While Son Heung-min managed to avoid injury against Chelsea, others were not so lucky – Sebastian Frej/Getty Images
Three points lost, a first defeat of the season, but will we look back on Spurs 1 Chelsea 4 as something more significant, the night when reality pierced the Ange Postecoglou dream? It has been an impeccable start to life at Tottenham for the Australian but this wonderfully senseless shambles of a match hit their season like a tornado. There is certainly plenty of wreckage to pick through.
Live on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football-adjacent Var spectacular, Spurs were given a standing ovation at the final whistle. This despite being beaten by one of their most despised rivals and conceding the least-convincing hat-trick ever from Nicolas Jackson. Little made sense about the game, which you would usually write off as an oddity. But there is a chance it could be a defining match.
Two Spurs mainstays now face suspension after being sent off. Left-back Destiny Udogie will miss the lunchtime trip to Wolves on Saturday but is available after that as his red was for two bookable offences. It will be three games on the naughty step for Cristian Romero, as his was a straight red for serious foul play. He has started every game so far this season and Udogie’s only previous miss was the win at Crystal Palace last month.
At least Postecoglou can bank on those players returning by a defined date. There is less certainty about Micky van de Ven, who was withdrawn just before half-time with a hamstring injury, a sobering sight given his excellence in central defence since arriving from Wolfsburg. He could be unavailable until next year.
This causes an alarming defensive selection situation in the short-term, with Ben Davies also recovering from an ankle knock and Ryan Sessegnon a longer-term absentee. Postecoglou’s back four at Wolves is only likely to include Pedro Porro from his usual first-choices. Equally concerning against Chelsea was the exit of James Maddison with a sore ankle. No one has been more emblematic of Spurs’ unexpectedly brilliant start to this season.
James Maddison’s night was ended early by an ankle injury – Robin Jones/Getty Images
So two important first teamers suspended and arguably two of Spurs’ most important three players (thankfully Son Heung-min remains unharmed) out with injuries of as-yet uncertain length. Further challenging news arrived on Tuesday when Richarlison announced he would have surgery on his pubis to address a long-term issue.
Short to medium-term lay-offs need not be catastrophic. If you were feeling cruel you could wonder just how much Spurs will miss the contribution of Richarlison and his two Premier League goals in 37 games. Generally though, there is a sense that a physically and mentally draining night on Monday has unravelling potential.
Wolves away on Saturday with a shortened rest period is a potentially challenging assignment. After that come Villa at home before a trip to Manchester City. There is suddenly less talk about an always-optimistic title challenge, which is wise. Three years ago on this date (Tuesday Nov 7) Southampton were top of the table under Ralph Hasenhuttl. They would finish 15th, losing 9-0 along the way.
For now the vibes remain good. It is impossible to find anything in Postecoglou to dislike, with his post-game denunciation of Var mirroring the view of many supporters. He has survived more chastening defeats than this and his standing remains unimpeachably high among Tottenham fans. But familiarity and defeats can be cruel to once-beloved managers. Once upon a time Jose Mourinho was considered raffish and charming, albeit not by the time he arrived at Tottenham.
In five months Postecoglou has already stored more goodwill at Spurs than Mourinho managed in a year and a half. More challenging times were always going to arrive for him and his team but he may need to draw on those reserves earlier than expected.
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