Tottenham lose record-breaking 20th game as Champions League race thrown into chaos

Ange Postecoglou has sealed an unfortunate achievement- with his Tottenham side notching a record-breaking 20th league defeat to consign them to their worst Premier League season ever.

Ange Postecoglou reacts after his team suffered a record-setting defeat. Picture: Getty

Ange Postecoglou is confident Dejan Kulusevski will be fit for the Europa League final after the forward was injured in Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Eberechi Eze struck twice for the FA Cup finalists at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to leave Postecoglou’s side languishing in 17th place in the Premier League.

Tottenham booked a Europa League final with Manchester United on May 21 after they sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.

But their wretched domestic form continued as they slipped to a 20th league loss this season.

It marks Tottenham’s worst-ever tally of defeats in the Premier League area after they twice lost 19 fixtures in the 1993-94 and 2003-04 campaigns.

To add to the under-fire Postecoglou’s problems, Kulusevski had to be replaced after 19 minutes.

But Postecoglou provided a positive update on the Sweden international after he lost Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison to season-ending injuries last week.

“Medical team are not too concerned with him, more of a knock than anything else, so we’re hoping he should be OK,” Postecoglou said.

“It’s not helpful when you lose another player, it’s the fine line we’re trying to navigate at the moment. That aside, it was a disappointing performance and nowhere near the level it should be.

“Guys had an opportunity today to put their name forward and put some pressure on the guys who played the other night. Fair to say there wasn’t any compelling evidence of that.

“That’s what I’m trying to push with these guys, that sometimes in football you’ve just got to take the opportunities there before you. They’re never going to be perfect.

“We made eight changes but there is an opportunity there and you’ve just got to take it when presented to you and I’m disappointed more didn’t step forward today.”

Postecoglou decided against bringing on Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke after the draining semi-final second leg at Bodo/Glimt.

He also kept Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven on the bench, effectively gifting the win to Palace to keep his stars fresh for the final in Bilbao.

“I get it and people are banging the drum about this record with defeats, but if people don’t see there is a correlation between the two,” he said.

“It’s not exactly Pythagoras theorem. It’s quite simple to understand we would have had much better results if we didn’t have to navigate this. So, either you understand or you don’t and beat us over the head, I get it.”

Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze celebrates after scoring the game’s second goal. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, Newcastle took a huge step towards qualifying for the Champions League with a vital 2-0 victory over top-five rivals Chelsea, while Arsenal fought back from two goals down to rescue a valuable 2-2 draw against Liverpool.

Sandro Tonali put Newcastle ahead after just two minutes at St James’ Park before Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson was sent off for an elbow on Sven Botman late in the first half.

Bruno Guimaraes struck in stoppage time to secure the Magpies’ seventh win from their last nine league games and lift them into third place in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe’s side, aiming to feature in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, are three points clear of sixth-placed Aston Villa in the race for a top-five finish.

“We hung in there. We got over the line and that’s the major thing in a game like today,” Howe said.

Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali gave his team an early upper hand. Picture: AFP

Fifth-placed Chelsea’s first defeat in seven league games leaves their bid to return to Europe’s elite club competition in the balance.

The Blues are level on points with sixth-placed Aston Villa and one ahead of seventh-placed Nottingham Forest.

With Manchester United at home and Forest away left on their schedule, Enzo Maresca’s UEFA Conference League finalists face a tense finish to their season.

“It’s already difficult 11 v 11 in this stadium against this team so playing an hour with 10 players is not easy,” Maresca said.

Cole Palmer reacts during Chelsea’s defeat to Newcastle United. Picture: Getty

Arsenal trailed to first-half goals from Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz at Anfield. But Gabriel Martinelli reduced the deficit before Mikel Merino grabbed the equaliser for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Although Merino was sent off for a second booking with 11 minutes left, Arsenal clung on for a vital point in the battle for the top five.

Second-placed Arsenal sit five points clear of Villa and boast a vastly superior goal difference to all their top-five rivals.

They should need just one more point to secure a Champions League berth despite winning only one of their last six league games.

“What we did in the first half is nowhere near the level. We reacted great but it is unacceptable,” Arteta said.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was dropped to the bench by Liverpool boss Arne Slot, just days after the Merseyside-born England right-back confirmed he will leave Anfield when his contract expires in June.

Luis Diaz celebrates scoring Liverpool’s second goal. Picture: AFP

Widely expected to join Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold’s decision has divided Liverpool fans and he was booed by some sections of the crowd when he came on in the second half.

“For the fans, they can always have the reaction they want but I will always back the players,” Slot said.

– Misery for Man Utd and Spurs –

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo defended Evangelos Marinakis after the owner stormed on to the City Ground pitch to confront him after a damaging 2-2 draw with relegated Leicester.

Marinakis was seen remonstrating with Nuno after Facundo Buonanotte’s 81st-minute strike dented Forest’s bid to play in the Champions League for the first time since 1980-81.

“It is because of the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club. He pushes us. He wants us to be better,” he said of Marinakis, who served a five-match stadium ban earlier this season.

Manchester United slumped to a 2-0 home defeat by West Ham as their woeful league campaign hit a new low.

United were back in action after crushing Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday to set up an all-English final against Tottenham on May 21.

Tomas Soucek’s 26th-minute tap-in gave West Ham the lead and Jarrod Bowen struck in the 57th minute.

West Ham moved above United, who are languishing in 16th place as they face their lowest league finish since being relegated in 1973-74.

Originally published as Tottenham lose record-breaking 20th game as Champions League race thrown into chaos