A second-half collapse from Tottenham Hotspur saw them lose 4-3 to London rivals Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
The Lilywhites had commenced the contest with intent and found themselves 2-0 up in just over 10 minutes.
Two slips from Marc Cucurella saw Spurs profit as Dominic Solanke tapped home and Dejan Kulusevski expertly found the corner.
However, after Jadon Sancho had halved the deficit in the first half, the second period was one to forget for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
A lapse in concentration saw Yves Bissouma give away a penalty which Cole Palmer dispatched just after the hour mark before Enzo Fernandez volleyed past Fraser Forster to complete the Chelsea comeback.
Spurs’ misery was compounded when Pape Matar Sarr fouled Palmer in the box and the Englishman scored the subsequent spot kick using the cheeky Panenka technique.
Tottenham captain Heung-min Son grabbed a consolation in stoppage time before Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle shortly after.
Postecoglou is certainly under pressure with his team wallowing in 11th position in the Premier League. The Australian desperately needs to fix the issues in the squad. Here’s what we learned.
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Bissouma's ill-discipline rears it’s ugly head again
Since arriving in N17 in the summer of 2022, Bissouma’s Tottenham career has been inconsistent to say the least.
At the peak of his powers, the Malian is a impressive midfield metronome, who can control the pace of the game with his excellent technique and press-resistant qualities.
However, Bissouma struggles to remain disciplined and that came to his team’s detriment once again on the weekend.
After losing the ball weakly on the halfway line, the midfielder hurried back to help his team defend a foray forward from the Blues.
Once back in position, Bissouma made a desperate lunge on Moises Caicedo in the box and scythed down his former Brighton teammate. Penalty Chelsea.
The yellow card he received was his fifth booking of the campaign, meaning he will miss next weekend’s away game against Southampton.
With Rodrigo Bentancur in the midst of a lengthy suspension, their midfield options are down to the bone. Bissouma has only inflicted a further headache for Postecoglou.
Last year, the former Lille midfielder was sent off against Nottingham Forest and Luton Town. At 27, Yves Bissouma should be a leader in a youthful dressing room. But instead, he is showing petulance and rashness befitting of an inexperienced teenager. He simply has to do better.
At this point, he is considered a liability. And if Spurs want to get out of this mess they find themselves in, they need to trust their players.
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Heung-min Son has lost that cutting edge
Heung-min Son is undoubtedly a legend of the establishment and the unwavering loyalty he has shown cements him as one of the greatest players to ever play in Lilywhite.
But he’s ageing and with that comes a natural level of decline. The South Korean turns 33 in August and for a player that relies on speed and athleticism to thrive, the once indispensable figure has become droppable.
He was electric in the first half of the Chelsea game, causing makeshift right-back Moises Caicedo all sorts of problems with his body feints and clever footwork.
But after the interval, the forward lacked sharpness and missed a gilt-edged opportunity with the scores level at 2-2.
In fairness, he did grab a goal in stoppage time but it only proved to be consolation. His performances this campaign lead to only one conclusion - Tottenham Hotspur need to start preparing for life without Son.
Yesterday’s display only further highlights Spurs lack of depth on the flanks. Timo Werner was the only recognised winger available off the bench and he had to replace the unwell Brennan Johnson.
Splashing £35 million on teenager Wilson Odobert only for the Frenchman to be out injured for six months has proved to be an, albeit slightly unfortunate, misstep from the Spurs recruitment team.
Surely, Tottenham could have gone all out for Kaoru Mitoma or Pedro Neto?
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Postecoglou’s stubbornness creeping into naïvety
“It’s just who we are, mate.”
That was the line Postecoglou proudly proclaimed after Spurs continued to attack with nine men in the 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea last year.
12 months ago that was heralded as the boldness the club needed to realise their ambitions of winning a first piece of silverware since 2008.
But now, the former Celtic manager’s persistence with his outlandish and aggressive strategy is coming back to haunt him.
The Lilywhites found themselves 2-0 up inside the opening quarter of an hour against one the best teams in the league. A dream scenario considering the circumstances.
But by the 80th minute they were 4-2 down. The capitulation drew comparisons to their 3-2 defeat to Brighton a few weeks ago, where they collapsed to see a two goal advantage dissipate. How can that possibly happen twice in one season, let alone in a few months?
Part of the reason was Spurs’ unwillingness to rest on their laurels and defend their precious lead. At 2-0 they continued to commit players forward, which left acres of space for the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer to exploit the gaps. And they did, emphatically.
Postecoglou has a brilliant tactical mind and a pure philosophy that, when it works, is simply beautiful. But when it doesn’t it looks naïve and catastrophic.
In order to change their fortunes in the future, the Australian tactician may have to alter his ways to see out results and put numbers behind the ball. After all, is there any point in playing well if you don’t win?
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Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven’s importance
Together, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are a force to be reckoned with.
The pair complement each other so well, with Romero providing the aggression and bravery and Van de Ven possessing lightning pace and sizeable height to mop up any danger.
Recently the pair have been injured. The Argentine has been out for nearly a month with a toe injury whilst the Dutchman has been recovering from a hamstring strain he picked up in Spurs’ Carabao Cup win over Manchester City.
The two were nearing a return but it came as a surprise to everyone to see them both be included from the start against Chelsea.
The central defenders were excellent. Nullifying Chelsea's offensive threat and keeping possession with risky but measured passes.
However, this jubilant period lasted 15 minutes.
Romero couldn’t continue after straining a muscle while performing a skilful flick inside his own penalty area and was replaced by Radu Dragusin.
Van de Ven came off midway through the second period after going down with what looked like cramp.
It begs the question, were they rushed back?
The cynics would say yes. There is an argument to be made that Ange Postecoglou's desperate attempts to preserve his post as Tottenham manager saw him negate the welfare of his players. But the injuries that forced the alterations aren’t necessarily connected to the initial problems.
Romero was side-lined because of a toe issue. He ended up going off with an injury to his quad. Bad planning or misfortune?
Everyone affiliated with the club will hope that Micky van de Ven’s enforced exit was merely down to cramp, rather than a reoccurrence of the hamstring issue.
Ultimately, Postecoglou was forced into taking a risk with his prized defenders. Ben Davies faces a lengthy spell out after suffering an injury against Bournemouth in midweek. This left him with a defensive predicament as Dragusin was left as the only fit central defender.
That quarter of an hour that Romero and van de Ven were partnering each other saw Spurs play the best football they have played in weeks.
The game ended with 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray playing centre-half against the best attack in the Premier League. That isn’t fair on his development, on Postecoglou and Spurs fans.
It’s complete negligence from everyone involved with transfers at the club that they didn’t equip the Spurs manager with adequate depth to compete in four competitions.
Now with both starting central defenders potentially facing more time spent watching from the stands, Postecoglou finds himself in a defensive crisis.
