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Did Spurs players refuse to applaud fans after Chelsea defeat? Video, 00:01:03Did Spurs players refuse to applaud fans after Chelsea defeat?

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On the face of it, Tottenham are having a good season.

After 10 Premier League games Thomas Frank's side find themselves in the Premier League's top four and unbeaten in the Champions League.

Yet results - and noticeably the mood of supporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - have gone south in recent weeks.

After Saturday's 1-0 home defeat by Chelsea - just as he does after every home game - Frank encouraged his players to do a lap of appreciation around the stadium.

As his players were booed off pitch, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence were caught on camera snubbing their manager and going straight down the tunnel.

"All the players are of course frustrated," Frank said of the incident. "They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform well, so I understand that.

"I think it is difficult to be consistent in good times and in bad times. That is why I went around to the fans as I did. It is more fun when we win, I can tell you that."

When pushed on the reactions of Van de Ven and Spence and if their response was acceptable, he added: "I think that is one of the small issues. We have Micky and Djed who are doing everything they can.

"They perform very well so far this season and everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, so I don't think it is a big problem."

After finishing 17th in the Premier League last season, Spurs began Frank's tenure with three wins and three clean sheets in four games.

The Dane has repeatedly said he wants to make Tottenham Hotspur Stadium "a fortress", but the loss to Chelsea means Spurs have won just one of five home games under him.

They have not won back-to-back league games since beginning the season with wins against Burnley and Manchester City, and have won just one of their past five games in all competitions since the October international break.

Poor home form is a continuation of a trend that started under Ange Postecoglou last season - Spurs have won just three of their past 19 home Premier League games (four draws and 12 losses), with no current top-flight side winning fewer home matches since 10 November, 2024.

In fact, in England's top four tiers, only Southampton have won fewer home games than Spurs in this period.

"There will be more questions of Thomas Frank after the game," former Premier League goalkeeper Rob Green said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I don't think he'll have learned anything after that because it was such an abject performance on the ball. They never gave themselves a chance. They never got better. No sustained pressure at home is just not good enough."

Former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports that the defeat was "one of the worst performances I've seen from Tottenham".

"That was as easy as it gets," he added. "If that was a boxing match I'd have stopped it. They never laid a glove on Chelsea. They made it so easy."

Fans echoed his sentiments as they made their feelings clear, with boos ringing out at the full-time whistle.

Frank said he understood the frustration of supporters but asked for patience while his side continues to develop.

"They [the fans] did everything they could to back us in a game that we didn't perform well in. Chelsea were better than us on the day," he said.

"There's no doubt, and I keep saying it, that we have a front four that is new. We have to build together with short turnarounds in games. We'll do that. I'm not in doubt that will happen.

"I think every team I've coached has scored a lot of goals. It will happen again in the future here."

Attack isn't Frank's only issue - only Wolves (four) have made more errors leading to opposition goals than Tottenham in the Premier League this season, who have made three along with Manchester United, Nottingham Forest & Fulham.

Tottenham have two opportunities to make amends at home in the next week, with games against Copenhagen in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Premier League.

After an abysmal league campaign last season, Frank has certainly brought improvement. But more is needed to improve both results and the mood in north London.

"I don't think I have been in a game where we have created that little," Frank told BBC Sport after his side finished Saturday's game with an xG rating of 0.05.

"There will always be positives but at the moment I'm struggling to see it."

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Tottenham remain third in the Premier League but the frustration among the fans was clear, with the players booed off at half-time and full-time, and particular anger raining down from the UK's largest single-tier stand, the 17,500-capacity South Stand.

The data explains the reaction. Thomas Frank's side registered an expected goals (xG) figure of just 0.05 - their lowest on record in a Premier League game.

Mohammed Kudus registered all three of their shots - one blocked, one over the bar and one saved.

It is remarkable that Xavi Simons, Richarlison, Randall Kolo Muani, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert all managed to feature without registering a shot of any kind.

Simons was so ineffective that, despite coming on as a substitute early in the match after Lucas Bergvall was forced off with a suspected concussion, he was taken off with 17 minutes remaining.

It felt as though only a Chelsea red card could have turned the game, because none of Frank's substitutions made an impact in a lacklustre display.

And, as Chelsea wrapped up a 10th win in their past 12 meetings, the Tottenham fans made their feelings known.

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Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has been speaking to BBC's Match of the Day following the home defeat: "I think we were second best. Chelsea were better than us, no doubt about that. I saw a lot of effort from the players, but not a good performance. We lacked the energy and intensity that you have to put into a game like this. We go 1-0 down and then we are chasing the game.

"I think we made so many simple passing mistakes and lost the ball too many times. It can be down to freshness and many other things.

"We can play at every pace that is needed. Today, slow or fast, it didn't work no matter what.

"There will always be positives but, at the moment, I'm struggling to see it."

On having a tight turnaround for their next fixture: "Yeah I think that's the thing. We need to get things freshened up and make sure the team is ready for Tuesday night."

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also spoke to Sky Sports about the performance: "A very tough night. It was a bad day for us, for sure. Of course you don't expect that when you play such a big game like this, but this is the reality. As a collective we played very badly. We have to park this game away and focus on next one because in two days we play again [against Copenhagen].

"I think we struggled in some situations during the game. Of course when you can't keep the ball in some situations to launch your attacks it is tough. Chelsea were better than us in terms of second balls and they kept the ball with more quality. They had a better game than us, that's the reality."

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Manchester United

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, speaking to BBC MOTD: "If I think about game, we lost control for five minutes. I feel in the recent past if we had had this situation (from 1-0 up and 2-1 down) we would have struggled so much more than today.

"My feeling is we played well but we dropped a little bit of energy. When we have the full energy we are the better team. My players are giving everything but we have the potential to do better.

"Sometimes we have these moments. In the end we lost two points and we need to get three points in the next game."

On goalscorer Amad Diallo: "Amad has a lot of talent. We have a lot of players who are young and talented. He can be so much better and be more consistent. You could see in first half he had some opportunities. He has potential to do better."

'My team and the boys have done incredibly well'

FT: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Burnley

Burnley boss Scott Parker, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We started the game very well today and you're right in what you say. We conceded a goal and the body language looked stunned. The game can run away against a very good side, a clinical side. We were brilliant in the second half. I thought we were right in the game and showed an impetus about us. The second half performance was a pleasing factor, really.

"Our season won't be defined on it, but we want to be competitive. In the first half, maybe we lacked some belief about us. We caused Arsenal some real problems in the second half. I felt we had an edge and a confidence about us. We'll take positives.

"In set plays, you're relying on a lot of things. I don't think there's anything critical regarding our structure and setup. They've got a mentality and fear about them when they come into the box, there's a real threat there. We dealt with the majority of them.

On points total: "I would have taken it. This team is going in the right place. My team and the boys have done incredibly well. We've come off the back of some tough fixtures. We'll keep improving and going towards that goal."

'Brighton were deserved winners today'

FT: Brighton 3-0 Leeds

Leeds United

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke speaking to Sky Sports: "Brighton were the better side and deserved to win today. You can talk about the 50-50 possession for both teams and we had more corner kicks.

"But you have to be honest to say that out of their possession, they created more chances and were more clinical and for that they deserved to win this game.

"Today as a team and individually, it was not our best game offensively. We were not able to create more in an away game where we had a lot of possession. We created more corner kicks and wide area free-kicks, but the quality of the deliveries were not great.

"It happens sometimes that the attack doesn't have the best of days. It's frustrating. Sometimes it happens that the other side is just better. It was definitely not our day today and we have to accept the defeat."

On facing Nottingham Forest next: "Each and every game delivers an opportunity. There are 38 games and we have to win one point on average each game to stay in this league. We have to prepare ourselves in the best possible way. That will be what we will try to do away at Nottingham."

'The worst performance from my team'

FT: Fulham 3-0 Wolves

Wolves

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Maybe the worst performance from my team. Maybe the worst technically, tactically, physically. We suffered. I never saw my team playing in the level we can play, the level we showed in the last game. I don't know if we didn't recover. I changed players to find energy. 11v11 it was a mistake when we conceded the goal. After the red card, it was very difficult for us. Now, [I'm] trying to understand and we need to have a conversation to understand how it's possible to play we did in the second half of the last game and then today."

On how worrying the performance was: "It's difficult. After two days we played at a different level. We are not showing consistency. This is something that maybe mentally. Today, to be honest, we were not at our level."

On how fans chanting 'you're getting sacked in the morning' makes him feel: "Today I'm not proud about our work. I don't need anybody to judge my work, I judge my work, I judge myself. I know my team can play at a better level. Today it was not the case. Everyone must assume responsibility."

On whether he worries he won't get the time to turn things around: "I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about my team. What we showed today, we need to talk about it. I cannot accept what we did today."

You could sense Spurs fans were turning on their team

Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea

Nizaar Kinsella

BBC Sport Chelsea reporter

You could hear the frustration when defender Djed Spence passed it back to Guglielmo Vicario at the end of the half.

That frustration, in my view, seems to be about the lack of attacking play from Tottenham having had just one shot on goal of any kind in that first half.

So far, the defensive tactics have not worked, and for this club playing at home, they have to work otherwise it feels like an approach which is against Spurs's "to dare is to do" philosophy.

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Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea

Ohhh, Rodrigo Bentancur you're a lucky boy.

The Argentine stops a Chelsea counter with a late challenge on Reece James.

The referee could have played advantage but blew the whistle, which sparked a confrontation between the two sets of players.

Bentancur ends up getting a yellow as the challenge was not deemed to have excessive force.

James, who spent most of the time on the floor recovering from the challenge, thought he was then booked for asking for a red card but it turns out it was team-mate Trevoh Chalobah that went into the book.

This is always a bit of a grudge game because the two sets of fans don't really like each other.

Chelsea need the result more, and they also have a much better record in this fixture, but their home defeat against Sunderland was another example of how flaky they are at the moment.

Tottenham have made the better start to the season but it still feels like there is more to come from them when their injured players come back, which won't happen this week.

I don't really know which way to go with my prediction, so I'm going to go for a draw. I feel like I'm turning into AI.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1