Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou admitted that his side were "so far" off the standards he sets in Thursday's 2-0 Premier League loss to Chelsea and accepted responsibility for the defeat.
Following reverses against Newcastle United and Arsenal, the Lilywhites were condemned to their third top-flight defeat on the bounce at Stamford Bridge, where set-pieces proved to be their undoing once more.
Mauricio Pochettino's men were immediately on the front foot against their London rivals and broke the deadlock from a free kick, as Trevoh Chalobah headed in from a Conor Gallagher delivery.
With Marc Cucurella holding off Brennan Johnson, not a single Spurs player was tracking the run of Chalobah, who had ample time and space to direct a beautiful header into the top corner over Guglielmo Vicario's reach.
There was little in the way of a Tottenham response - Postecoglou's side did not record a single shot on target in the first half - and another free kick proved to be their undoing for Chelsea's second.
"He has snapped"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2024
Ange Postecoglou is not happy 😡 pic.twitter.com/eC0HKNa38v
Postecoglou: 'I have to look at myself'
After Cole Palmer's strike thundered against the crossbar, Nicolas Jackson patiently waited for the ball to drop before heading home into the exposed far corner, as Son Heung-min and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg got in each other's way while chasing a lost cause.
Postecoglou cut an incensed figure during the first half in particular, and speaking to the press after the game - as quoted by football.london - the Australian took the blame for Thursday's defeat and admitted that his side lacked competitiveness at Stamford Bridge.
"It wasn't a great night for us. We didn't really reach the levels anywhere near the levels we need to get a result here tonight. Fair to say we didn't play anywhere near the levels to get something out of the game and we got what we deserved," Postecoglou said.
"That's on me and I've got to take responsibility for that ultimately as I'm the one who is putting them out there and preparing them for it. We were so far off it and I've got to look at myself and see how I'm preparing this team for it.
"We didn't really have any fluency, any sort of aggression with and without the ball. It's a bit unlike us because if nothing else we've always been competitive, especially in the first half it was missing today."
Postecoglou explains James Maddison snub
© Reuters
Among the five changes that Postecoglou made from the North London derby loss to Arsenal was the demotion of the out-of-form James Maddison to the bench, and the playmaker failed to influence proceedings when brought on in the second half either.
Explaining his decision to give Maddison the chop, Postecoglou affirmed that he simply wanted some fresh legs in the shape of Johnson, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma, but he conceded that his decision did not pay off.
"I thought we needed to freshen up the team. I thought we needed some legs today as they've obviously got a real mobile and quick front three/four and I just felt we needed some legs in the midfield. With Biss and Pape coming in, and Deki [Dejan Kulusevski], I thought it would help us. Fair to say it didn't work though," Postecoglou added.
The latest damaging blow in their hopes of securing Champions League qualification, Tottenham remain fifth in the rankings with a seven-point gap to Aston Villa, whom they now have just one game in hand on.
Should the North London giants lose to Liverpool this weekend and Villa get the better of Brighton & Hove Albion, their top-four chances and Champions League dream will be over, as Germany and Italy have obtained the additional spots via their UEFA coefficient.
Ben Knapton
