Tottenham Hotspur were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park yesterday, culminating in their fourth Premier League defeat of the season.
The north Londoners were only starting to pick themselves back up after a deflating 3-2 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion ended their five-match winning streak across all competitions.
They came into the game on the back of consecutive wins against West Ham United and AZ Alkmaar.
However, they failed to extend that streak to three games on the bounce as Palace inflicted yet another disappointing setback on their topsy-turvy campaign.
Jean Philippe-Mateta’s strike just after the half-hour mark was enough to sink Spurs, although Ange Postecoglou’s side came agonisingly close to restoring parity almost immediately.
However, Micky van de Ven’s header from a James Maddison corner hit the post, and that was as close as Spurs came to levelling matters after a dreadful performance in south London.
Tottenham’s shocking defeat leaves them languishing in eighth place, just one point above the bottom half of the table and five adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa.
We’re only nine games into the season, so there’s plenty of time to close the gap on the top four, but their hopes of securing a spot in the Champions League are already hanging by a thread.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal look set to renew their three-way tussle for the Premier League title, so they’re all but guaranteed to finish in the top four, leaving just one spot open to the rest of the pack.
Judging from the past two seasons, it’s clear Unai Emery and Aston Villa have no plans to forfeit their newfound spot amongst England’s elite, so they’re firmly in the mix for a top-four finish.
Chelsea have been in resurgent form under Enzo Maresca’s leadership, so they’re also ahead of Spurs in the race to secure Champions League football.
Given Tottenham’s current inconsistency, even Brighton and Nottingham Forest stand a better chance of clinching a spot in Europe than Postecoglou’s erratic troops.
You never really know what to expect from Spurs. One minute, they’re thrashing Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford. The next, they’re falling on their sword against a team that has been the Premier League’s whipping boys.
Tottenham’s previous three defeats came against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Brighton, proving that they struggle against tactically organised teams.
Postecoglou needs to find a way to make his side tactically foolproof, or they may as well switch their attention to striving for a spot in the Europa Conference League.
