‘Never seen this’: Ange Postecoglou loses mind in Chelsea defeat

Ange Postecoglou completely lost the plot in a rare on-field meltdown as his club slipped further into crisis.

Ange Postecoglou completely lost the plot in a rare on-field meltdown as his side suffered a 2-0 loss against Chelsea on Friday morning (AEST).

Chelsea delivered a hammer blow to Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with Postecoglou left “visibly seething” at his own players.

After losses to Arsenal and Newcastle, fifth-placed Tottenham’s third successive defeat leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Tottenham have four games left, while Villa have three to go, making the north Londoners rank outsiders to finish in the Premier League’s top four.

The Stamford Bridge defeat was another painful setback for Tottenham, who have squandered the good will built by Postecoglou for much of the Australian’s first season in charge.

Trevoh Chalobah’s first goal since March 2022 put Chelsea ahead in the first half.

The much-maligned Nicolas Jackson wrapped up the points in the closing stages with his 14th goal of a difficult first season with the Blues.

In between those goals, Postecoglou’s demeanour was murderous.

Sky Sports’ Karen Carney said: “Angry Ange. I’ve never seen him so angry and animated.

“I don’t think I’ve seen Spurs play so badly.”

Ange Postecoglou lost it. Photo: AFP and Sky Sports.

Sky Sports Nick Wright said from Stamford Bridge: “Oh to be a fly on the wall in that Spurs dressing room. Postecoglou is known for barely showing any emotion on the touchline but not tonight. He spent most of that half raging at his players.”

He went on to say: “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the Spurs boss so animated and so clearly frustrated with his players.”

When Tottenham conceded the first goal of the game from a Chalobah header, the 58-year-old manager blew up. The header came from a set piece free kick on the edge of the box.

“Postecoglou, usually a figure of calm on the touchline, was absolutely incensed when Spurs gave that free-kick away,” Wright said in the first half.

“He’s still shaking his head as the game gets back under way. It’s the 13th set-piece goal Spurs have conceded this season in the Premier League.”

Only Nottingham Forest (26) and Sheffield United (23) have conceded more goals from set pieces (including penalties) than Tottenham (22) in the Premier League this season.

Postecoglou’s post-match press conference lasted just three minutes as he did his best to get in and get out.

His responses when interviewed after the game said it all.

Hello darkness my old friend. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images.

“It wasn’t good enough and I have to take responsibility for that, it is on me,” he said.

“I am the manager and I am the one putting them out there and it was not good enough.

“When we put in a performance like we did in the first half it meant my message wasn’t getting through.”

When asked what message he was sending, Postecoglou was blunt with his reply.

“Come on mate, we didn’t play well, do you want me to write you a dossier of where it went wrong,” Postecoglou asked.

“I feel like we’ve lost a bit of belief and conviction in our football and that is on me to change that.

“It wasn’t about conceding the [first] goal, it was our approach to playing football and we were nowhere near good enough. That is on me.

“We’ve been in a bit of a grind for a while now, that is part of our challenge and part of our growth. We have to go out there and perform and sometimes you have to grind out. We were poor today.”

He was clearly frazzled when asked about his team’s diminishing top four hopes.

“I don’t now how to answer these questions. We were poor today, what is the point of thinking about anything else? My responsibility is to make sure we play better next time.”

While Postecoglou licks his wounds, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino enjoyed a second win over his former club this season following the 4-1 success in November.

Pochettino had irritated Chelsea fans by admitting he couldn’t “hide his emotions” for the club he managed for five years and led to the 2019 Champions League final.

Ange Postecoglou was seething. Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images.

But he put those feelings aside to provide the result they wanted, keeping alive eighth-placed Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for Europe and making it just one defeat in 34 home league games against Tottenham.

Postecoglou had criticised Tottenham’s sloppy performance in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against Arsenal and responded by making five changes, with Richarlison brought in and James Maddison dropped.

Four of the five goals conceded by Tottenham in their previous two games had come from set-pieces and they were punished for more woeful dead-ball marking in the 24th minute.

Conor Gallagher’s free-kick looped into the area and Chalobah was left unmarked to power a superb header over Vicario from 12 yards.

That made it 22 goals conceded from set plays in league games by Postecoglou’s creaky defence this term.

Tottenham claimed Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella had blocked Brennan Johnson from marking Chalobah, but VAR ignored their protests.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s deflected strike was held by Vicario before the Ukraine winger curled narrowly wide as Chelsea pushed for a second goal.

Undone by their set-piece frailties, Tottenham almost took advantage of Chelsea’s defensive deficiencies with a Cristian Romero header that clipped the post from Pedro Porro’s free-kick.

Postecoglou looked increasingly irate by the half-time whistle and his chastened players responded to their manager’s frustration with a more lively second half display.

Porro’s drive from a tight angle forced Djordje Petrovic to save in Tottenham’s most threatening moment.

But Chelsea landed the knockout punch in the 72nd minute.

Palmer’s fierce free-kick cannoned down off the bar towards Jackson, who reacted quickest to head home from six yards.

— with AFP