Tottenham exited the FA Cup following a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa in the fourth round of the competition at Villa Park on Sunday evening. After that disappointing showing at Liverpool on Thursday night, Ange Postecoglou made a total of four changes to his Spurs team to take on the Villans.
Mikey Moore, Lucas Bergvall and Pedro Porro all came into the side, with Mathys Tel handed his full Spurs debut after starting on the bench in midweek. Needing a positive start to the game, Spurs endured a complete nightmare as Jacob Ramsey scored inside the first minute of the contest after Antonin Kinsky failed to collect his effort that was down the middle of the goal.
Tottenham had a huge chance to equalise midway inside the first half but Son Heung-min passed up the opportunity after shooting straight at Emiliano Martinez following such an inviting low delivery from Moore. Spurs were much better in the early stages of the second half and put Villa under pressure as they fashioned chances for Son and Dejan Kulusevski.
Despite a brighter start to second-half proceedings from Spurs, Villa doubled their lead on 64 minutes as Morgan Rogers converted from point-blank range to put the final result beyond any doubt. Tel was to pull a late goal back for Spurs in stoppage time but it was too little, too late.
Here are five things we spotted in the match at Villa Park:
A much-needed midfield change and what followed
Postecoglou's midfield selection of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma just did not work at Liverpool. The trio failed to lay a glove on their opponents and it was all too easy for Arne Slot's side across the 90 minutes.
It came as no surprise to see Bissouma and Sarr hooked just prior to the hour mark at Anfield, with the duo duly dropping down to the substitutes' bench for the Aston Villa encounter. Bergvall, who was a surprise omission from the starting XI at Liverpool, came into the side and Kulusevski also dropped back into the middle.
Tottenham have been so short in attack recently but the decision to opt for Kulusevski in midfield was a much-needed one with a lack of creativity in that area of the pitch. The Swede played a key role in the chance that Son missed after dissecting the Villa backline with a superb pass that set Moore free down the right.
Amid the midfield changes, it was all too easy for Rogers inside the first minute of the game as he skipped past Bergvall and progressed forward before slipping in Ramsey to net. The same almost happened again as Youri Tielemans was given all the space he would have liked to drive through midfield unchallenged before shooting wide, with Rogers then having acres of space prior to forcing Kinsky into action.
As a result of their midfield woes in the opening 45 minutes, Bissouma was introduced in place of Moore and that resulted in Kulusevski moving back into attack. Previously such a strength in Postecoglou's Tottenham team, the Australian somehow needs to find the right midfield formula because it's becoming a real problem at present.
Postecoglou drops Tel hint
Tottenham are extremely short on out-and-out strikers right now following injuries to Dominic Solanke and Richarlison. The latter had only returned to the pitch recently but he is now back in the treatment room after injuring his calf in the first half of the Liverpool defeat.
Without Solanke and Richarlison at Villa Park, it always appeared that Tel would lead the line on his first start for the club. However, Postecoglou was to throw a curveball as it was Son who played in a central role as the January signing operated from the left flank.
A lot of Tel's football for Bayern Munich has come from the left flank but he is viewed as a striker by many and already has plenty of experience playing in the role. Despite Son's struggles this season when playing centrally rather than on the left flank, Postecoglou opted for the Spurs captain to be the team's striker on the day.
The Australian could well have dropped a hint over where he sees Tel's best position in his Tottenham team with his selection choice. Spurs may have restored parity midway through the first half had it been Tel on the end of Moore's delivery rather than Son, who could only shoot straight down the throat of Martinez when all alone in such a good position in the area.
Message to Levy
It was another familiar feeling for Tottenham fans as they saw their team fall behind. This time, however, it was with less than a minute on the clock as Ramsey opened the scoring.
The talented midfielder was given so much room to advance into the area, before Kinsky gave him a helping hand after failing to take in his attempt that was directly at him. Tottenham supporters have had to put up with so much this season and they have let their feelings on Daniel Levy be known on multiple occasions.
"We want Levy out, we want Levy out" could be heard from the away end straight after Villa had opened the scoring and it was loud and clear for all to hear live on TV. It was to get even louder later in the first half as a rendition of the chant did the rounds once again.
Leadership issue
Amid Tottenham's current injury and results crisis, Postecoglou's team lack real leaders to help drag them out of trouble. Spurs have long suffered with an absence of leaders on the pitch but it is so evident right now as they go through such a dark period.
Son's leadership credentials have been questioned by many and they will continue to be a talking point at a time when Spurs are so easy to beat and lack so much fight on the pitch. It is not just Son, who had the fewest amount of touches of anyone on the pitch with 16, as Tottenham need much more from their other senior players to drag them kicking and screaming to victories.
As has been evident in plenty of games this season, it is youngsters Archie Gray and Bergvall as well as Djed Spence who have been leading by example time and time again. The possible return of vice-captain Cristian Romero whenever that may be could have an impact on the team but it is clear to see that Tottenham have to address that issue in the summer.
Europa League or bust
It is now the Europa League or bust for Postecoglou and Tottenham after a huge week of cup football ended in disaster. Hammered 4-0 by Liverpool in midweek to exit the Carabao Cup, Spurs would be knocked out of the FA Cup at the fourth round for the second year on the trot after losing against Aston Villa.
Always going to be a huge year for Postecoglou and the club in their quest to end their silverware drought, Spurs' last remaining chance to win a trophy this season all comes down to the Europa League. Tottenham will return to European action at the start of March and they really need to triumph in Bilbao in May so that they can at least try and finish a dismal season on a positive note.
It really could be a long end to the season for all concerned given Tottenham's current position of 14th in the Premier League table.
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