Dejan Kulusevski has blamed Tottenham’s inability to handle the wild emotion of the derby against Chelsea on Monday night for their first Premier League defeat under Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs started in a blaze of intensity and purpose, Kulusevski putting them in front with his third goal of the season, and went close to a second. Chelsea were rattled. Spurs fed off the energy of the home crowd and it looked as if they were ready to blow Chelsea away.
Yet they were guilty, in Kulusevski’s words, of being “too hyped up” and it led to errors as Chelsea dug out a foothold – none bigger than Cristian Romero’s red-card tackle on Enzo Fernández, which was spotted by the VAR and led to Cole Palmer’s penalty equaliser on 35 minutes.
Before that, Destiny Udogie had overstepped in his determination to win the ball back high up from Raheem Sterling, jumping in on him with both feet off the ground. It was reckless and the only reason he saw yellow rather than red was because he missed making contact with Sterling. But Udogie did not heed the lesson and collected a second booking in the 55th minute for another lunge at Sterling. Chelsea would eventually prevail 4-1 against the nine men.
“The first 15 minutes were amazing, we played unbelievable football – some of the best so far in the season,” Kulusevski said. “But then we were too hyped up and did some bad tackles. In the end we paid for it. Was it poor discipline that cost the team? Yes, a little bit. We want to win a lot and here with the fans, they help us up. Sometimes we tackle a little bit too hard, too strong and we pay for that. But it’s good. We have to learn and we will learn.”
There is a death or glory element to Postecoglou’s football, although against Chelsea it was both. Even in a reconfigured 4-3-1 formation, the manager ordered his team to hold a daringly high backline. They gave up chances and yet they also created three big ones to equalise for 2-2. The substitute Eric Dier had a goal disallowed for offside; another replacement, Rodrigo Bentancur, missed a gilt-edged header; and Son Heung-min ran through in the third minute of stoppage time only to shoot too close to Robert Sánchez.
The Spurs support drank in the spirit of adventure and there was a remarkable moment after Son’s miss. When Chelsea went up to the other end to make it 3-1 through Nicolas Jackson, the home fans stood to applaud their players.
“It was unbelievable, honestly,” Kulusevski said. “Some things are bigger than life, bigger than football, bigger than the wins. Honestly, I was really proud of that moment and the fans. I was grateful and it makes me want to give more back.
“It has to give us fuel. We lost the game and we hate to lose. But we have to make sure this doesn’t happen again and we play 11 v 11. We were very, very angry but the coach was very proud and the players, also. We played with two guys off and we still competed at a high level.”
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who replaced the injured James Maddison towards the end of the first half and dropped into central defence after Udogie’s dismissal, was a symbol of the defiance. So was Dier, who came on after Romero’s sending-off for his first competitive action of the season.
Dier is out of contract next June when he is expected to leave as a free agent – possibly for a new challenge in Italy. The club tried to force him out last summer and they will probably look to sell him again in January. The 29-year-old has shown he will not be pushed around though, and has kept his head down and worked. And, with Romero’s three-match ban compounded by Micky van de Ven limping off with a serious-looking hamstring injury – the Dutch centre-half left the stadium on crutches – Dier stands to be a key figure in the weeks ahead.
Postecoglou has issues at the back as he looks to Saturday’s trip to Wolves. He was unable to call upon Ben Davies against Chelsea and Ryan Sessegnon is a long-term injury casualty. With Udogie suspended for one game, Postecoglou will also consider Emerson Royal, who came on for Van de Ven against Chelsea, and possibly the 18-year-old Ashley Phillips. Maddison’s injury is a huge headache further forward.
“When we see each other on Wednesday, we’ll gather the pieces and the focus,” Højbjerg said. “Everyone has to show their availability and show they are prepared to do what it takes. A good squad is not 11 players. It is 18 or 25 players. I think we went down with the flag held high against Chelsea. We gave it all but the result hurts a lot.”
