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LONDON -- After weeks of attritional football had a section of the Tottenham Hotspur fans pining for the cavalier approach on display in the early days of Ange Postecoglou's reign, Thomas Frank's side turned on the style on Tuesday to blow away FC Copenhagen 4-0 in north London.

Despite their objectively positive start to the season, discontent has been simmering in N17 with the home support demanding the free-flowing attacking football the club has always valued. Last weekend's meek 1-0 defeat to Chelsea marked Spurs' fourth home game in a row without a win and caused frustration to boil over.

Indeed, the talk leading into this one was around Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence's apparent snub of Frank in the immediate aftermath of the defeat on Saturday and whether it was a sign of frustration within the camp.

So what better timing for Spurs that for their next game to be against Copenhagen? The Danish side have never beaten an English team away from home in any competition, and they have claimed just two wins from their last 21 away games in the Champions League proper.

That said, Spurs were fully deserving of the big win as much-maligned stars of recent weeks came to the fore in a second-half attacking binge headlined by Van de Ven's astonishing solo goal that served to lift the mood in north London.

Even Brennan Johnson's unfortunate red card and Richarlison's missed penalty couldn't dent the party atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

The result leaves Spurs unbeaten from their first four league phase matches and looking well-set for a place in the knockout stage.

Spurs' attacking intent rewarded with goal blitz

After amassing an xG of just 0.05 against Chelsea -- the lowest in Spurs' recorded Premier League history -- Thomas Frank will have known that putting on a coherent attacking display in this game was almost as important as the result.

Spurs fans' insistence on attacking football is perhaps unmatched in England. That is not to say they don't appreciate the odd backs-to-the-wall battle for a result, but as soon as it becomes a pattern, they will voice their displeasure.

Weeks of stodgy performances reached a nadir with Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. If Frank needed a sign that putting on a coherent attacking display in this game was almost as important as the result, he only needed to look at the host of empty seats around the ground for what was an intriguing enough Champions League tie.

Spurs made sure to prove that the fans' concerns had been heeded against Copenhagen as more complex attacking combinations and a much-improved high press had the visitors on the back foot from the start.

A moment of true quality from Simons got Spurs going before Randal Kolo Muani's Zinedine Zidane-esque first touch set up Wilson Odobert to double Spurs' lead after the interval.

After being served up such thin gruel in recent weeks, the Spurs fans were then able to feast on a truly special solo effort from Van de Ven and a quickfire fourth from substitute João Palhinha as all of Frank's prayers were answered.

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Simons, Kolo Muani make their mark

Simons and Kolo Muani have endured a rocky start to their Spurs careers after moving to north London just three days apart at the end of the transfer window.

Simons arrived knowing Spurs had initially hoped to sign Morgan Gibbs-White or Eberechi Eze as their creative spark, but after being forced to turn to the high-pedigree Dutchman, many predicted Frank had actually ended up with the best of the three.

But Simons' struggles with adjusting to the physical nature of modern-day English football has left him looking every inch a third-choice option in the early weeks of his Tottenham career.

He was not alone in looking out of his depth in the Chelsea defeat last weekend, but he was alone in suffering the ignominy of being brought off after having been sent on as a substitute, albeit he had been introduced in the seventh minute after Lucas Bergvall suffered a concussion.

His perfectly-weighted through ball for Johnson's opener on Tuesday served to release the tension that had been building in the wake of three home games without a win.

Simons could have had another assist after some delvilish interplay with Wilson Odobert, but Kolo Muani flashed wide of the near post. Having missed a free header that would have sent Spurs into half-time just minutes later, the Frenchman will be wondering how he is yet to get off the mark for his new team.

But, Kolo Muani had his moment in the sun when he chased down goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski's attempted clearance and effortlessly killed the loose ball as it dropped, allowing him to lay on Odobert for an easy finish in the 51st minute.

Van de Ven says sorry in style

For Spurs fans, there is perhaps no more electrifying sight than watching Van de Ven thunder across the pitch in full flight to deny an opposition attacker.

The only thing better, it turns out, is watching him hammer the ball into the net after a near 75-yard tilt towards the south stand. It was a goal instantly reminiscent of Son Heung-Min's Puskas award-winning strike against Burnley in 2019.

In that game, Jan Vertonghen played a simple five-yard pass to Son deep inside the Spurs half before the South Korean sped through the Burnley team and dinked a finish over the goalkeeper.

Five years and 11 months since Son's goal entered Spurs folklore, here it was again -- this time with a typically Van de Ven twist.

Gone was the pitter-patter of Son's quick feet as he dinked his way past the defenders, replaced here by the long strides of the rampaging centre-back.

Apart from a brief cut to the left to evade the challenges of two scrambling defenders, Van de Ven ran in a straight line from box to box before finishing with a satisfying thwack into the bottom corner.

That he pulled off the feat a few days after apologising to Frank for refusing to join his manager and his teammates for a lap of appreciation for the home fans on Saturday, served to repair all lingering tensions between the centre-back and the Spurs faithful.

Key stats

Brennan Johnson became the first British player to get sent off and score in a Champions League match

Johnson snapped a 10-game scoreless streak with club and country. Tuesday's goal was his second in his last 16 games. The 10-game stretch was his longest goal drought since a 16-game run April - Sept. 2024.

The 4-0 win was the joint second largest winning margin for Spurs in the Champions League.

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story

Thomas Frank has said that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence have apologised after the duo appeared to ignore him in the immediate aftermath of Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

"Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday unprompted to say sorry. It was not their intention to be disrespectful. They were just frustrated," Frank told a news conference on Monday.

João Pedro's 34th-minute strike gave Chelsea a thoroughly deserved win against a toothless Spurs team in north London and Frank's side were booed by a frustrated home crowd at the final whistle.

Spurs managed just three shots in the match and recorded an xG of 0.05 -- their lowest in a Premier League game since records began in the 2012-13 season.

As Frank entered the pitch to do a customary lap of appreciation, Van de Ven and Spence appeared to ignore their manager's request to acknowledge the supporters as they headed straight down the tunnel.

LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has played down an apparent show of dissent from Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence as he lamented the worst attacking display of his managerial career.

Spurs lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea on Saturday as João Pedro's 34th-minute strike gave the Blues a thoroughly deserved win.

Tottenham fans booed their team off at the final whistle before Van de Ven and Spence appeared to ignore their manager's request to acknowledge supporters.

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As the pair went straight down the tunnel, Frank applauded fans to a mixed reaction.

"I understand why you ask the question, but I think that is one of the small issues," Frank said of the incident.

"We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence 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.

"All the players are of course frustrated. 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 about which 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."

Spurs mustered just three shots in the match and recorded an expected goals figure of 0.05 -- their lowest-ever in a Premier League game since records began, dating back 504 matches to the 2012-13 season.

"I would say that, of course, hurt massively," said Frank. "I've never been in charge of a team that created that little in one game, never. So that, of course, I will look into what we can do to make it better. But I think that's one thing. I think everything is a little bit linked. And today we didn't hit the level."

Spurs dropped to fourth place in the table after Liverpool's victory over Aston Villa but Frank vowed his team will improve as he looks to integrate new attacking signings Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani.

"Today was one snapshot that didn't look good," said Frank. "I think there have definitely been other spells that have been better. 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.

"It is extremely painful and of course that is part of the job to face you guys now and answer the very good questions when you just are burning inside. And you like to find solutions, watch the game back and see what went wrong, but I think it's about trying to stay calm."

Saturday marked almost two years to the day since Tottenham Hotspur were hammered 4-1 in this same fixture against Chelsea -- only then, Spurs fans chanted their manager's name at the final whistle.

At the time, Tottenham supporters were "loving Big Ange instead" as Ange Postecoglou's high-line, high-risk style had those in attendance marvelling at the chaotic unpredictability of it all.

Tottenham's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday was greeted with a chorus of boos at both the halftime and fulltime whistles for Spurs manager Thomas Frank. His own players, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence, appeared to ignore his request to stay on the pitch and walked straight down the tunnel.

As Frank made a point of applauding fans afterwards, some appeared to be aiming some choice words in his direction.

"All the players are of course frustrated," Frank said. "They would like to do well, they would like to win, to perform well. I understand that. It is important to be consistent in good times and bad times. That's why I went around to the fans as I did. It is more fun when we win, I can tell you that."

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Pushed on the Van de Ven and Spence snub, Frank continued: "I understand why you ask the question but I think that is one of the small issues. We have Micky Van de Ven and Djed Spence, the two are doing everything they can, they have performed very well so far this season. Everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way so I don't see that as a big problem."

To give Postecoglou his due, the November 2023 game was his first defeat as Spurs boss, which left them second in the Premier League table. Yet even after losing here, Tottenham left the pitch in third place, above Chelsea on goal difference.

Style is an important quality in these parts, and the biggest issue here was Spurs' lack of attacking cohesion.

It would be customary in these circumstances to suggest they ran out of ideas but the alarming thing for Frank is they didn't appear to have many to start with.

The importance of "expected goals" stats is sometimes overplayed but nobody could argue with the stark picture it painted here: Spurs' xG of 0.05 was their lowest-ever in a Premier League game since records began, dating back 504 games to the 2012-13 season.

"I would say that of course hurt massively," said Frank. "I've never been in charge of a team that created that little in one game. Never. So, that of course I will look into what we've been doing. That's one thing. Everything is a little bit linked."

Spurs had three shots in the match, conceded João Pedro's 34th-minute winner after two mistakes playing out from the back and were indebted to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for a string of fine saves to keep the score down. Substitute Jamie Gittens blazed over a glorious late chance which would have given the scoreline the slant Chelsea deserved.

There are underlying reasons and mitigating factors to the hostility Frank experienced.

Some fans did not want Postecoglou to depart after last season, despite a dreadful league campaign after delivering the club's first trophy in 17 years by winning the Europa League in May. And it stands to reason that if the shift towards Postecoglou's extreme playing style was marked, the return journey cannot be considered without complications.

Furthermore, Frank is open about the lack of fluidity Spurs currently possess, partly due to injuries to key players including James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski but also their summer transfer window issues which saw them miss out on Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze before acquiring Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani late in the window.

They were further disrupted by losing Lucas Bergvall after just seven minutes due to concussion protocols, which prompted his withdrawal. Bergvall wanted to continue but he staggered in concerning fashion on the touchline and the correct decision was quickly made.

Simons came on to resume the challenge he is so far struggling with: injecting creativity to a team lacking inspiration.

And Frank has inherited a troubling home record which stretches back over a year. Spurs have now played 20 league games at this stunning home stadium and won just four.

Their efforts here extended to dropping the usual 10-minute pre-match video montage and allowing the crowd to build an atmosphere organically. It didn't yield the desired outcome because what Spurs lacked from open play, they compounded with some awful set-piece delivery.

Rising frustration in the second half could be charted through a series of dead-ball situations. On 64 minutes, Pedro Porro played a free kick to Mohamed Kudus who played it back to him. Another pass went out wide and the ball went out of play. Cue anger in the stands.

Five minutes later, Porro overhit a free kick straight into Robert Sánchez' arms. More anger. On 87 minutes, Kudus hit a corner which Sanchez claimed easily. Another opportunity to play forward saw Vicario play it short to Spence, who played it back to Vicario and the Italian launched the ball forwards to Sanchez. And in the game's final act, Spence hoofed it upfield aimlessly for Sanchez to gather again.

The boos were deafening. Without departed chairman Daniel Levy to act as a focal point for such fury -- which he did for so many years -- the fans took aim at the team and Frank.

For Chelsea, Caicedo was excellent once again, winning the ball twice for Pedro's goal, leading Maresca afterwards to declare that "him and [Manchester City's] Rodri are the two best defensive midfielders in the world" right now. The Blues are now up to fourth and Caicedo's contribution to that achievement is profound.

Chelsea teams in years gone by came to the old White Hart Lane and won so often they nicknamed it 'Three Point Lane.' This is, then, in some senses a familiar feeling but one Spurs were supposed to banish as they aim to compete for the biggest prizes on an annual basis.

The task of plotting a path to that place now lies with Frank and this was an awkward early reminder of the longstanding frustration after years of falling short.

Spurs vs. Chelsea (1 Nov, 2025) Live Score  ESPN United Kingdom

It's a new month, and there's another new weekend of action across Europe!

Saturday kicked off in the Premier League with two big clashes as league leaders Arsenal won 2-0 at Burnley to go seven points clear at the top of the table, while Manchester United were denied a fourth straight win with a topsy-turvy 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest.

Next, we have a London derby as Tottenham Hotspur play host to Chelsea. Elsewhere, reigning champions Bayern Munich play host to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga (stream LIVE on ESPN+ in the U.S.).

Enjoy all the updates from across the continent.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has been handed a triple injury boost after Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert were all declared fit for Saturday's Premier League visit of Chelsea.

Romero has been sidelined since pulling out of Spurs' clash with Aston Villa on Oct. 19 with a hamstring problem while Udogie suffered a knee injury while away on international duty with Italy.

Odobert missed Tottenham's midweek Carabao Cup fourth round defeat at Newcastle with a side strain but Frank said: "Romero, Destiny and Wilson are available for selection tomorrow.

"If Romero was fit enough, he would have been involved Wednesday. He's ready to be involved tomorrow. Let's see how much."

However, Dominic Solanke will not return until after the international break as his fitness problems continue.

The 28-year-old has only featured twice this season due to ongoing ankle problems which required a minor operation in September.

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"We're very aware that when we get Dom back, we hopefully, touch wood, have him back and no setbacks," Frank said.

"We are very aware of doing it the right way. It's going in the right direction, he will not be available before the international break. So that's the status right now."

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman announced his retirement from football to pursue a career as a film director and photographer.

Whiteman, 27, joined Spurs aged 10 and spent 16 years at the club until his contract ended last summer.

In that time, he made just one appearance for the first team, replacing Joe Hart after 82 minutes in a Europa League victory over Ludogorets on 5 November 2020.

Having been part of the squad that won the Europa League last season, Whiteman retires with a European winner's medal.

He was a mascot for Tottenham aged six, before joining the club four years later.

Whiteman spent 18 months on loan at Swedish outfit Degerfors between August 2021 and December 2022, making 34 appearances in the Allsvenskan.

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He earned 17 caps for England at youth level, with his final involvement as a Tottenham player celebrating the Europa League triumph as the club ended its 17-year trophy drought.

Whiteman made the decision post-Tottenham not to continue playing football but to retire from the sport and move to a new career.

He has joined production company Somesuch and is also a resident DJ with NTS Radio.

Mikel Arteta has suggested Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke could all return for Arsenal's north London derby clash against Tottenham on Nov. 23.

The trio have all suffered knee problem with Ødegaard sidelined since October 4, Madueke since September 21 and Havertz since the opening weekend of the season.

The Gunners face three away games in a week prior to November's international break, starting with a Premier League trip to Burnley on Saturday.

Gabriel Martinelli will miss the game at Burnley with a knock while William Saliba is being assessed due to an unspecified issue.

Gabriel Jesus is also stepping up his rehabilitation after undergoing knee surgery in January and asked for an update on the quartet, Arteta said on Friday: "I would say weeks, and some of them pretty soon, hopefully, if they keep evolving the way they are doing.

"Difficult to put a game, you know, that we have the international break, which is a two-week break there. And after that, I think we'll have some back.

"I don't know if it's going to be all of them, some of them, but we'll be quite close by then."

Pushed on whether he was hopeful Madueke, Ødegaard and Havertz could be available to face Spurs, Arteta continued: "Yeah, I'm excited because they are tremendous players. I see them work every single day, how desperate they are to be part of the team.

"The huge boost that is going to be for the squad to have and those players again, after such a long, long time, so really happy that I think it's going to be very soon."

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Arsenal are top of the league after eight straight wins in all competitions. They have conceded just three goals all season and are now the bookmakers' favourites to win the league title for the first time since 2004.

However, Arteta warned his squad not to be distracted by title talk. "We have to focus on the journey and what we have to do every single day, fixing the outcome," he said.

"Of course we want to win it and the preparation is towards that. Great. Now we have set all the protocols, processes, ambitions, everything.

"Now you have to focus on what you have to do, if not you get distracted with the rest. I don't want any of that in and around the team."

Appearing to reference Son Heung-Min's miss as Spurs were beaten by Manchester City in May 2024 -- a pivotal moment as City pipped Arsenal to the 2023-24 title -- Arteta added: "At the end you learn that the margins at the end to achieve it or not are multiple.

"So it can be that an opposition player is one against one against the keeper, he scores that goal, you are champion. The other keeper saves it you are not champion.

"It can be other injuries, it can be other decisions, it can be a mistake of mine, it can be that many factors that we cannot control that outcome or we can control it while we can do the best. That's it."

Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in what is the start of what could prove a difficult run, with Manchester United and Arsenal up next.

Spurs enter this game in shaky form, having only won one of their last four games in all competitions. They have also been extremely poor at home in the Premier League this season, picking up four points in four home league games.

After beating Burnley at home on the opening day, Spurs have drawn with Wolves, and lost to Bournemouth and Aston Villa at home. On Wednesday, they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup after losing 2-0 to Newcastle United at St. James' Park.

Their opponents, Chelsea, have some form correction to do of their own.

Chelsea went through to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals, but not without dramas, as they beat Wolves 4-3 in an eventful game at Molineux. Liam Delap was sent off late on, as Chelsea nearly let a 3-0 lead slip, before Jamie Gittens' stunning late strike sealed the win for them.

Enzo Maresca's team, though, have bouncing back to do in the Premier League. Last week, they let a 1-0 lead slip at Stamford Bridge before eventually conceding in second-half stoppage time to lose 2-1 to Sunderland.

Here's everything you need to know about the game.

How to watch:

The match will be available on Sky Sports in the U.K., Peacock in the U.S., Jio Hotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.

Key Details:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. ET; 11:00 p.m. IST and 3:30 a.m. AEST, Sunday)

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, North London

Referee: Jarred Gillett

VAR: Craig Pawson

Injury news:

Tottenham Hotspur

Ben Davies, D: muscle, OUT

Cristian Romero, D: muscle, DOUBT

Destiny Udogie, D: discomfort, DOUBT

Kota Takai, D: foot, DOUBT

James Maddison, M: ACL, OUT, est. return mid-Feb.

Yves Bissouma, M: ankle, OUT, est. return early-Nov.

Dejan Kulusevski, M: knee, OUT, est. return early-Nov.

Radu Dragusin, D: ACL, OUT

Dominic Solanke, F: ankle, OUT, est. return early-Nov.

Chelsea

Liam Delap, F: suspended, OUT

Benoit Badiashile, D: knock, OUT, est. return early-Dec.

Cole Palmer, F: groin, DOUBT

Dario Essugo, M: thigh, OUT, est. return late-Dec.

Levi Colwill, D: ACL, OUT, est. return late-Apr.

Expected Lineups:

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1)

GK: Guglielmo Vicario

RB: Pedro Porro | CB: Kevin Danso | CB: Micky van de Ven | LB: Djed Spence

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur | CM: Joao Palhinha

RW: Mohammed Kudus | CAM: Pape Matar Sarr | LW: Brennan Johnson

CF: Richarlison

Chelsea (4-2-3-1)

GK: Robert Sanchez

RB: Reece James | CB: Trevoh Chalobah | CB: Josh Acheampong | LB: Marc Cucurella

DM: Malo Gusto | DM: Moises Caicedo

RW: Pedro Neto | AM: Enzo Fernandez | LW: Alejandro Garnacho

FW: Joao Pedro

Stats:

Tottenham have won just one of their last 13 Premier League games against Chelsea.

Chelsea have won five of their six Premier League games against Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Chelsea have lost three of their last five Premier League matches, more than they'd lost in their previous 16 combined.

Thomas Frank has lost just two of his eight Premier League games against Chelsea.

Tottenham's Mohammed Kudus has made the most dribbles in the Premier League this season.

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