Tottenham Hotspur’s Ange Postecoglou finding it tough to process mind-boggling EPL defeat

LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said it was impossible to analyse

his side’s 4-1 loss to Chelsea,

as his unbeaten start to life in the English Premier League ended in chaotic and controversial fashion on Monday.

Spurs led after six minutes but ended up with nine men after Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were sent off.

Only four of their starting line-up were still on the pitch when the final whistle eventually brought the drama to a close.

Five disallowed goals, several video assistant referee (VAR) decisions, a total of 21 minutes of stoppage time and two injuries to key players left Postecoglou looking as mystified as everyone in the stadium as his team missed the chance to return to the top of the table.

The ball was in play for just 43 per cent of the total game time, the lowest percentage for any EPL game in the last two seasons.

“It is pretty hard to process. It is almost impossible to analyse the game because it just seemed to get out of control for large parts of it,” the Australian, who masterminded Spurs’ best start to a top-flight season since 1960, told Sky Sports.

“Disappointed by the result but really proud of the players, they gave everything and that is the positive we will take.”

His opposite number, Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, enjoyed a happy return to his former hunting ground. The Argentinian led Spurs to a Champions League final and a second-place finish in the Premier League during his 2014-2019 tenure.

He said: “I feel much better, after four years to come back and say hello to all the people, it is a gift for us. Very emotional but, at the same time, the memories. The game was passionate, competitive, being honest we needed three points and it was an amazing day for us.”

After Dejan Kulusevski’s deflected opening goal for the hosts, Tottenham skipper Son Heung-min had an effort ruled out for a marginal offside after a sensational passing move. But everything changed after Moises Caicedo had an equaliser ruled out for offside following a VAR check.

During the same incident, Romero was adjudged to have conceded a penalty with an over-aggressive tackle on Enzo Fernandez and was red-carded.

Cole Palmer converted the penalty following seven minutes of confusion with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario almost keeping it out.

After a weekend of debate about the rights and wrongs of VAR, including

an extraordinary rant by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Saturday,

Postecoglou tried to make sense of it all.

“There will be a forensic study of every decision out there, that is the way the game is going and I don’t like it. If you look at all that standing around we did today, maybe people enjoy that sort of thing but I’d rather see us playing football,” he said.

“You have to accept the referee’s decision, that is how I grew up. This constant erosion of the referee’s authority is where the game is going – they are not going to have any authority.”

Even with nine men, Spurs stayed true to Postecoglou’s attacking philosophy but Nicolas Jackson eventually put Chelsea ahead in the 75th minute – though again it involved VAR with the Senegalese appearing offside in the initial stage.

Spurs defender Eric Dier had a goal ruled out for offside and Son drew a great save from Robert Sanchez, before Jackson bagged a hat-trick as the hosts threw caution to the wind.

“It is just who we are mate, it is who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here. If we go down to five men, we will have a go,” Postecoglou added.

While defeat will hurt, of even more concern is that Romero will now face a suspension and his excellent defensive partner Micky van de Ven looks set for an extended lay-off after a serious looking hamstring injury.

On top of that, James Maddison, who has been instrumental in Tottenham’s superb start, went off with an ankle injury. REUTERS