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.
![[James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur celebrating a goal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/james-maddison-tottenham-hotspur-celebrates-972645837.jpg?strip=all&w=610)
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. 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.
![[Luke Littler celebrating a 170 checkout during a darts match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/170-check-final-luke-humphries-971786595.jpg?strip=all&w=700)
After the Warrington wonderkid reached the quarter-finals, Maddison invited him to a Spurs match. BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS. 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.
![[Soccer player celebrating a goal in a stadium.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NINTCHDBPICT000972803829.jpg?strip=all&w=540)
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.".
![[James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates a goal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/james-maddison-tottenham-hotspur-celebrates-972640486.jpg?strip=all&w=686)
