In a match where seemingly everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for Tottenham Hotspur, they slumped to a 4-1 home drubbing to fierce rivals Chelsea on November 6, 2023.
After being 1-0 up within the first ten minutes through a deflected Dejan Kulusevski, club captain Heung-min Son thought he’d put the home team two to the good, only for it to be chalked off for offside.
In truth, that was the last bit of sanity for the remainder of the match, which is certainly one for the history books.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea, November 6, 2023: A Bonafide Classic
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Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie See Red
The Argentine centre-back was shown a straight red when his clearance of the ball in his own box caught his international teammate Enzo Fernandez on the follow-through. Chelsea subsequently scored the ensuing penalty, and the game settled at 1-1, with Spurs down to ten men.
Then, on the stroke of halftime, it went from bad to detrimental for the home side as both James Maddison and Micky Van de Ven were taken off with injuries. These summer arrivals have been pivotal to Spurs’ amazing start to the season, with both men starting every game in the league thus far. The injury to Van de Ven looked particularly worrying as he pulled up, holding his hamstring which could be a huge blow for the foreseeable future.
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In the 55th minute, the game somehow got worse for Spurs, with left-back Destiny Udogie seeing a second yellow card, being sent off, and forcing the home team to play the remainder of the game with nine men.
Chelsea eventually capitalised through a Nicolas Jackson hattrick, a feat that will no doubt do wonders for the Senegalese international’s confidence.
Tottenham Hotspur Show Grit and Heart Despite Deficit
It would seem like insanity following a thumping home loss to bitter rivals, but somehow the Lilywhites came away from the game with their dignity intact (well, everyone except Udogie and Romero anyway). The fight, togetherness, and team spirit were on display throughout the game, but particularly when they were reduced to nine men. This team spirit is something that has not been seen at the club for over five years—ironically, not seen since the glory days of current Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino.
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In a situation where most managers would instruct their teams to ‘park the bus’ and try to secure the draw, Ange Postecoglou chose another approach. He instead set his team in what looked like a 0-7-1 formation, with his entire defensive line playing on the halfway line having arguably the highest offside trap ever witnessed.
And it worked for twenty minutes as attackers fell for the offside trap numerous times before the aforementioned Jackson put the visitors 2-1 up in the 75th minute.
Tottenham Hotspur Fans Sing Til the End
It wasn’t just the players who showed incredible togetherness despite the circumstances; the entire stadium sang until the final whistle.
One fan after the match told us that the entire crowd started clapping from the start of the second half and only stopped to chant the names of boss Postecoglou and Guglielmo Vicario, who put in a stellar performance despite conceding four times. The Italian stopper had a standout performance as a sweeper keeper and showed his incredible talent.
This is in stark contrast to how the entire atmosphere around the club has been in recent years. For instance, it won’t be unfair to posit that if the same thing happened last season, the team would have capitulated and the stadium would have been empty by the 80th minute, but not this season. Not with this manager, who has given new life to a cathartic football club, and not with this team of young players who are showing a bond beyond the field.
Win together 🤍
Lose together 🤍We go again 👊 pic.twitter.com/aZ71RSrzyo
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 7, 2023
This is why Spurs fans would have walked away after this abysmal result feeling somewhat encouraged and with some pride. The club is in a significantly better place on all fronts this season, and there is still the belief that this is the start of something special.
It’s still very early days in the Postecoglou era, there are bound to be lots of ups and downs along the way. The squad is young and still a bit thin, as shown by the substitutions due to injury, but the connection between the players, the manager, and the fans has never been closer.
