LONDON — Chelsea moved the ball forward, passing to Moises Caicedo inside Tottenham`s half. There was no immediate pressure, and Tottenham defenders slowly retreated. Chelsea then passed the ball to Pedro Neto on the wing. A defender was nearby but didn`t put pressure on him. Neto looked up and saw his teammates open. Without pressure, he should have easily found Cole Palmer or Nicolas Jackson, but he overhit the passes, delaying Tottenham`s conceded goal.
It seemed inevitable that Tottenham would concede. A team that doesn`t properly defend their back post can`t expect to keep a clean sheet. It also seems they`ve lost the identity their manager, Ange Postecoglou, was trying to build.
While Tottenham under Postecoglou wasn`t expected to be defensively impenetrable, they used to have a clear plan. They would press opponents intensely and with many players. If you got past the press, you might get a good shot, but that was a calculated risk. If Tottenham won the ball back, they were likely to score.
When did Tottenham last play with that intensity? Against Chelsea, there was no sign of sharpness from a team that hadn`t played for 18 days. By the end of the game, Chelsea had won the ball back in Tottenham`s final third seven times, compared to Tottenham`s four. It`s worth noting that earlier in the season, with a severe injury crisis, Postecoglou responded to criticism about his high-pressing style. Without his key defenders, Tottenham adapted and became a weaker team, which was somewhat understandable.
Now, even with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, and Destiny Udogie all playing, their defense is still disorganized. It seems Tottenham doesn`t understand the concept of `rest defense`.
Chelsea often got the ball easily because Tottenham gave it away. They faced a group of five Tottenham players who were moving back defensively, but too slowly to effectively stop them. Chelsea progressed through midfield, where only Rodrigo Bentancur seemed to be working hard, and then met Tottenham`s first-choice defense.
Tottenham`s defensive actions seemed weak. Opponents ran between full-back and center-back unchallenged. Palmer could easily get to the touchline whenever he wanted. A more clinical team than Chelsea would have scored against Spurs much earlier than Enzo Fernandez`s goal from Palmer`s cross. Jadon Sancho`s performance suggested Chelsea might have been better off not signing him, even for a reduced fee. While one strong shot tested Vicario, too many attacks faded out on Chelsea`s left side of the box.
Perhaps Tottenham`s defensive issues could be overlooked if their attack was still as strong as it was earlier in Postecoglou`s time. However, their attack has also declined recently. Since January, they rank 16th in the league for expected goals (excluding penalties), with only 1.1 per game. Before Robert Sanchez`s late save against Son Heung-min, Tottenham hadn`t created any significant chances to improve that average.
Instead, their poor attack has increased tension between Postecoglou and Tottenham`s traveling fans. While fans were largely directing their anger at chairman Daniel Levy, chants of `You don`t know what you`re doing` were directed at Postecoglou when he substituted Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall for Brennan Johnson and Pape Matar Sarr. When Sarr scored a long-range goal shortly after, Postecoglou responded by cupping his ear towards the away fans.
This moment is likely to be shown on sports news, reflecting on Postecoglou`s time at Tottenham and how a promising start with clear principles and energy has become something unclear. With twenty losses in all competitions, closer to 18th place than 7th, and `St. Totteringham`s Day` (when Arsenal are confirmed to finish above Tottenham), things are concerning. If the defense doesn`t improve quickly, a Europa League exit seems likely soon.
