Tottenham were beaten 4-3 by Chelsea on Sunday to leave Ange Postecoglou in a spot of bother
Tottenham Hotspur’s chronic inconsistency continued this weekend as they were beaten by cross-town rivals Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Lilywhites blew a two-goal lead at home to Chelsea to lose 4-3, dropping points yet after starting superbly. It has become a theme this season, and the result on Sunday left Ange Postecoglou’s side 11th in the Premier League standings. This also means they have failed to build on the massive 4-0 win at Manchester City a couple of weeks ago, drawing two and losing two in their last four games across all formats.
The game marked the return of first-choice centre-back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven after being out for weeks due to injury problems. However, Romero had to go off with a quad problem in the first half which disrupted the momentum Spurs were playing with. The Argentinean’s departure immediately had a negative effect as Jadon Sancho halved the deficit with a fantastic curling strike from just outside the box.
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Postecoglou rallies Tottenham troops, calls 'to overcome' challenges after Chelsea collapse.
Cristian Romero was forced off with a quad injury in the first half against Chelsea.
Brennan Johnson didn’t feel well at half-time and was taken off in the 53rd minute, while the plan was to only let Micky van de Ven play 60-70 minutes following his return from a hamstring injury.
When asked by the media about the challenge of losing players during the game and the manner of Spurs’ defeat to Chelsea, an upbeat Ange Postecoglou said (h/t Football London):
“Every challenge you have is, is one you need to overcome. So you know whether there is something ultimately, the pain of the defeat today, for me anyway, it doesn’t diminish that we also played very well against a top team, and at times, looked the better side. So I always look for that in terms of our growth.
“It was disappointing that we worked awfully hard, but to give away two goals and you give away two penalties unnecessarily against a quality side anyway, you make things very difficult for yourself.”
Postecoglou rallies Tottenham troops, calls 'to overcome' challenges after Chelsea collapse.
Ange Postecoglou would have been fuming after the game against Chelsea.
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Ange would have been fuming with his team’s performance against the Blues. After a dream start with Tottenham going 2-0 up in 13 minutes, there is no way our players let the lead slip. We are seeing less and less consistency from Spurs this season and Sunday’s capitulation was another example.
Tottenham traded punches with one of the league’s most in-form teams in Chelsea and lost, which was never a great idea. The Greece-born tactician was let down immensely by his players, especially Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr with both conceding the most naïve penalties.
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There is no hiding from the fact that Big Ange‘s job is now under severe scrutiny, with the Tottenham head coach needing to turn things around swiftly if he is to keep his job at N17.