in pre-season, defoe scored two goals, one coming in a 3–0 win against orlando pirates on 23 july, and the other in a 2–1 win against athletic bilbao at white hart lane on 6 august. defoe started 2011–12 by scoring in a 5–0 win against hearts in a uefa europa league play-off match on 18 august. his first premier league goal of the season came in a 2–0 win at wolves, scoring the second goal after exchanging passes with niko kranjčar. defoe's first goal of 2012 came in a 1–0 home win against west brom, converting a gareth bale cross. he scored on the last day of the season against fulham, the second in a 2–0 win. defoe ended the season with 17 goals in 38 matches across all competitions; in the premier league, he scored 11 in 25 appearances, of which only 11 were starts.