The Sun

ANGE POSTECOGLOU launched a scathing attack on Timo Werner following his no-show against Rangers - just DAYS after promising not to publicly bash his players.

The Germany international was one of Tottenham's senior players in their Europa League clash with the Scottish giants at Ibrox on Thursday night.

But the former Chelsea man failed to make any impact and was hooked at the half-time interval, with his performance prompting a furious reaction from his manager.

After the match, an irate Postecoglou said of Werner: "He wasn't playing anywhere near the level he should.

"When you've got 18-year-olds [playing], it's not acceptable to me and I said that to Timo. He's a senior German international.

"The moment we're in right now, it's not like we've got many options.

"I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves.

"His performance in the first half wasn't acceptable."

When asked how Werner took the hooking, Postecoglou said: "[I] don't really know, it's not really of great concern.

"We need everybody, including him, to be contributing.

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"Because we don't have the depth to leave people out if they're performing poorly.

"We need them to play their part, especially the senior guys.

"When I'm asking younger guys to do massive jobs, I expect a level of performance from some of the senior guys and today wasn't that."

Postecoglou's dressing down of Werner came just TWO DAYS after the Aussie said he wouldn't slam his players in public.

He said: "A lot of what he said was good, [but] some of what he said wasn't right and shouldn't be done in the public.

"I also believe that these things - we deal with them within our sort of four walls.

"Because there are always issues that we need to deal with.

The same way I wouldn't publicly criticise a player or anybody else, I don't think that we should be doing that in the public sense."

Postecoglou replaced Werner - who has only scored three goals and provided six assists in 33 appearances for the club - with Dejan Kulusevski.

And the Swede had the desired effect in the 75th minute, cancelling out Hamza Igamane's strike and rescuing a point for the visitors.

Spurs will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, travelling to St Mary's to take on Southampton.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU was looking decked on his Glasgow return – and then up stepped Decky.

Dejan ‘Decky’ Kulusevski, to be specific, who came off the bench to rescue his boss with a late leveller that chalked off Hamza Igamane’s opener.

But ex-Celtic chief Postecoglou survived the Ibrox bear pit thanks to another old Bhoy in Fraser Forster, who pulled off a stunning late stop to deny Cyriel Dessers.

Defeat would have plunged Postecoglou’s injury-hit Spurs further into crisis.

And while they were by no means convincing here, the main thing is they came away unbeaten and with something to build on.

Postecoglou claimed on Wednesday that the injury crisis crippling his squad is the worst he has ever faced “by a fair stretch”.

Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero joining Ben Davies on the treatment table - along with Guglielmo Vicario, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and Richarlison - left him perilously short at centre-back.

It meant 18-year-old Archie Gray, a boyhood Celtic fan due to his family’s love of the Bhoys, started in the middle of defence alongside last-man-standing Radu Dragusin.

The great-nephew of Scotland legend Eddie Gray is a defensive midfielder by trade.

But he has been largely used at full-back by Postecoglou and here was drafted into the middle.

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Gray’s Celtic allegiances did not appear to be widely known among the Gers fans, judging by his reception.

But Fraser Forster’s certainly were and he was roundly booed throughout.

Forster, in for the injured Guglielmo Vicario, had his best years at Celtic Park, including a magnificent performance to help beat Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in 2012.

The 36-year-old has deputised well during Vicario’s absence and made another smart stop early doors here to tip over Nedim Bajrami’s effort.

But while Forster looked sharp, his out-field team-mates seemed sluggish.

Twice Gray attempted to dribble up field and play a ball round the corner, only to surrender possession with a poor pass.

Pedro Porro was equally guilty of giving the ball away, sparking a Gers’ attack with one such lazy delivery which ended with Mohamed Diomande blasting well over.

While the less said about Timo Werner’s attempt to trap Fraser Forster’s pinpoint long ball the better.

Postecoglou had opted to play his out-of-form captain Son Heung-min through the middle and leave £65million striker Dominic Solanke on the bench,

But luckless Son struggled to impose himself on the Philippe Clement’s backline, which lost centre-back John Souttar to injury ten minutes before the interval.

This was a throwback game for former England stoppers, with Jack Butland in nets for the hosts and Forster for Spurs.

Butland’s kicking out from the back looked suspect but he made a brilliant stop to deny Brennan Johnson from close range, even if the offside flag would have bailed the ex-Stoke keeper out anyway.

Spurs were poor but Rangers looked toothless, even if Forster did pull off another decent stop to keep out Vaclav Cerny’s drive just before the break.

Postecoglou had a point about his lengthy absentee list but it was not as if the side he put out here was lacking in quality.

But the volume of games recently and the inability to rotate had left them looking tired.

One player who looked bereft of confidence – and quality, in honesty – was Werner.

So it was no surprise to see him hooked at the break with player of the season Kulusevski sent on to breathe some life into Postecoglou’s sleepy side.

Yet they failed to wake up in time to stop Igamane coolly slotting home James Tavernier’s delivery two minutes into the second half.

That sent Ibrox potty – with a number of the diehard fans literally bouncing behind Forster’s goal.

It could have been worse ten minutes later too were it not for Diomande’s low effort deflecting the wrong side of the post.

In between, Brennan Johnson had a golden chance to level but steered a cutback wide, much to Postecoglou’s frustration on the sidelines.

That proved to be Johnson’s last meaningful action as on the hour as he was hooked as part of a triple sub that saw Dominic Solanke, Pape Sarr and 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall sent on.

Spurs looked to be heading for a first defeat for an English team to a Scottish side in 18 years.

But then when Solanke sent a ball across the box which James Maddison shielded, there was Kulusevski to fire home a leveller.

It got Postecoglou out of jail – even if his struggling side were anything but convincing on the ground of his auld enemy.

RICHARLISON has announced he is to become a father with his partner pregnant.

The Tottenham Hotspur star and Amanda Araujo made the announcement on social media.

Richarlison, 27, shared the news on Instagram with a collection of pictures of himself and Amanda.

In the snaps they can be seen posing with ultrasound pictures as well as a baby-sized pair of flip flops.

He captioned the post: "Now there are 3 of us."

The happy couple were congratulated on their pregnancy by fans.

One posted: "Congrats to you to! Such wonderful news."

A second wrote: "Congratulations bro, God bless you."

A third commented: "Little Pombo is coming."

A fourth said: "Mini pigeon is coming."

Another added: "That's right my brother! God bless too much."

Amanda has studied law at a private university in Sao Paulo Brazil.

They were spotted for the first time together in July 2023 when they holidayed with friends in Brazil.

Amanda has been a supportive partner to Richarlison during his injury troubles in North London.

Last November she flew over to see him after he underwent groin surgery.

He is still struggling with injury issues and has only featured in seven matches this season.

The forward has not played since he withdrew from action against Aston Villa in November.

CHELSEA have been flying under the radar in the Premier League this season.

But Sunday's stunning comeback from two goals down to beat Tottenham 4-3 has left many asking: Have the Blues entered the title race?

After a pretty underwhelming first season at Stamford Bridge, it seems as though £107m signing Enzo Fernandez has finally been unlocked by Enzo Maresca.

Here, our tactical expert Dean Scoggins — from SunSport YouTube show Tactics Exposed — dissects how Chelsea shook things up to deliver another classic at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A TALE of two Enzos saw the Chelsea manager make a tactical switch when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was down receiving treatment.

Many thought the tweak occurred after Romeo Lavia was removed at half-time, but it actually came once Chelsea went 2-0 down.

It saw Blues captain Fernandez start to drop back in into the inside left position to give Chelsea an alternative out ball.

Spurs missed a flurry of chances, with Son Heung-min the main culprit, before Jadon Sancho's 20-yard goal gave the visiting fans hope in the 18th minute.

But the solution came when goalscorer Fernandez dropped into a much deeper role and Chelsea abandoned their usual box shape.

Once Malo Gusto replaced Lavia, the Blues dropped into a back-four allowing Fernandez to pick the ball up deeper next to Moises Caicedo.

The Argentine had 23 touches - the most touches of any player - and provided more forward passes while being tasked with switching play.

He's usually the furthest forward midfielder, but in their new shape he came much deeper to collect the ball.

TAKE nothing away from Sancho's exquisite strike, but the Man Utd loanee's goal doesn't get scored without Fernandez's run.

It came moments after his fellow Argentine team-mate Cristian Romero went down injured and was replaced by Radu Dragosin.

Fernandez started the move inside his own half after receiving the ball from Sanchez and played it wide while continuing his run down the pitch.

He then dragged Dragosin out of the way while Sancho came inside and smashed it in the far corner past Fraser Forster.

Yes, it's a little naive from Dragosin who didn't communicate well enough with Pedro Porro - but the run was clever.

JUST like Dimitar Berbatov and Teddy Sheringham, Fernandez is a master at reading the game.

Just when everybody is running in one direction, he knows when to stop, which opened up space for his stunning goal.

Tottenham were, quite rightly, primarily interested in stopping Cole Palmer on the ball, so Fernandez waited for room to open up for him.

The Argentine earned his luck when Palmer's pass deflected in his path because he waited for the space.

WHO would you pick to save your life by scoring a penalty? It's hard not to go with Palmer. In fact, I'd like to see a better taker.

The England star's Panenka saw him break the Prem record for the most spot kicks with a 100 per cent strike rate by netting 12 out of 12.

He overtook former Man City ace Yaya Toure on Sunday, as well as the likes of Berbatov and Alan Shearer.

And it's not luck - the angle run up is the same with every spot-kick, but his placement differs.

BELIEVE it or not Levi Colwill often has the most touches of any Chelsea player - but he fell victim to Dominic Solanke.

Solanke led from the front and sprung Spurs forward in their early attacks by his clever off-ball movement

The 27-year-old's run for his goal makes him a worthy successor to Harry Kane.

The former Bournemouth striker's growing connection with Brennan Johnson came off after Marc Cucurella slipped.

Solanke looked to his left to take Colwill away before changing direction with an inward darting run across the Chelsea defender to collect the ball and shoot.

He repeated those zig-zag actions for the rest of the game, and could've scored again if only for better deliveries from Son.

That's the Ange Postecoglou tactic. It's balls passed into the inside channels and fast crosses. And so they'll do that all the time.

CRISTIAN ROMERO appeared to aim a dig at Tottenham chiefs as he claimed the club "could easily" compete for the title.

The defender pointed to investment from other clubs and how that has improved results on the pitch.

Chelsea, who came from behind to beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday, are one example Romero pointed to.

Romero was forced off in that clash just 15 minutes into his return from a toe injury as he felt a problem in his thigh.

The Argentine has now voiced his concerns at Spurs and hinted the problem does not lie with the players or the manager.

As reported by talkSPORT, he said: "The truth is, I would say no comment, but… Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn't do well, strengthens again, and now they're seeing results.

"Those are the things to imitate. You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

"The last few years, it’s always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it's always the same people responsible.

"Hopefully, they realise who the true responsible ones are, and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year."

Pressure is growing on boss Ange Postecoglou with Spurs languishing in 11th after just one win in five Premier League games.

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But after his side threw away a 2-0 goal lead against Chelsea, it was midfielder Yves Bissouma who shouldered the blame for the defeat after he gave away a penalty for Blues' third goal.

He wrote on social media: "I'm so sad for that mistake. It's burning me because we lost the game today from this mistake.

"I feel sorry for my teammates, staff, and fans. I take all the responsibility for that one.

"l'll learn from this one. It's time now to show the real me.

"Thanks for all the support."

Here's how the Blues players rated...

Robert Sanchez - 4

The home fans were on to him for the entirety of the first half after he lumped the ball out of play early on.

Not an awful lot he could've done about the goals, and he did recover well in the second half.

Moises Caicedo - 6

Chelsea's best defender on the day, he put in some strong challenges inverting into midfield and put in a solid performance once again.

Fortunate to escape a card for a late challenge on Pape Matar Sarr, before a brilliant second half.

Benoit Badiashile - 4

Looked uncomfortable playing as a left-footed centre-back on the right-hand side.

Often didn't help Robert Sanchez by playing him into trouble, and looked awkward when trying to progress from the back.

Levi Colwill - 6

Allowed Solanke to get in front of him and finish brilliantly at the near post for the opening goal.

Didn't have an awful lot to do in the second half, which was perhaps a good sign, as the whole defence was improved.

Marc Cucurella - 4

Slipped at the vital moment to practically set Spurs through and open the scoring within five minutes, before slipping AGAIN which saw Kulusevski double the lead.

Recovered really well after swapping his ice skates for football boots, nabbing the assist for Sancho's goal and giving a solid showing for the whole second half.

That said, he has to be marked down for the two goals.

Romeo Lavia - 8

Energetic, strong and smooth on the turn in midfield, with some brilliant line-breaking passes too.

Much the same as Caicedo, he is becoming a dependable, impressive body in the Chelsea midfield.

Came off at half-time for Malo Gusto, which must have been a tactical switch.

Enzo Fernandez (c) - 9

Didn't misplace a single one of his 28 passes in the first half, the same as Lavia - before adding a stunning, game-winning, left-footed volley to his myriad of impressive actions.

His best game in a Chelsea shirt came in one of their biggest matches of the season, as he continues his remarkable run of goal contributions.

Pedro Neto - 7

A threat on the right wing in the first half for Chelsea, he pressed well and came close to scoring Palmer's deflected effort.

A constant danger, he was creative but slightly lacked in end product if you're being critical.

Cole Palmer - 9

Mis-kicked a chance in the first twenty minutes you would usually bet your house on him scoring, before coming close again with a shot from range moments later.

Calmly dispatched his equalising penalty into the bottom corner, before setting up Enzo Fernandez to put his side in the lead.

Added the cherry on the Chelsea cake with an ice-cold panenka from the penalty spot.

Jadon Sancho - 8

Excellent finish to pull one back for the Blues and spark hope among supporters.

Generally sharp in build-up, and tricky feet as always, with a great slide-rule pass to see Caicedo win the penalty for Chelsea's equaliser.

Nicolas Jackson - 6

Looked a threat going forward for Chelsea in spells, but failed to get himself on the scoresheet on this occasion.

Seemed troubled as he departed the pitch for the oncoming Christopher Nkunku.

SUBS…

Malo Gusto (Romeo Lavia, HT) – 5

Was more direct and definitely an improvement on Malacia, albeit on the opposite flank.

However, still wasn't able to be the difference which Ruben Amorim would've been looking for in this one.

Christopher Nkunku (Nicolas Jackson, 76)

Got in some good positions and pressed well, remaining an outlet for the Chelsea attack when they countered.

Ultimately not enough time to have the impact he would've liked.

Noni Madueke (Pedro Neto, 86)

Not enough time to impact the game in any way.

Renato Veiga (Marc Cucurella, 90)

Not enough time to give a solid review, hardly touched the ball.

Here's how the Blues players rated...

Robert Sanchez - 4

The home fans were on to him for the entirety of the first half after he lumped the ball out of play early on.

Not an awful lot he could've done about the goals, and he did recover well in the second half.

Moises Caicedo - 6

Chelsea's best defender on the day, he put in some strong challenges inverting into midfield and put in a solid performance once again.

Fortunate to escape a card for a late challenge on Pape Matar Sarr, before a brilliant second half.

Benoit Badiashile - 4

Looked uncomfortable playing as a left-footed centre-back on the right-hand side.

Often didn't help Robert Sanchez by playing him into trouble, and looked awkward when trying to progress from the back.

Levi Colwill - 6

Allowed Solanke to get in front of him and finish brilliantly at the near post for the opening goal.

Didn't have an awful lot to do in the second half, which was perhaps a good sign, as the whole defence was improved.

Marc Cucurella - 4

Slipped at the vital moment to practically set Spurs through and open the scoring within five minutes, before slipping AGAIN which saw Kulusevski double the lead.

Recovered really well after swapping his ice skates for football boots, nabbing the assist for Sancho's goal and giving a solid showing for the whole second half.

That said, he has to be marked down for the two goals.

Romeo Lavia - 8

Energetic, strong and smooth on the turn in midfield, with some brilliant line-breaking passes too.

Much the same as Caicedo, he is becoming a dependable, impressive body in the Chelsea midfield.

Came off at half-time for Malo Gusto, which must have been a tactical switch.

Enzo Fernandez (c) - 9

Didn't misplace a single one of his 28 passes in the first half, the same as Lavia - before adding a stunning, game-winning, left-footed volley to his myriad of impressive actions.

His best game in a Chelsea shirt came in one of their biggest matches of the season, as he continues his remarkable run of goal contributions.

Pedro Neto - 7

A threat on the right wing in the first half for Chelsea, he pressed well and came close to scoring Palmer's deflected effort.

A constant danger, he was creative but slightly lacked in end product if you're being critical.

Cole Palmer - 9

Mis-kicked a chance in the first twenty minutes you would usually bet your house on him scoring, before coming close again with a shot from range moments later.

Calmly dispatched his equalising penalty into the bottom corner, before setting up Enzo Fernandez to put his side in the lead.

Added the cherry on the Chelsea cake with an ice-cold panenka from the penalty spot.

Jadon Sancho - 8

Excellent finish to pull one back for the Blues and spark hope among supporters.

Generally sharp in build-up, and tricky feet as always, with a great slide-rule pass to see Caicedo win the penalty for Chelsea's equaliser.

Nicolas Jackson - 6

Looked a threat going forward for Chelsea in spells, but failed to get himself on the scoresheet on this occasion.

Seemed troubled as he departed the pitch for the oncoming Christopher Nkunku.

SUBS…

Malo Gusto (Romeo Lavia, HT) – 5

Was more direct and definitely an improvement on Malacia, albeit on the opposite flank.

However, still wasn't able to be the difference which Ruben Amorim would've been looking for in this one.

Christopher Nkunku (Nicolas Jackson, 76)

Got in some good positions and pressed well, remaining an outlet for the Chelsea attack when they countered.

Ultimately not enough time to have the impact he would've liked.

Noni Madueke (Pedro Neto, 86)

Not enough time to impact the game in any way.

Renato Veiga (Marc Cucurella, 90)

Not enough time to give a solid review, hardly touched the ball.

YVES BISSOUMA has taken full responsibility for Tottenham's defeat to Chelsea.

Spurs were beaten by the Blues in the Premier League 4-3 at home on Sunday.

The North London outfit had raced into a two-goal lead before the visitors pulled off a stunning comeback.

Jadon Sancho fired in a brilliant goal before Chelsea were handed the opportunity to level proceedings.

Bissouma, 28, was penalised for a reckless foul on Moises Caicedo in the Spurs box in the 59th minute.

Cole Palmer converted the chance to equalise before he and Enzo Fernandez scored to make it 4-2.

Son Heung-min netted a late consolation, but by then, the result was Chelsea's.

After the game, Bissouma took to social media to apologise to fans as he was "burning" by his error.

He wrote: "I'm so sad for that mistake. It's burning me because we lost the game today from this mistake.

"I feel sorry for my teammates, staff, and fans. I take all the responsibility for that one.

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"l'll learn from this one. It's time now to show the real me.

"Thanks for all the support."

Jamie Carragher slammed the midfielder on Sky Sports for his foul and labelled the decision as "braindead".

He said: "I've said all day that some of the things Tottenham players do is absolutely ridiculous.

"It's a certain penalty, and it was his [Bissouma's] mistake initially on the far side, losing the ball to Neto.

"And he maybe comes flying across thinking I've got to try and rectify this in some way.

"He was really poor on the first challenge on Neto. That is absolutely braindead. I mean, who'd be a manager?"

Palmer's brace of penalties in the match saw him break a Premier League record.

He has now scored 12 spot-kicks in a row, which has surpassed Yaya Toure's record of 11.

Spurs started the game in fine form as they took advantage of Marc Cucurella's poor boot choice to go two goals up.

During the match, Palmer had to contend with being pelted with cards from the home crowd.

Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson was also involved as he stopped Fernandez landing himself a yellow card after his goal.

UGLY scenes erupted in the stands in Tottenham's heated home derby with Chelsea.

Some Blues' supporters were escorted out following their exuberant celebration of a Jadon Sancho goal.

Meanwhile, Chelsea heroes Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez were pelted by objects thrown from home supporters.

Tottenham fans reacted furiously to the antics from a few of their Chelsea counterparts after Sancho cut the visitors' deficit to 2-1.

Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulesvski had netted inside the first 11 minutes to leave Spurs flying.

But Sancho cut in from the left to fire home a low shot in off the post.

And the loanee from Manchester United continued to menace Spurs down the same flank.

Only Fraser Forster denied him early in the second period.

Palmer and Fernandez earlier had to delay taking set-pieces as missiles rained down.

Tottenham stewards intervened to quell the troublemakers in the stands.

England attacker Palmer was happy to laugh off the animosity.

And he later ignited more wild rejoicing - with a penalty equaliser on 61 minutes.

Fernandez too then took his own revenge - putting Chelsea in front with a screamer.

Palmer scores his second penalty of the game with a cheeky Panenka on 84 minutes for 4-1, before Son scored Tottenham's third as it ended 4-3 to the visitors.

Supporters of the two clubs have clashed in the past.

And that apparent acrimony has at times also extended to the dugouts.

Two years ago then-Chelsea chief Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, who managed Spurs three years after bossing the Blues, were caught up in an unsightly exchange over a handshake.

CHELSEA's stars were pelted by missiles from Tottenham's fans as they lined up to take corners.

Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez had to delay taking their set-pieces as pieces of card rained down on them.

Tottenham's stewards intervened to calm the fans down, while removing the objects from the pitch.

It is believed the card came from the tifo used before the game.

As Palmer lined up for a corner towards the end of the first half, it got far worse.

The game had to be momentarily halted as stewards remonstrated with fans.

Palmer, to his credit, laughed and smiled off the animosity shown his way.

But Blues fans had the last laugh - chanting “it’s happened again it’s happened again, Tottenham Hotspur it’s happened again.”

Tottenham raced into a two-goal lead - before a monumental collapse ended with a 4-2 home defeat.

Tottenham fans have previous when it comes to missiles hitting Chelsea players.

Back in 2022, Antonio Rudiger appeared to be struck by missiles in ugly scenes involving a section of away supporters at Stamford Bridge.

udiger appeared to be targeted by Spurs fans in a fiery London derby.

The Germany international could be seen turning towards away fans as an object was thrown in his direction.

A Spurs spokesperson said: "With regards the Rudiger incident, we will work with Chelsea to review the footage and take any appropriate action."

London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea's fans share a bitter relationships.

And if it's not the fans, it's their managers too.