The Guardian

Enzo Maresca continued to play down Chelsea’s title chances after they heightened the pressure on Ange Postecoglou by fighting back from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday.

Maresca’s improving young team were left with a mountain to climb after making a dreadful start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Spurs dreaming of a famous victory after punishing two slips from Marc Cucurella during the first 11 minutes.

Chelsea had to show character and their response was led by Cole Palmer, who scored two ­penalties when the tide turned during the ­second half. Yet Maresca has ­repeatedly refused to talk about the title race this ­season and he maintained his position despite his team moving four points off the Premier League leaders, Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

“After the game, my message to the players is to be focused in the day‑by‑day, our sessions, the next game on Thursday and then Sunday,” Chelsea’s head coach said.

“The main focus has to be to enjoy the day off and when we come back train well, go for the game. The fans can dream because from the outside it is quite clear and inside the reality is we are not ready. The important thing is we improve day by day.”

Maresca delighted in the mental strength Chelsea displayed at the home of their fierce rivals. Jadon Sancho halved the deficit with a brilliant goal before half-time and Enzo Fernández made it 3-2 with a lovely strike. “To come to this stadium and think you are going to win and not suffer, it’s impossible,” Maresca said. “It’s the perfect win because of this.”

Defeat left Spurs, who have not won since thrashing Manchester City last month, in 11th place. They did not convince defensively. Palmer’s penalties came after silly fouls by Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr. Bissouma’s challenge was on Moisés Caicedo, who could have been sent off in the first half.

“It’s a painful one,” Postecoglou said. “Both penalties were poor. It’s kind of self-inflicted. You’re giving yourself a mountain to climb. When I look at today’s performance I don’t see them lacking confidence and belief. Both penalties we conceded were desperation. They’re desperate to turn our season around. In that mode you lose composure and discipline.”

Postecoglou, who felt that Caicedo should have seen red for a lunge on Sarr at 2-1, caused a stir by ­recalling Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven from injury. Spurs have selection issues in defence and the boost of their first-choice centre-back pairing starting did not last long.

Romero limped off with a thigh problem in the 15th minute and Van de Van went off with muscle tightness, but Postecoglou insisted he did not gamble on their fitness.

“People are aware of our situation,” the Spurs manager said. “It’s not like we have a multitude of options. Both players trained well. You make these decisions with the best information.”

Postecolgou added that Brennan Johnson came off after complaining of feeling unwell. Maresca lost Roméo Lavia to a hamstring injury at half-time.

It was Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham in microcosm. A couple of steps forward; more in the opposite direction. Where it left the manager was the biggest question as Chelsea roared back from 2-0 down to win yet again, surging into second place in the Premier League table.

They are ahead of Arsenal and only four points behind Liverpool, albeit the leaders have a game in hand. It is becoming increasingly difficult to believe the manager, Enzo Maresca, when he argues that Chelsea are not title contenders. They had so much good stuff here. Above all, they had Cole Palmer.

The TV cameras made the obligatory cut-aways to the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, with about 15 minutes to go, inviting everybody to wonder what he will do with Postecoglou, who had said two weeks ago that he would be in trouble if his team was still in mid-table at Christmas. They have only two matches to play before then – away at Southampton, home to Liverpool.

It is not just that they are now 11th. One of the main takeaways was how little belief they showed, even if they did manage a late goal for 4-3 from Son Heung-min. It was over by then.

Assurance is not a problem for Chelsea. Or Palmer. He had already equalised from the penalty spot for 2-2 when he mesmerised Destiny Udogie and three other Spurs defenders on the right before sending over a cross that deflected and found Enzo Fernández, who blasted Chelsea in front.

It looked as though Spurs had had enough of Palmer, driven to distraction. It was the only explanation for why Pape Sarr barged into the back of him on the right-hand side of the area. It was another clear penalty. Palmer pulled off an audacious Panenka; the ultimate snapshot of Chelsea’s supremacy.

After everything that happened between Postecoglou and the travelling Spurs support at Bournemouth last Thursday, it felt significant to see the manager applaud the South Stand at length before kick-off. Friends again? It was the case after 11 minutes, Spurs making the dream start. It never looked like lasting.

The opening exchanges had been the stuff of nightmares for Chelsea and especially Marc Cucurella, who lost his footing twice – with devastating consequences. The first was the real howler, Cucurella trying to turn onto a square pass from Levi Colwill and feeling no purchase in his studs. Brennan Johnson robbed him and raced up the right to cross but credit to Dominic Solanke, whose movement inside the area was too sharp for Colwill. The first-time finish was lethal.

Maresca could not believe the errors from his players at the outset, even though they looked menacing when they moved up the field. That was the case throughout. It was deja vu when Cucurella slipped again and Spurs regained possession, Dejan Kulusevski skating from right to left, along the edge of the area, before jamming a low shot inside the near post. It was the prompt for Cucurella to rush over and change his footwear.

Chelsea never panicked. They never lost the feeling that they would have enough to come back. The first half was wild, end-to-end, so open and it was no surprise when Chelsea pulled one back. Spurs had been boosted by the returns of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven from injuries; the latter was the surprise. Romero did not last long. He appeared to feel something in his thigh in the eighth minute after pulling off a high-risk back heel inside his own area and he found that he could not continue.

On came Radu Dragusin and he was one of the Spurs defenders who could not get out to the excellent Jadon Sancho as the Chelsea winger sliced inside from the left. Sancho’s low shot was a beauty, shaped into the far corner. Van de Ven would be forced off before the end, another injury added to the insults.

There was controversy before the interval and we are not talking about the South Standers who threw screwed-up bits of tifo cardboard at Chelsea’s corner-takers, including Palmer. They were told to pack it in at half-time, which was a bit late. Perhaps Palmer took it personally.

Moisés Caicedo was a lucky boy when he followed through hard into Sarr’s lower shin. Anthony Taylor missed the flashpoint and the VAR, Jarred Gillett, deemed there was no serious foul play and therefore no red card. Kulusevski would also get away with an elbow on Roméo Lavia. Again, there was no action.

Chelsea, quick and enterprising in possession, had the chances to equalise before the break, the big one being created by Fernández for Palmer; incredibly, he missed his kick from close-range. Pedro Neto extended Fraser Forster after jinking and banging low for the near corner.

Spurs had their first-half opportunities, too. Son curled just past the far top corner; Sarr headed against the crossbar from a Son corner; Solanke could not finish from a low Son cross.

Maresca made a change for the second-half, Malo Gusto on at right-back, Caicedo into midfield on a full-time basis. Previously, he had been there only in possession. Lavia made way. It was to shore up against the threat of Son.

Chelsea piled forward. They could sense vulnerability in Spurs as a defensive entity. Everybody could. Probably even Postecoglou. It was one-way traffic after the restart. Sancho drew an excellent save out of Forster. Fernández bent a shot just wide.

Spurs lost Johnson to a muscle injury and it was clear that the equaliser was coming. Postecoglou’s team were jittery. The stadium was a sea of anxiety. When the goal for 2-2 came, it was because of a rush of blood by Yves Bissouma. He had lost the ball initially on the Spurs left and when Sancho, back on the other side, worked it through for Caicedo, Bissouma leapt in to scythe him down. The Spurs substitute, Timo Werner, had his head in his hands before the penalty was given.

The outcome was never in doubt with Palmer. He was outstanding in the second half and there would be plenty more to come from him. Son and Van de Ven would go close at 2-2 but there was only inevitability about the result.

“Caicedo will invert in possession, playing next to Lavia,” says our man Jacob Steinberg. “Fernandez pushes on and it becomes a 3-2-5.”

The way we describe formations is outdated, isn’t it? I know this sounds a pretentious but you really need to list two formations – one with and without the ball. Ideally 4-4-2 and 4-4-2

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Ange Postecoglou’s pre-match thoughts

It’s a welcome boost for us [to have Romero and Van de Ven back]. We thought Micky would return next Thursday but he trained really well; both of them were really keen to play.

We’ve been in this position before when we’ve got a good result against a top side [after some poor results]. Irrespective, it’s a big game: it’s a derby, they’re in a good place and it’s a great test for us. Here at home, when we play our football, we’re hard to stop.

Having that energy with the fans at home can really help give you an edge. Sometimes we have to play our part too – we have to get them excited. Hopefully we can start the game well and put Chelsea on the back foot.

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Team news

Ange Postecoglou is able to pick Spurs’ best back four, with Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven all returning. Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies drop out. The return of Son Heung-min is bad news for James Maddison, whose topsy-turvy season continues with a return to the bench. Dejan Kulusevski will move into midfield.

Enzo Maresca has made seven changes, and it looks like Romeo Lavia will play at right-back. The four players who started the 5-1 win at Southampton are the unrotatables: Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo, the in-form Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer.

Spurs (4-3-3) Forster; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Substitutes: Austin, Reguilon, Dragusin, Spence, Maddison, Gray, Bergvall, Werner, Lankshear.

Chelsea (possible 4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Lavia, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Gusto, Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga, Madueke, Felix, Nkunku.

Referee Anthony Taylor.

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Preamble

So, are Chelsea in this title race or what? We’ll have a better idea after today’s game, a really tricky/surprisingly easy trip to Tottenham Hotpsur Stadium.

The reason for the two options is the recent form of their opponents. The good news for Tottenham fans is that their team is no longer Spursy. The bad news is that they’ve become Jekyll and Spursy, capable of humiliating Manchester’s finest with exhilarating football on a good day or losing to, well, pretty much anyone on a bad day.

Ange Postecoglou’s row with an entitled empathy void at Bournemouth has increased the scrutiny ahead of today’s game, and his love affair with Spurs is starting to feel a bit Blue Valentine. Let’s hope not: as a neutral, Postecoglou’s team – and his repeated pleas for maturity in a drainingly infantile culture – add so much to the Premier League.

So do Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea. It helps having Cole Palmer, sure, but so far he’s done a pretty remarkable. Chelsea’s only defeats have been to Manchester City (pre-slump) and Liverpool and they’re already nine points better off than they were at the same stage last season. Just as importantly, given the nature of Chelsea FC in the 21st century, there has been almost no noise.

What Big Ange would give for a bit of peace and quiet. The best way to achieve that, now and forever, is to win football matches.

Kick off 4.30pm.

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Ange Postecoglou has opened up on the exasperation he feels at the softness of his Tottenham team in particular moments, which he suggested was linked to mentality. The manager refuses to believe there is an “institutionalised” reason for the club to fall short of their targets and said he would never “palm off responsibility to whatever we’re going through to things that have existed in the past”.

But as he looked forward to Sunday’s derby at home to Chelsea, he lingered on the frustration of Thursday’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth. After it, some of the travelling support directed abuse at him. What drove Postecoglou to distraction was how, after a reasonable start, his team conceded at the first sign of pressure – allowing Dean Huijsen a free run to head in from a 17th-minute corner.

It was Spurs’ third loss in six Premier League games, each against teams that started below them; relegation-threatened Crystal Palace and Ipswich inflicted the others. Spurs, who are 10th, have beaten fourth-placed Manchester City and eighth-placed Aston Villa during the sequence. They drew with Fulham, who are sixth.

“The key is to understand that Bournemouth is not a ‘lesser’ team,” Postecoglou said. “They have beaten City and Arsenal at home. We prepared ourselves for a tough game, that was going to be tougher than any other game we were going to face.

“And the disappointing thing is that in a game where we started well, we once again allowed the opposition to play the game on their terms by us lacking discipline and conviction in a key moment. We can’t keep doing that.”

Postecoglou was asked whether it was a physical issue, one to do with mentality or a mixture of things. “It’s a bit of everything but it can’t be a physical thing when it happens early in the game,” he replied. “We started well. And literally the first time they go up, they get a set piece and they score an unopposed header. You can’t go into a game like that and allow the opposition then to take control.

“It doesn’t sit well with me. Nor should it. I’m not going to accept it. My responsibility is to change that because if we’re going to get to where I want us to get to, we need to break that cycle of not showing the belief and resilience in key moments.

“Nothing’s changed in terms of my resolve to play the football I want to play. It’s just that we haven’t understood the other side of that and that’s the discipline and resilience to overcome difficult moments so that football we have can come through.”

When Spurs prepared for last season’s home fixture with Chelsea at the beginning of November, they were top of the league with eight wins and two draws from 10 games. On a wild night, they sustained two injuries and had two men sent off and still carried the fight, the defining image coming when seven of their outfield players pushed up on the halfway line as Chelsea attacked. Spurs lost 4-1, the final two Chelsea goals scored in stoppage time, but Postecoglou’s team were applauded off.

Nobody would see the positives in a defeat this time because the climate has changed, the mood as edgy as Spurs have been inconsistent. Including that Chelsea game, Spurs’ record in the league since then reads: W18 D6 L18.

“It’s about winning but it’s about belief in what you’re doing sometimes,” Postecoglou said. “You look beyond the results. That’s what happened at the start of my tenure last year. We lost against Chelsea but there was a sense that we were building something. Obviously it kind of went off the rails after that game. It’s not just about winning but where we are right now it will certainly help.”

Postecoglou said two weeks ago that if Spurs were 10th at Christmas, there would be “a lot of scrutiny” around his position. They go to Southampton in the league next Sunday before hosting Liverpool on the Sunday after that.

The injuries have piled up, Ben Davies the latest to go down, to a hamstring problem at Bournemouth. Postecoglou would like to welcome back Cristian Romero, who is scheduled to train on Saturday as he tries to overcome toe and hamstring problems.

Postecoglou said he had not yet worked out why the team had been so erratic. “We will keep searching for those answers. Some of it is just around having a competitive squad where there is competition for places which keeps people on edge and we don’t have that at the moment. We haven’t had that for a while. Within the absence of that, we have to find other ways to make sure the players are clear on their responsibilities.”

Postecoglou is clear that the bucks stops with him. He said if there was doubt – “whether that’s internally or externally” – it only hardened his resolve to get it right. On the other hand, it was plainly better if the fans backed him; otherwise the culture would become toxic.

“Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way so I’ve got to find a way to make that happen.”

Ange Postecoglou vowed to keep fighting to revive Tottenham’s fortunes after receiving “some direct feedback” from disgruntled fans following a limp 1-0 Premier League loss to Bournemouth.

Spurs boss Postecoglou was booed and heckled by a frustrated away end at the Vitality Stadium, having seen his toothless side condemned to defeat by Dean Huijsen’s 17th-minute header. The Australian refused to go into detail about the heated exchange but said he understood the supporters’ emotional reaction.

“I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you’ve got to cop it,” said Postecoglou, whose team have won only one of their last six games in all competitions. “I’ve been around long enough to know that when things don’t go well you’ve got to understand the frustration and the disappointment.

“They’re rightly disappointed tonight because we’ve let a game of football get away from us. I’m OK with all that. They gave me some direct feedback, which I guess is taken onboard. All I can say is, I’m really disappointed with tonight and I’m determined to get it right and I will keep fighting until we do.” Asked what was said by the travelling support, Postecoglou replied: “Probably not for here, mate.”

Tottenham began brightly in Dorset but created little during the 90 minutes and were fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin. The Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie struck a post and the impressive hosts failed to capitalise on several other chances to put the result beyond doubt.

Spurs dropped below the Cherries, into 10th position, with Sunday’s London derby at home to high-flying Chelsea to come following the latest setback in a patchy season so far. To compound a miserable evening for the injury-hit club, defender Ben Davies limped out of his 300th Premier League appearance and faces a spell on the sidelines.

“It looks like he’s done his hamstring,” said Postecoglou. “Him and Radu [Dragusin] have played every game, it’s the one sort of position we can’t rotate. He’ll obviously be out for a period of time now, we’ll just have to wait and see how long it is. It’s kind of the consequence of us having the squad we have at the moment.”

Match-winner Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest Premier League goalscorer by nodding in Marcus Tavernier’s corner. The Spain Under-21 defender, who is aged 19 years and 235 days, was making only his third top-flight start since a summer switch from Juventus, in place of the injured Marcos Senesi.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola said: “Dean has shown from the beginning that he is someone with confidence in himself. With the injury of Marcos, for sure he will have to play more. It’s a very good win. I liked especially the second half; the first half we were playing decently, we were not conceding chances but probably we were not being a threat as we’ve been in the second one.

Teenage defender Dean Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest Premier League goalscorer by heading his side to victory over Tottenham at the Vitality Stadium.

Andoni Iraola’s Cherries had upset title hopefuls Arsenal and Manchester City in two of their previous three fixtures on home soil.

The Spain Under-21 international, aged 19 years and 235 days, secured a further scalp for the club with a 17th-minute winner as inconsistent Spurs suffered another setback in a patchy season so far.

Bournemouth leapfrogged Ange Postecoglou’s visitors into ninth position following a deserved success which should have been more comfortable.

Ryan Christie struck the woodwork and the impressive hosts failed to capitalise on a host of chances, while toothless Tottenham created little going forward. Inconsistent Spurs hammered champions Manchester City 4-0 in their previous away fixture but that was their only win in five games in all competitions before the trip to Dorset.

Dominic Solanke was passed fit to face his former club after missing Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Fulham due to illness, with the captain Son Heung-min dropping to the bench as part of three changes. The north London club started in the ascendancy and, after the recalled Dejan Kulusevski shot straight at the goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Solanke fired wastefully over, having been released by stand-in skipper James Maddison. Bournemouth looked lively on the counterattack and edged ahead.

The Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster initially produced a fine save to deny Evanilson following dithering from Radu Dragusin, but from the resultant inswinging corner taken by Marcus Tavernier, Huijsen, a summer signing from Juventus, arrived unmarked at the back post to nod home.

Tavernier had the ball in the net 14 minutes after the opener but was clearly offside, before later seeing a close-range header from Milos Kerkez’s cross clawed away by Forster. Despite Tottenham’s shortcomings, Postecoglou opted against changes at the break.

His team resumed on the front foot, albeit still looking susceptible on the break, with Justin Kluivert, who hit a hat-trick of penalties in Saturday’s 4-2 win at Wolves, coming close to doubling Bournemouth’s lead.

Son replaced Pape Sarr in the 57th minute and immediately increased the tempo of Tottenham’s play. The South Korea international finished on the rebound two minutes after his introduction following Kulusevski’s initial effort but was denied by an offside flag, before later slipping in Maddison, who curled narrowly wide.

Fellow substitute Pedro Porro tested Kepa with a thumping low drive, before Christie struck the base of the left post at the other end.

Tottenham survived a major scare 18 minutes from time when Evanilson’s close-range finish was disallowed for offside after Forster’s risky pass to Kulusevski was intercepted.

Bournemouth should have put the game beyond Spurs, with Tavernier and the substitute Dango Ouattara each squandering excellent opportunities by firing over. The misses ensured plenty of tension during six minutes of injury time but mattered little in the end as Spurs could not muster a meaningful attempt to snatch a point.

Preamble

Is romance truly dead? This season’s FA Cup might lead you think so. For starters, only two non-league sides have made it into the famous third round, an early sign that removing replays might cut the number of giantkilling runs. Fifth-tier side Tamworth did profit from a penalty shootout to eliminate Burton Albion, while Dagenham & Redbridge – above their National League cohorts on goal difference – won at AFC Wimbledon to book their place.

Also, with no live TV game tonight, the draw is not being held in a freshly renovated non-league clubhouse, or sparsely furnished League Two conference room. No, it’s taking place at the home of the holders, Manchester United. They are one of several certified big boys dropping into the draw, eager to snuff out any final sparks of FA Cup fun. Still, the Cup still usually finds a way. The draw begins at 7pm-ish, GMT.

It would be tempting to talk of Tottenham at least being predictable in their unpredictability, of the way they cannot but follow up a great result with a disappointing one, of the inevitability of them, having beaten Manchester City 4-0 last weekend, failing to beat Fulham at home this. But actually the story on Sunday was far more about Fulham, how well they played and how mystifying it was they didn’t take all three points having had the better of the majority of the game.

What made their performance all the more impressive was that they did it without the midfielder Andreas Pereira, who was left out of the match-day squad after giving an interview to Brazilian media in which he seemed to suggest he would quite fancy a move to Marseille to play under Roberto De Zerbi.

That they were not ahead by the time Tom Cairney was sent off after 83 minutes was almost entirely down to the heroics of Tottenham’s back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who hadn’t played a league game for 18 months and whose obvious differences from the first choice Guglielmo Vicario, absent with a fractured ankle, had been the source of much pre-match concern. Only 7% of Vicario’s passes had been played into the opponent’s half this season, by far the lowest figure in the league, and he’d maintained a 90.8% pass completion rate. Forster, it may be kindest to say, is a more old-fashioned kind of goalkeeper.

But however justified the anxiety about his capacity to play out from the back, at 36 Forster’s reflexes remain sharp. After a brave early block from Raúl Jiménez, he made a fine save diving to his right to keep out a sidefoot volley from the Mexican eight minutes before half-time. If anything, the fingertip he got on an Alex Iwobi effort to divert it on to the bar five minutes later was even better.

The red card, inevitably, checked Fulham’s momentum. Sasa Lukic had earlier perhaps been fortunate not to collect a second yellow for an ugly lunge on Son Heung-min – he was substituted almost immediately afterwards – but Fulham were reduced to 10 as Cairney was dismissed following a VAR review after planting his studs in the back of Dejan Kulusevski’s calf.

The underlying data suggests Tottenham are not actually quite as inconsistent as their results would imply. Before this weekend, nobody had scored more goals than them in the Premier League and nobody had a better non-penalty xG. At the other end, they had conceded the fourth-fewest goals, the third-fewest shots and the seventh-best xG against. When they won it had always been by at least two goals and on all but one occasion by three; all five of their defeats were by a single goal. But perhaps that’s the definition of Spursiness, the lily-livered Lilywhites who can turn it on with a swagger when the going is good, but who cannot deal with a scrap.

The expected points table had them fourth. But before getting too carried away, it’s worth pointing out that Fulham, who started the day a point behind Tottenham, were second in that particular table with the second-lowest xG against in the league. Which given they contrived to lose 4-1 at home to Wolves last weekend suggests they are not entirely without a touch of Spursy unpredictability themselves. In that regard, a draw was perhaps the predictable outcome.

Without the ill Dominic Solanke, and with Kulesevski left on the bench after playing the full 90 against Roma on Thursday, Son had to be shunted into the centre. That makes it harder for Spurs to hold possession and means they will always be at their most effective playing on the break when there is space behind the opposing defence to attack. As a result, their threat was extremely limited, although Radu Dragusin had a header tipped over by Bernd Leno and James Maddison hit the post with a clever free-kick under the wall.

Having shaded the first half, Fulham dominated the early stages of the second, Forster keeping out back-post efforts from Issa Diop and Iwobi. And then, with absolutely no warning, Tottenham took a 57th-minute lead, Brennan Johnson left weirdly unmarked to slam in his 10th of the season from Timo Werner’s cross.

The 10 minutes before that had arguably been Spurs’ worst 10 minutes of the season – including the capitulation at Brighton. Was this a side finally learning to win in adversity? It was not. Iwobi cut the ball back and Cairney slammed in the equaliser from the edge of the box.

The draw keeps Spurs above Fulham in the table, but there was little doubting who was the better side on Sunday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou said that everybody would love to be as self-assured as James Maddison, not least some of his other players at Tottenham, as he reflected on the vice-captain’s importance to the collective.

It felt as though Maddison had a point to prove at Manchester City last weekend when he returned to the XI after two Premier League matches as a substitute and he proved it, scoring the first two goals in the 4-0 win.

Maddison was typically to-the-point in his post-match assessment, saying that if he went through “tough spells of having two games out, I’m at the age now where I’m able to go and show you that this team is much better with me in it”.

In other words, he was not happy to have been on the bench against Aston Villa and Ipswich; he had come on in the former to score with a free-kick to seal the 4-1 victory. Spurs, who host Fulham on Sunday, lost 2-1 against Ipswich.

“Yeah, I get that [Maddison was unhappy] but at the same time, I’m not in the happiness business,” Postecoglou said. “They are all here to help us be successful whether you’re playing or not because sometimes when you come on for 10 minutes you can help us change a course of our season.

“For me, you’re a member of this squad. No one is guaranteed anything. I don’t say to players: ‘You are going to play 55 games.’ It’s unlikely anyone will do that; in fact no one will. So if he misses a couple of games … he’s disappointed, that’s fine. What I am looking at is when you do play make your biggest possible impact and that’s what he did.”

Maddison’s confidence always shines through, whether on the pitch or in interviews. Remember his famous line about wanting to be the “main man”, even at family roast dinners.

“I don’t think he puts that on,” Postecoglou said. “He is genuine in that. He does have enormous self-belief, which is a great thing to have in life. We all want to have that self-confidence in whatever area we are involved in. He wants to be the catalyst for things. The challenge for Madders and all these guys is to turn that into a positive force where the team benefits as much as he does individually.

“I’m trying to give room for this team to grow and the individuals within it to grow and make more of an impact on each other as much as themselves. There are probably guys in the team who would love to have Madders’ self-belief in their own game and he can help in that area. His season has been pretty decent. He had a little bit of a flat spot, I think we did as a team as well, but he’s in a good space.”

Postecoglou omitted Maddison against Villa after the 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in the preceding league match when he and Dejan Kulusevski had started in central attacking midfield roles. Kulusevski has been Spurs’ player of the season and as such he is undroppable. Postecoglou reintegrated Maddison against City by moving Kulusevski to the right wing and it will be interesting to see where he plays the Sweden international against Fulham.

Postecoglou reported that Cristian Romero was unlikely to return from toe and hamstring problems on Sunday, although he did not definitively rule out the centre-half.

Contrary to expectations, it ended as a night for travelling veterans to display their staying power. These are the moments that explain why Claudio Ranieri stepped out of retirement and, although Tottenham had enough chances to take another step towards the Europa League knockout stages, they could not complain when Mats Hummels rescued a point for Roma at the end of a contest in which neither side took much interest in defending.

Spurs, who slipped outside the top eight despite taking a 2-1 lead at half-time thanks to Son Heung-min’s penalty and Brennan Johnson’s excellent goal, were guilty of a lack of control. Ange Postecoglou’s substitutions did not make his team better, although it still seemed that Ranieri’s return to London was heading for despair when Fraser Forster made a stunning stop from Gianluca Mancini’s volley during the dying stages.

Ranieri had spent the second half bouncing around his technical area, 73 years young, his team’s shoddy finishing driving him to distraction. Yet Roma, who remain in danger of an early exit after taking six points from five games, kept going and their spirit was typified by how Hummels recovered after his first start for the Italians began with him conceding a penalty and straining to live with a speedy Spurs attack.

No wonder Ranieri singled out the 35-year-old German centre-back for “fighting like a lion until the last second” after Hummels made it 2-2 by turning Angeliño’s driven cross into the net. “We should have killed it off earlier,” Postecoglou said. “It’s disappointing but we’re still in a good position.”

Exceptional in demolishing Manchester City last weekend and downright dozy in losing to Ipswich Town in their previous home game, it was impossible to know what Spurs would produce against opponents lying 12th in Serie A and already on to their third manager of the season.

Yet with Postecoglou making only four changes before the visit of Fulham on Sunday, clues soon materialised. A swift attack led by Dejan Kulusevski cut Roma apart and although Glenn Nyberg waved away cries for a penalty when Hummels clipped Pape Matar Sarr, the referee changed his mind after checking the pitchside monitor.

Behind to Son’s spot-kick, Roma turned to Paulo Dybala. The Argentinian, no longer the next big thing but still extremely dangerous, spurned an inviting chance and later tried to lob Forster from the halfway line. Yet when Angeliño volleyed a corner back towards the original taker, Ranieri may have wondered why he agreed to a third spell in charge of his boyhood club.

Still, Dybala was proving elusive – Forster had to thwart the forward – and Roma exerted control. Their 3-4-3 system troubled Spurs and the equaliser arrived in the 20th minute, the unmarked Evan Ndicka glancing Dybala’s free-kick into the far corner.

Now Roma, who were denied a lead when Stephan El Shaarawy’s goal was disallowed, were experiencing some of the magic Ranieri sprinkled over Leicester. Dybala was running the show and, but for Forster’s sharp reflexes, would have scored a solo goal.

Spurs responded, Johnson’s shot cleared off the line after poor goalkeeping from Mile Svilar. Then came Kulusevski, running on to a long ball down the left, pulling Hummels away from the centre. Hummels could not stop the Swede, who set up Johnson to score with an emphatic finish.

The goal unnerved Roma. They should have been further behind at half-time, only for Kulusevski to hit the woodwork and Son to blast the rebound over.

Spurs could only be encouraged by Dybala making way for Matías Soulé at half-time. But Roma started the second half well, Manu Koné dominating midfield, and it twice took the linesman raising his flag against Artem Dovbyk for offside to deny them a second equaliser.

Roma were having joy with their wing-backs pushing higher. Zeki Celik crossed for Angeliño, whose deflected volley hit the bar. Spurs had to wake up and Pedro Porro grazed the bar with a free-kick.

The action remained open, Koné placing a shot just wide. Roma were short of the accuracy required to beat Forster on the 36-year-old goalkeeper’s first outing deputising for Guglielmo Vicario, who faces a long layoff after breaking an ankle.

Ranieri’s frustration grew. He wanted Rodrigo Bentancur sent off for a scythe on substitute Alexis Saelemaekers. Spurs almost twisted the knife, but Solanke headed against a post.

Then nerves set in, Porro nearly gifting Dovbyk a goal, Forster denying Mancini. Spurs inched towards victory. With Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missing, though, their defence unravelled and Hummels had the final say.