Spurs led 2-0 after 12 minutes, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium shook with noise and Chelsea’s stumbling defender Marc Cucurella was so distraught by his nightmare start that he had to change his shoes. So perhaps the biggest criticism of this Spurs team is that even in this moment of total domination, with the game packed in the palm of their hands, you knew they could miss it at any moment.
Behind some brilliant play from Chelsea to stage a four-goal comeback was a comedy of errors from Spurs, a denouement of devastating proportions. Jadon Sancho was allowed to dribble from the touchline to the edge of the box unchallenged. Yves Bissouma awarded an unnecessary penalty with a lunge that could be seen long before it happened, a few meters before he actually hit Moises Caicedo. Pape Matar Sarr’s failed challenge on Cole Palmer was even stupider, given the striker was then facing the corner flag.
Palmer’s penalty to Panenka could be interpreted as a piece of genius from arguably the best player in the Premier League today. But it also seemed like insolence reserved for an opponent he didn’t much respect, whose fans had previously pelted him with paper missiles while taking a corner, causing the match to be stopped. As he celebrated, he listened to the Tottenham fans.
From 2-0, the Spurs fell to 4-2 in less than an hour. Ange Postecoglou, looking weary, later said their mistakes were “born out of desperation.”
“Both penalties were poor in our favor,” the Spurs manager said. “It’s sort of unnecessary, self-inflicted challenges, and you’re giving away two goals for no reason. You give yourself a mountain to climb, which proves too difficult.
It’s not just defensively where Spurs made a mistake. At 2-2, Son Heung-min wasted a huge chance to lead when the captain charged towards goal and steadied himself before firing a shot completely off target. One of the Premier League’s deadliest finishers looked devoid of confidence, much like his team, and his intervention at the death was not enough to make up for it as Spurs went down 4-3. Postecoglou lamented a “great moment” that had passed.
But this feeling of self-sabotage could also be felt by the manager. Spurs played with typical abandon, which produced moments of joyful football in the first half, but when the momentum of the match shifted, Postecoglou failed to react. His midfield was inexplicably open, with Bissouma’s passing naturally drawn to Palmer, leaving Enzo Fernandez to advance into wide space time and time again.
“Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again,” the Chelsea fans sang, and there was a devastating simplicity to that refrain. He he was losing to Chelsea, the team that has enjoyed more success than any other team visiting this stadium; he he let slip another lead in a clichéd collapse; he That’s how they seem to melt in the middle.
Now what for a manager who had spent the middle of the week berating his own fans? The Spurs fans had gotten their team off to the perfect start, but as soon as Sancho’s reply hit the net, the wall of noise disintegrated and tension filled the air. There were boos after Palmer’s second penalty, although perhaps that was for the Chelsea pantomime villain of the evening. Yet how long can Spurs fans put up with this wild inconsistency, not only from game to game, but also within them?
Perhaps more relevant is the patience of Daniel Levy, the man who appointed Postecoglou. He stood in the stands with a stone face after the full-time whistle. According to Postecoglou, it was a good performance against a top team. But it was also part of a streak of one match winning in seven games, as Chelsea have now won five in a row. Spurs are 11th in the table, behind Bournemouth, Brentford and Fulham, having now lost more games than they have won this season.
There are reservations about the injuries they suffered, and here Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Van were both rushed off the treatment table to start the match. Romero left early with what appeared to be a fresh injury while Van de Ven was later replaced feeling “strained”. Brennan Johnson, arguably Spurs’ best player this season, was also sent off after feeling unwell.
But it begins to explain why Tottenham collapse so easily, why the team seems so easy to break through, with a papier-mâché center. This has happened again and Postecoglou needs to fix it quickly.
