Tottenham limped out of a second cup competition in the space of four days after Ange Postecoglou’s side were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth-round.
Aiming to respond to Thursday’s 4-0 defeat at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final decider, Spurs trailed inside a minute when Jacob Ramsey’s fierce effort squirmed through Antonin Kinsky’s hands.
Morgan Rogers doubled Villa’s lead just after the hour but Spurs gave themselves a glimmer of hope when full debutant Mathys Tel halved the deficit in the first minute of stoppage-time.
Here are three Spurs talking points from the match….
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Dreadful week leaves Spurs fighting on one front
For weeks, Tottenham have been looking to this four-day stretch and the games against Liverpool and Aston Villa as the route to saving their season.
While Spurs remained in both domestic cups, it was possible to remain optimistic and defer judgement on their results, even as they plummeted down the table.
But Villa condemned Spurs to a second grim defeat this week after Thursday’s Carabao Cup thumping at Liverpool to leave their season hanging on the Europa League.
Win that competition and the campaign will have been a tremendous success but fail to do so and it will have to be considered a miserable failure, even by Spurs’ recent standards.
Naturally, the question is whether Postecoglou will get the chance to lead Spurs all the way in Europe after a rough week intensified the pressure on the head coach.
If Daniel Levy’s calculation was to ignore the league form and give Postecoglou the cups, the manager is in trouble.
If, though, Levy has decided that Postecoglou deserves to be judged when his injury crisis has finally eased, the Australian should get the opportunity to benefit from a rare free week ahead of next weekend’s visit of Manchester United.
It felt significant that a section of the away end at Villa Park turned their frustrations on their team at points in the first half, booing loudly after Youri Tielemans had strolled forward and fired an effort just wide of the post and restoring to gallows humour for long periods.
They also, as usual, vented at Levy but it is not positive for Postecoglou that supporters appearing to be losing faith in his team, as well as the board.
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Woeful Spurs cannot blame injuries alone
Through the winter, there has been a huge caveat to Spurs’ dreadful form: their unprecedented injury crisis. The injuries are the biggest reason for Spurs’ slump but they cannot wholly explain their lack of conviction at Anfield, nor their performance for long periods here.
Villa could and really should have been out of sight by half-time, as Unai Emery’s side squandered a hatful of chances to add to their 58-second lead. Spurs’ midfield was utterly non-existent in the first 45 minutes, Villa beating the press with ease and practically strolling to the edge of Spurs’ box.
The final scoreline flattered Spurs, who had goalkeeper Kinsky to thank for a string of fine saves following his early mistake to gift Villa the lead.
Postecoglou’s front three, meanwhile, struggled to hold up the ball or link up effectively, although Tel took his goal well after switching with Son and moving up front – suggesting he might have been more effective if he had started at centre-forward.
There is no doubt that Postecoglou is desperately short of options (his one available attacker on the bench was Damola Ajayi, a 19-year-old with a few minutes of senior football to his name) and his available players are exhausted and low on confidence.
There is still a case, however, that Postecoglou should be getting more from his depleted squad. Injuries can explain their struggles to be effective in the press but not Spurs’ lack of shape and belief. These are among the issues that the manager must fix.
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A well-taken goal for Tel on his full debut was a silver lining for Spurs and a boost for the teenager, who had otherwise struggled to make an impact on the game.
The Frenchman escaped his marker to cutely volley Dejan Kulusevski’s past Emi Martinez and give Spurs a glimmer of hope going into stoppage-time.
With Dominic Solanke still some way from fitness and Richarlison set for a spell on the sidelines, Spurs could do with Tel settling quickly and his goal will only help.
The loanee should now get a chance to start through the middle against United next weekend and he alone should go into the match with confidence.
Tel’s flicker was a reminder that Spurs, who started four teenagers, have a bright future, even if their present feels bleak.
