JAMES MADDISON sent pal Luke Littler a tongue-in-cheek apology after scoring Tottenham’s winner against the darts star’s beloved Manchester United.
The midfielder, 28, was making his return to action following three weeks out with a calf injury.
He made it a comeback to remember, scoring in the 13th minute to earn Spurs an important 1-0 win.
After scoring, Maddison performed his trademark “throwing a dart” celebration.
He then made a shushing gesture, potentially directed at Roy Keane following the Irishman’s comments about him earlier in the week.
After the game, Maddison posted a picture of his darts celebration his Instagram story.
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He captioned it: “Sorry son @lukethenukelittler”.
Littler, 18, subsequently re-posted the image to his own story, writing: “I knew u was thinking about me.”
The pair’s friendship dates back to Littler’s run to the World Darts Championship final as a 16-year-old last year.
After the Warrington wonderkid reached the quarter-finals, Maddison invited him to a Spurs match.
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Littler sat in the England international’s plush box at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs beat Bournemouth 3-1 in December 2023.
A fortnight later, he met Sir Alex Ferguson and Bruno Fernandes as he attended Man Utd’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford.
In September, Littler was cheekily trolled by Spurs’ social media team after the North Londoners defeated United 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Posting a screenshot of Littler following their official account, they wrote: “You finally seen the light @LukeTheNuke180?”
During the week, Man Utd icon Keane said Maddison “got relegated with Leicester and he’ll get relegated with Spurs”.
After netting the winner and performing a shushing celebration, Maddison told Sky Sports: “There was a little bit of outside noise this week.
“People will have their opinions, but I wanted to do my talking on the pitch. I hope there is a certain few that enjoyed me being the match-winner today.”
Keane had also asked: “People say Maddison’s the man. When is he going to step up to the plate?”
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Maddison’s goal on Sunday was his ninth in 23 Premier League appearances this season.
In total he has scored 10 and laid on six assists in all competitions during Spurs’ difficult season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
