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PGMOL chief Howard Webb believes it was right for Moises Caicedo to avoid a red card against Tottenham during Chelsea's 4-3 victory on Sunday.

The Chelsea midfielder faced no disciplinary action for his first-half lunging challenge on Spurs' Pape Matar Sarr after the collision was checked by VAR.

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WHAT THE OFFICIALS SAID:

Assistant Referee 1: "Give a free-kick, give a free-kick. I don't think it's full stand-on-foot, I think it's partial, I don't think it's full."

VAR: "Comes into the tackle. Catches him at a glancing blow and then down onto the floor. I don't think there's any evidence for serious foul play. I don't think he goes through him with excessive force."

HOWARD WEBB'S VERDICT:

"A yellow card should have been shown, in the end Caicedo received no disciplinary action for that action. I think he's actions were reckless. For me it's not a red card. For me this is a situation where Caicedo goes to swing to kick a ball which is kicked away from him by Pape Sarr.

"That swinging action continues into the leg of Sarr. It comes off really quickly, slow motion can sometimes distort reality. For me that's reckless, not serious foul play because it's not excessive force, it doesn't endanger the safety of Pape Sarr.

"At full speed there's no real energy coming through his foot into the shin. It comes off really quickly so there's not an exertion of force through into an opponent's leg which would do the damage. It hits his leg and comes off quickly. For me, it should be a yellow card for a reckless action."

Should Brentford have won appeal for Norgaard challenge?

Incident: Christian Norgaard was sent off during Brentford's 0-0 draw at Everton following a challenge on Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford while attempting to score in the six-yard box. Following a successful appeal from Brentford, Norgaard avoided a three-match ban.

WHAT THE OFFICIALS SAID:

Assistant Referee 1: "Give a defensive free-kick, Norgaard catches Pickford."

Referee: "Yeah, he's just gone to play the ball."

VAR: "Delay, delay, Kav [Chris Kavanagh]. Delay, delay. I'm gonna recommend an on-field review for serious foul play."

Referee: "Leg clearly high, straightens the leg rather than bends it. Contact on the knee, serious foul play, red card."

WEBB'S VERDICT:

"I was surprised by the outcome of the appeal. Of course I respect the judgement of the panel but I would have expected them to see this the way I did, as an act of serious foul play when the studs go into the knee of Jordan Pickford and endangers his safety. I didn't agree with their judgement.

"I don't think Norgaard has gone in there to try to hurt Jordan Pickford in any way, he's gone to try and get onto the end of the ball. But to do that, stretch out with a raised foot, with studs exposed when there's an opponent in front of him. We [referees] have to deal with consequences. We have have to determine whether or not the actions have endangered an opponent's safety.

"When Norgaard does do that, he's obviously hoping to get the ball but there's a risk associated with it. There's quite a lot of force going into a vulnerable part of the body, there's a risk he inherits when he lunges in that way. When he fails to make contact with the ball and makes contact with Pickford in this way the consequences are Pickford's safety is endangered, therefore it's an act of serious foul play. I do sympathise with him but we're here to protect player safety."

Why Stephens' Cucurella hair pull was deemed violent conduct?

Incident: Jack Stephens was shown a red card following a VAR check after tugging Marc Cucurella's hair in the box.

WHAT THE OFFICIALS SAID:

Assistant Referee 1: "I don't know what's gone off there."

Referee: "I'm not sure there's any contact at all. Jack Stephens kind of flicks out a little hand, but I'm not sure there's any contact."

VAR: "Delay, delay, delay Tony [Harrington] checking possible violent conduct. It's a clear hair pull."

Referee: "It's a pulling of the hair, red card Jack Stephens."

WEBB'S VERDICT:

"The laws of the game don't go into hair pulling but it does say that contact to the head or the face that's more than negligible is violent conduct.

"In terms of hair pulling there's an accepted position that if you tug someone's hair, you get sent off. It just crosses that line of acceptable behaviour on the field of play.

"If you pull someone's hair there's no reason to do that. I can't imagine that Jack Stephens will make that mistake again."

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Ange Postecoglou is not under pressure at Tottenham despite the recent poor run of results.

Spurs have suffered back-to-back defeats following the 4-3 home loss to Chelsea on Sunday, and have won only one out of their last five Premier League games since thrashing Aston Villa 4-1 before the last international break.

However, head coach Postecoglou, who retains a good working relationship with Spurs chair Daniel Levy, will get time in a hectic Christmas period to turn around his side's fortunes.

Jamie Carragher said on Super Sunday that Postecoglou would be out of a job by the end of the season if he continues to play the same type of football he has championed so far, but while the club acknowledges the recent run has been poor, injuries suffered to a host of first-choice players including centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have had a significant influence.

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Despite their stuttering league form, Spurs face Manchester United next week in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, while a win over Rangers on Thursday will put them in a strong position in the Europa League standings.

Postecoglou has also been involved in meetings with technical director Johan Lange about the potential to do business in the January transfer window to help improve the club's fortunes.

More to follow...

Carra: If Ange doesn't change he won't remain Spurs boss

Carragher believes Postecoglou must adapt his style if he is to remain Tottenham boss after suffering back-to-back defeats.

"Ange said how well they played [against Chelsea]. I can't imagine any Liverpool manager I played for - and we conceded four in a game - would say in the interview we played well. If you play this way you'll get the result like at Manchester City but you'd also get results like this one where you're 2-0 up. I've never got my head around managers saying we play a 'certain way and we will never change' - I think it started with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.

"This idea that wherever they play, they will play their way. But that was the best team I've ever seen. Pep Guardiola then had to change his Man City team who were winning the leagues every season, putting centre-backs at full-back. This idea that you can't change is alien to me. The game-state dictates how you play, not all the time but if you go away to a tough away ground you shouldn't play the same way as you do against a team at the bottom.

"There's this idea of playing a pure game and the Tottenham fans singing 'We've got our Tottenham back' but you won't win anything, you won't challenge.

"I wake up every morning hoping the sun is shining, so I can put some shorts and a T-shirt on but if it's raining, you put your coat on. You can't have this idea about playing one way, it won't work. If it doesn't change, he won't be here next season."

Redknapp: Spurs should prioritise Carabao Cup

Spurs are still in the hunt for a trophy under Postecoglou, with his side going well in the Europa League and looking forward to a Carabao Cup quarter-final this month at home against Manchester United, live on Sky Sports.

They will also fully expect to be in the FA Cup fourth round after being drawn away to non-League Tamworth next month.

Postecoglou said after the Chelsea game: "There's still plenty to play for us in terms between now and January just to make sure that we keep performing.

"I still sense within this squad there's a real kind of conviction in what we're doing, and if we maintain that, then we'll turn our season around and hopefully at some point we hit some smoother waters just in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment. Some of it's self-inflicted, but hopefully, we can get some more consistency."

Postecoglou claimed earlier this season he "always wins things" in his second year in charge and Jamie Redknapp believes that ending the club's 16-year trophy drought will be his priority amid an underwhelming league campaign.

Redknapp told Sky Sports: "They have to win a trophy - that's the stick they are beaten with. If they win a trophy this year it will give them confidence and belief that they can get top four.

"They need to change the history of this club. For too long they've had an attitude of not being successful and letting people down. Whereas if they win a trophy it will give Ange a bit of breathing space.

"They've got Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, they can win that. If you look at the winners of that trophy recently it's either been Man City, Man Utd or Liverpool. Winning that is more important than finishing top four.

"The owners may disagree, but it would be great for the fanbase and the players."

The former Spurs midfielder added: "For a Tottenham fan, they had [Antonio] Conte, who was pragmatic; they had [Jose] Mourinho - didn't work; they had Nuno [Espirito Santo] - didn't work here.

"Now you've got to the complete opposite [end of the] scale and for Tottenham fans for 10, 15 games last season, they thought, 'This is it, we've found it. This guy is going make us play beautiful football, expansive, we're going to win'.

"You've gone from one extreme to the other and it feels like we've said the same thing for the last 10 years of coming to watch Tottenham.

"I just don't know really which way they're going to go next because if you sack him, then where else do you go?"

Postecoglou's Spurs flatter to deceive again

Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

Postecoglou pointed to fine margins as his Tottenham team came out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller against Chelsea and a generous interpretation of events might conclude that he had a point. The same could be said of Spurs' season.

Six more points and they would be handily placed in fifth, one point behind Manchester City. A couple of wins from games against Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Bournemouth would have been enough. Or how about holding on to that two-goal lead at Brighton?

But the reality is that Postecoglou's Tottenham keep leaking those two-goal leads and they keep leaking points. It is not bad luck. It is beginning to feel like a consequence of the coach's mantra, one that prioritises style of play over navigating the game's nuances.

There was no hint of control even when gifted two goals by Marc Cucurella's early slips. The result is that as fine as those margins may be, Spurs now sit in the bottom half of the Premier League table after 15 games. They have lost more than they have won.

In fact, of the 17 teams that have been in the Premier League both this season and last, only two have lost more games in the competition than Tottenham since Christmas. Dominic Solanke arrived in the summer but the other additions were young prospects.

As a result, are the signs of progress imminent? For all the talk of trophies in the second season, maybe this is his Spurs. "Tottenham are so close to being a good side," said Carragher on co-commentary for Sky Sports. "But they always let you down.

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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher is back to assess the controversial moments from the weekend's action.

Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea

Dermot: 'Intensity' saves Caicedo from red

INCIDENT: Moises Caicedo appears to plant his studs into the shin of Pape Matar Sarr during Chelsea's 4-3 win at Tottenham. No foul is given at the time and a VAR review decides not to intervene.

DERMOT SAYS: "I think it's a yellow card. I can understand why Jamie Carragher thinks it's a red.

"I think he goes down, puts his foot into the ground and doesn't go through it - that's what saves him. If he catches him half-way up the shin, he's going to get a red card.

"What everybody's looking for now is intensity. Has he got it, has he got the momentum, has he gone through it. His boot comes down on the pitch, rather than his shin.

"That's what saves him."

Dermot: Not enough in Kulusevski elbow to warrant red

INCIDENT: Dejan Kulusveski catches Romeo Lavia on the side of the head with a raised elbow as the pair duel for the ball. Again, the incident goes unpunished despite a VAR check.

DERMOT SAYS: "I heard [the VAR] say it lacked the intensity, he didn't use his arm as a weapon, he didn't draw it back.

"The question you'd ask is why he has his arm up like that. Why's he running like that? It's a dilemma.

"I heard the VAR say he's got his arm up but he doesn't draw it back, he doesn't use it as a weapon. It doesn't have the intensity, as you say, the buzzword now.

"That was their reason - when you look at where [the referee] is and what he's seen, he was speaking to the VAR and if you look at the images now, he's looking straight at it.

"He sees what happens and will know how hard he's caught him. The images will then portray what he's said."

Dermot: Difficult to do more about Tottenham missiles

INCIDENT: As Chelsea players go across to take corners in front of the home end at Tottenham, paper used to make a pre-match display is thrown at their takers, causing delays on several occasions.

DERMOT SAYS: "The best thing to do is what they did do, which is try to sweep it away very quickly.

"The worst scenario is to have to suspend the game. When that happens, it invites people to do it more.

"It's not nice, it's not clever. It happened on both sides, the referee and assistant did as best they could to get rid of it and move on."

Crystal Palace 2-2 Man City

Dermot: Lewis red 'exposes' issue over second yellows

INCIDENT: Rico Lewis is shown a second yellow card in Man City's draw at Crystal Palace, despite appearing to be trodden on by Trevoh Chalobah.

DERMOT SAYS: "When you see that, you'd say yes - but looking at it close up, it's unlucky.

"He doesn't catch Chalobah, it's the other way round. He's paid a heavy price for the earlier yellow card.

"When you see it as the referee sees it, I understand why he's sent him off, it looks like a lunging challenge.

"But it does expose that you can't change second yellows."

'No second-yellow review was to reduce stoppages'

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher on whether second yellow cards should be reviewed by VAR:

"At the moment, VAR is evolving. Whether that will come, I don't know.

"There was the [Carlos] Baleba one the other week, which everyone thought wasn't a yellow card.

"It might gather ground but at the moment it's impossible.

"I think it's the amount of stoppages [which have stopped it being brought in]. It will evolve, we're in a better place than we were five years ago."

Dermot: No argument over Palace final whistle

INCIDENT: Rob Jones blows the final whistle at Selhurst Park with Jeremy Doku looking to counter-attack from a Crystal Palace corner.

DERMOT SAYS: "He blows up very early, doesn't he? They're 70 yards from goal.

"I don't see a lot of argument here. He's got so far to travel with the ball and the ref's got to blow the whistle at some point.

"He's looking to blow in a safe period. It's 70 yards from goal and I don't see anything other than that being a safe period."

Fulham 1-1 Arsenal

Dermot: VAR did well to take time over Saliba goal

INCIDENT: William Saliba's Arsenal equaliser at Fulham is awarded after a VAR check, having initially looked offside following Kai Havertz's header to tee him up.

DERMOT SAYS: "If you remember the infamous Arsenal-Brentford game, where the VAR gave up on the decision, they took a little bit longer here.

"They explained to the referee here that it would take a bit of time to check and get the lines on. It took a little bit of time but they got it right."

Jamie Carragher believes Ange Postecoglou must adapt his style if he is to remain Tottenham boss after suffering back-to-back defeats following a 4-3 home loss to Chelsea.

The Australian claimed his side "played well" in the defeat, which saw his side blow a two-goal lead as Spurs gave away two rash penalties to allow their London rivals to come back.

A second loss in four days after Thursday's 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth has seen Tottenham drop to 11th in the Premier League, seven points off the top four and they have just one win in their last seven games in all competitions.

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Speaking after the loss to Chelsea, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "It's a sore one. Painful.

"We started really well and then we lose Cristian Romero - nothing has run smoothly for us and we have to reshuffle before they get a goal. I thought we had big moments to get a third. Second-half was a ding-dong and we had a big chance with (Heung-Min) Son to swing the game our way. Then the two penalties weren't great on our behalf - we need more discipline in the box.

"We didn't play well against Bournemouth but we played well today. They're a good side. A top team. We got disrupted in key moments and the key moments decided the game.

"When we are playing our football we are tough to stop and we need to maintain our discipline. There was no need for them as the game was in the balance. When you play these top teams these momentum shifts can happen quickly."

But Postecoglou's comments have caused alarm for Carragher, who believes the 59-year-old is in danger of losing his job if he does not change his attacking style of play.

Indeed, in his 53 Premier League games in charge, Tottenham have both scored and conceded in 36 of them (68 per cent) - only Ossie Ardiles' games had a higher ratio of seeing both sides score (69 per cent).

Carragher told Sky Sports: "Ange said how well they played. I can't imagine any Liverpool manager I played for - and we conceded four in a game - would say in the interview we played well. If you play this way you'll get the result like at Manchester City but you'd also get results like this one where you're 2-0 up. I've never got my head around managers saying we play a 'certain way and we will never change' - I think it started with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.

"This idea that wherever they play, they will play their way. But that was the best team I've ever seen. Pep Guardiola then had to change his Man City team who were winning the leagues every season, putting centre-backs at full-back. This idea that you can't change is alien to me. The game-state dictates how you play, not all the time but if you go away to a tough away ground you shouldn't play the same way as you do against a team at the bottom.

"There's this idea of playing a pure game and the Tottenham fans singing 'We've got our Tottenham back' but you won't win anything, you won't challenge.

"I wake up every morning hoping the sun is shining, so I can put some shorts and a T-shirt on but if it's raining, you put your coat on. You can't have this idea about playing one way, it won't work. If it doesn't change, he won't be here next season."

Redknapp: Spurs should prioritise Carabao Cup

Spurs are still in the hunt for a trophy under Postecoglou, with his side going well in the Europa League and looking forward to a Carabao Cup quarter-final this month at home against Manchester United, live on Sky Sports.

They will also fully expect to be in the FA Cup fourth round after being drawn away to non-league Tamworth next month.

Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference: "There's still plenty to play for us in terms between now and January just to make sure that we keep performing.

"I still sense within this squad there's a real kind of conviction in what we're doing, and if we maintain that, then we'll turn our season around and hopefully at some point we hit some smoother waters just in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment. Some of it's self-inflicted, but hopefully, we can get some more consistency."

Postecoglou claimed earlier this season he "always wins things" in his second year in charge and Jamie Redknapp believes that ending the club's 16-year trophy drought will be his priority amid an underwhelming league campaign.

Redknapp told Sky Sports: "They have to win a trophy - that's the stick they are beaten with. If they win a trophy this year it will give them confidence and belief that they can get top four.

"They need to change the history of this club. For too long they've had an attitude of not being successful and letting people down. Whereas if they win a trophy it will give Ange a bit of breathing space.

"They've got Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, they can win that. If you look at the winners of that trophy recently it's either been Man City, Man Utd or Liverpool. Winning that is more important than finishing top four.

"The owners may disagree, but it would be great for the fanbase and the players."

The former Spurs midfielder added: "For a Tottenham fan, they had [Antonio] Conte, who was pragmatic; they had [Jose] Mourinho - didn't work; they had Nuno [Espirito Santo] - didn't work here.

"Now you've got to the complete opposite [end of the] scale and for Tottenham fans for 10, 15 games last season, they thought, 'This is it, we've found it. This guy is going make us play beautiful football, expansive, we're going to win'.

"You've gone from one extreme to the other and it feels like we've said the same thing for the last 10 years of coming to watch Tottenham.

"I just don't know really which way they're going to go next because if you sack him, then where else do you go?"

Postecoglou's Spurs flatter to deceive again

Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

Postecoglou pointed to fine margins as his Tottenham team came out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller against Chelsea and a generous interpretation of events might conclude that he had a point. The same could be said of Spurs' season.

Six more points and they would be handily placed in fifth, one point behind Manchester City. A couple of wins from games against Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Bournemouth would have been enough. Or how about holding on to that two-goal lead at Brighton?

But the reality is that Postecoglou's Tottenham keep leaking those two-goal leads and they keep leaking points. It is not bad luck. It is beginning to feel like a consequence of the coach's mantra, one that prioritises style of play over navigating the game's nuances.

There was no hint of control even when gifted two goals by Marc Cucurella's early slips. The result is that as fine as those margins may be, Spurs now sit in the bottom half of the Premier League table after 15 games. They have lost more than they have won.

In fact, of the 17 teams that have been in the Premier League both this season and last, only two have lost more games in the competition than Tottenham since Christmas. Dominic Solanke arrived in the summer but the other additions were young prospects.

As a result, are the signs of progress imminent? For all the talk of trophies in the second season, maybe this is his Spurs. "Tottenham are so close to being a good side," said Carragher on co-commentary for Sky Sports. "But they always let you down."

Jamie Carragher believes Ange Postecoglou must adapt his style if he is to remain Tottenham boss after suffering back-to-back defeats following a 4-3 home loss to Chelsea.

The Australian claimed his side "played well" in the defeat, which saw his side blow a two-goal lead as Spurs gave away two rash penalties to allow their London rivals to come back.

A second loss in four days after Thursday's 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth has seen Tottenham drop to 11th in the Premier League, seven points off the top four and they have just one win in their last seven games in all competitions.

Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea: Report and highlights

As it happened | Teams | Match stats

Live Premier League table | Watch free PL highlights

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Speaking after the loss to Chelsea, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "It's a sore one. Painful.

"We started really well and then we lose Cristian Romero - nothing has run smoothly for us and we have to reshuffle before they get a goal. I thought we had big moments to get a third. Second-half was a ding-dong and we had a big chance with (Heung-Min) Son to swing the game our way. Then the two penalties weren't great on our behalf - we need more discipline in the box.

"We didn't play well against Bournemouth but we played well today. They're a good side. A top team. We got disrupted in key moments and the key moments decided the game.

"When we are playing our football we are tough to stop and we need to maintain our discipline. There was no need for them as the game was in the balance. When you play these top teams these momentum shifts can happen quickly."

But Postecoglou's comments have caused alarm for Carragher, who believes the 59-year-old is in danger of losing his job if he does not change his attacking style of play.

Indeed in his 53 Premier League games in charge, Tottenham have both scored and conceded in 36 of them (68 per cent) - only Ossie Ardiles' games had a higher ratio of seeing both sides score (69 per cent).

Carragher told Sky Sports: "Ange said how well they played. I can't imagine any Liverpool manager I played for - and we conceded four in a game - would say in the interview we played well. If you play this way you'll get the result like at Manchester City but you'd also get results like this one where you're 2-0 up. I've never got my head around managers saying we play a 'certain way and we will never change' - I think it started with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.

"This idea that wherever they play, they will play their way. But that was the best team I've ever seen. Pep Guardiola then had to change his Man City team who were winning the leagues every season, putting centre-backs at full-back. This idea that you can't change is alien to me. The game-state dictates how you play, not all the time but if you go away to a tough away ground you shouldn't play the same way as you do against a team at the bottom.

"There's this idea of playing a pure game and the Tottenham fans singing 'We've got our Tottenham back' but you won't win anything, you won't challenge.

"I wake up every morning hoping the sun is shining, so I can put some shorts and a T-shirt on but if it's raining, you put your coat on. You can't have this idea about playing one way, it won't work. If it doesn't change, he won't be here next season."

Redknapp: Spurs should prioritise Carabao Cup

Spurs are still in the hunt for a trophy under Postecoglou, with his side going well in the Europa League and looking forward to a Carabao Cup quarter-final this month at home against Manchester United, live on Sky Sports.

They will also fully expect to be in the FA Cup fourth round after being drawn away to non-league Tamworth next month.

Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference: "There's still plenty to play for us in terms between now and January just to make sure that we keep performing.

"I still sense within this squad there's a real kind of conviction in what we're doing, and if we maintain that, then we'll turn our season around and hopefully at some point we hit some smoother waters just in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment. Some of it's self-inflicted, but hopefully, we can get some more consistency."

Postecoglou claimed earlier this season he "always wins things" in his second year in charge and Jamie Redknapp believes that ending the club's 16-year trophy drought will be his priority amid an underwhelming league campaign.

Redknapp told Sky Sports: "They have to win a trophy - that's the stick they are beaten with. If they win a trophy this year it will give them confidence and belief that they can get top four.

"They need to change the history of this club. For too long they've had an attitude of not being successful and letting people down. Whereas if they win a trophy it will give Ange a bit of breathing space.

"They've got Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, they can win that. If you look at the winners of that trophy recently it's either been Man City, Man Utd or Liverpool. Winning that is more important than finishing top four.

"The owners may disagree, but it would be great for the fanbase and the players."

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