Out-of-form Tottenham Hotspur suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Premier League relegation rivals Nottingham Forest in their first league fixture before the international break.
Faced with the imminent threat of relegation for the first time since the 1970s, Spurs desperately needed a victory in this bottom-half six-pointer, especially with West Ham United headed to Villa Park to lock horns with top-four hopefuls Aston Villa.
Xavi Simons’ last-gasp penalty inspired Igor Tudor to his first win in charge of the North London giants in midweek UEFA Champions League action, as Tottenham secured a futile 3-2 home victory over Atletico Madrid.
Despite bowing out of Europe’s most prestigious club competition, Simons’ late heroics handed Tudor’s side a timely confidence boost ahead of this ‘make or break’ showdown.
Tudor, who revealed the truth behind his viral moment at Anfield last weekend (via [The Sun](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/38594341/igor-tudor-truth-viral-video-liverpool-arne-slot/)), was eager to end Spurs’ longest winless run in their Premier League history and get off the mark in domestic action.
Seeking their first league win since beating Crystal Palace on Boxing Day, Tottenham flew out of the traps, creating several decent opportunities in the opening 30 minutes, all of which went begging.
Mathys Tel and Richarlison wasted two glorious chances to break the deadlock inside the first 15 minutes, allowing the Tricky Trees to regroup and find a foothold after a disjointed start.
Vitor Pereira’s side defended bravely and waited patiently for a chance to catch Tottenham in transition, but they failed to offer much going forward until the tail-end of the first half.
Brazilian striker Igor Jesus forced a stunning save from Guglielmo Vicario on the stroke of half-time, with the Italian goalkeeper producing a magical fingertip stop to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Little did the former Empoli man know he would only postpone the inevitable, as Forest took the lead from the resulting corner. Neco Williams’ teasing cross found the head of Jesus, who placed the ball perfectly into the bottom corner to open the scoring.
Spurs had a faint penalty appeal denied in the first-half stoppage time. Referee Michael Oliver simply waved play on despite Cristian Romero’s fierce protests, and his VAR colleagues upheld his on-field decision.
Unable to recover from a late first-half shock, Tottenham started the second half with a whimper rather than a bang, with Vicario pulling off another superb save to thwart Williams’ header.
However, Forest found an all-important second goal just after the hour mark. A perfectly executed counter-attack saw Callum Hudson-Odoi set up Morgan Gibbs-White on a silver platter.
Though Vicario came agonisingly close to denying the English forward’s close-range attempt, the ball squeezed beneath his legs, putting the Tircky Trees in a commanding lead.
As if conceding two cheap goals wasn’t frustrating enough, Spurs couldn’t find a way past Matz Sels, who made numerous incredible saves to deny the home a chance at a late comeback.
Taiwo Awoniyi poured more misery on Tottenham in the dying moments of the game. Indeed, Forest’s second-half substitute tapped the ball into an empty net after being left unmarked at the far post, latching onto Williams’ inch-perfect low cross.
Dominic Solanke had two great chances to soften the blow just before second-half stoppages, but Sels prevented Tudor’s out-of-sorts side from scoring a consolation goal.
In addition to extending their winless league run to 13 matches, Spurs’ dreadful performance prompted a mass exodus and a chorus of boos at full-time, leaving Tudor’s future in limbo.
With only a point separating Tottenham from the bottom three, it’s questionable whether the former Juventus manager will be at the helm when Spurs take on Sunderland after the international break.