Postecoglou Assesses Tottenham’s Performance Following Chelsea Loss

Ange Postecoglou provided his comments to BBC Match of the Day after Tottenham’s defeat against Chelsea, describing the outcome as “It is a sore one, a painful one.” He noted that his team commenced the game effectively, but consistent with their season’s pattern, “we lose [Cristian] Romero after 20 minutes and that disrupts us a bit and they score straight after.” The manager indicated that Tottenham had chances to score a third goal and were in a “decent position” at half-time. He characterized the second half, particularly its beginning, as “a ding dong.” He recounted that Chelsea scored, and despite a significant opportunity for Son that was not converted, Chelsea subsequently took a 3-2 lead. Postecoglou attributed both penalties conceded to “poor decision by us,” stressing the necessity for “more discipline.” He concluded that “In the end the critical moments got us.” He assessed that while “there were quality opportunities,” they were not “an abundance of them,” and he could not recall “the keepers making a load of top quality saves.” Postecoglou affirmed, “We more than matched a good side in that department and when there is quality out there you are going to have moments.” He also acknowledged, “There were things we could have done better for sure.” Regarding the three additional injuries sustained, Postecoglou stated, “Obviously Romero was really disappointing. He felt something in his quad after 20 minutes and couldn’t continue.” He added that “Brennan [Johnson] wasn’t well and he tried to sort himself out at half time but he just wasn’t up to going out there.” For Micky van de Ven, the manager explained it “was just a bit tiredness,” and the plan for him was always to play “60 or 70 [minutes].”