Postecoglou feels ‘desperation’ led to Tottenham’s downfall against Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur were on the losing end for the seventh time in 15 Premier League matches this season after a 4-3 defeat against Chelsea. They threw away a two-goal lead on Tuesday and dropped to 11th place in the Premier League standings. With every passing game, Ange Postecoglou’s position as the head coach is becoming more and more precarious given the team’s recent form.
In his post-match press conference after the loss versus Enzo Maresca’s men, Ange Postecoglou was asked by the media about what he felt went wrong in the game. The Australian responded by saying the following, according to Football London.
“When I look at today’s performance I don’t see them lacking confidence or belief. It’s probably the other way. Both penalties we conceded were borne out of desperation. I think they are desperate to turn our season around and are really disappointed how it has gone. When you’re in that mood you kind of lose that composure and discipline you need. It’s not like we are hanging on in games, we wouldn’t play like we did today if there was a lack of belief and confidence. When you get into this situation we are in there is also a sense of desperation from the players and I thought that cost us today.”
Tottenham came into the match as second favourites after being winless in their last three games before taking on Chelsea. Their two early strikes came off Marc Cucurella’s errors and were not exactly a part of the script unless a strong opponent, though the team’s passive approach thereafter was the reason behind the visiting outfit taking full control of the game.
After Cristian Romero’s withdrawal from the match and Jadon Sancho’s goal that got Chelsea back into the game, Tottenham effectively started playing against themselves as they defended very deep and did not make too many inroads with the ball. The two penalties were some of the easiest decisions that Anthony Taylor made in the game as Spurs’ alarm bells started to ring as soon as one of Chelsea’s players entered their box. As such, it was exactly that which changed the game.
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In their upcoming couple of outings, Spurs take on Rangers in the Europa League before visiting Southampton in the Premier League, so Ange Postecoglou has the chance to steady the ship sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to see how exactly the manager and the players approach the issue given that the pressure on them is not going to get any lower in the foreseeable future.