made on 11 January, conducted by Peter Crouch.[57]
The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on 6 September, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.[58] On 21 September, Tottenham's third-round game against Leyton Orient was postponed due to multiple COVID-19 positive tests among the Leyton squad.[59] 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",[60] 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.
Note: The tie between Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur was postponed after multiple Orient players tested positive for COVID-19.[61] On 25 September, it was confirmed that Tottenham had received a bye into the fourth round, due to Orient's inability to fulfill the fixture.[62]
Note: For the 2020–21 season, the EFL Cup semi-finals were played over only one leg to reduce fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the late start to the season.
The second qualifying round draw was made on 31 August.[63] The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 1 September.[64] The draw for the play-off round was held on 18 September.[65]
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2021.[70] 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.[71][72]
