Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou remains defiant about his team's bold attacking tactics despite blowing a two-goal lead to lose 4-3 to Chelsea.
Spurs. stormed ahead barely 11 minutes into the match, courtesy of two blunders by Marc Cucurella, which led to Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski hitting the net. But Chelsea mounted a remarkable comeback, with Jadon Sancho firing home before Cole Palmer levelled things up with a penalty after Yves Bissouma's rash foul.
Enzo Fernandes put Chelsea in the lead, followed by a cheeky Palmer Panenka penalty after Pape Sarr's gaffe, rendering Son Heung-min's later strike nothing but a consolation. As Chelsea climbed to second spot, Spurs dropped to 11th position in the Premier League, piling on the pressure for Postecoglou.
READ MORE: Michail Antonio's 11-word response after horror car crash flung him into passenger seat
READ MORE: What Enzo Maresca learned as Chelsea beat Tottenham and send Liverpool title message
Yet, the Tottenham boss stood firm on endorsing his philosophy of open play and aggressive pressing. "It was good enough to get us ahead in the game so I am not sure why we should change our approach," Postecoglou maintained in a chat with BBC Radio 5 Live.
"It was a game of big moments. If we score at 2-2 and go 3-2 ahead then the pressure is on them and they have to open up like we did when we conceded. But like I said, disappointing that we let them get the advantage in a way that was self-inflicted," reports the Mirror.
Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrates
Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrates against Tottenham (Image: Darren Walsh/Getty Images)
He remarked: "Their penalties were poor from our behalf. We didn't need to make those challenges and it was hard for us to claw it back. I think sometimes when you are in this position we are, you are desperate to do the right thing. You probably need a calmer approach. The guys are desperate to do the right thing and unfortunately it cost us."
Jamie Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, took issue with Postecoglou's steadfast tactics. "The manager keeps telling us he won't change," he observed. "I can't imagine any manager when I played for Liverpool, after conceding four goals, saying that we played well."
The ex-Reds defender added: "I wake up every morning, and if the sun's shining I put a pair of trainers, shorts and a T-shirt on, we all want to do that, but if it's raining, you put your coat on!
Don't miss a thing with football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply click on this link, then provide your email address and that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top football stories.
You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, right here
"You can't have this idea that 'we're just going to do this' and play our way of playing football. It won't work! And if it doesn't change then he (Postecoglou) won't be here next season."
Paul Merson echoed these sentiments. The Arsenal legend said: "I don't mean to sound disrespectful but I'm watching the game, Spurs are 2-0 up against Chelsea and it's like they are playing against Kilmarnock or St Mirren and he's the Celtic manager and got the best players.
"They haven't got the best players at Tottenham, so they have to change it. You can't go, you have a shot, we have a shot and we can destroy you like they have over the years. You've got to be cute and say, 'we're 2-0 up here, let's counter-attack.'".