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Anthony Joshua has told Louis Theroux about a “massive” fight he had with “six guys” in the street, showing the journalist his scars in the process. Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, is the subject of the 7 November episode of Louis Theroux Interviews, in which “AJ” discusses his upbringing, boxing career and future plans. In the opening segment of the episode, Theroux asks the 34-year-old: “Can I see your hands? Are those little marks from boxing?” “Well, this one is,” Joshua replies, before Theroux adds: “What about on your knuckles?” “You know, funny enough...” Joshua begins. “I’m not a troublesome person, I’ll be honest with you – far from troublesome – but I used to get in fights, and my skin hasn’t healed too well. “So, this knuckle... I was going to get chicken one evening, and I ended up fighting six guys on my own. And that was just like massive – really good scrap. And I think this [one] is from the same time.” When asked if he ever put anyone in hospital, Joshua replies: “No, no, no, no. In a coffin. No, I’m joking!” In the latest episode of Theroux’s BBC programme, Joshua also discusses his career no longer being “fun” and his drug habits as a teenager in London. Much of the episode focuses on Joshua’s points win over Jermaine Franklin in April, when the Briton bounced back from two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk. AJ has since fought again, knocking out Robert Helenius in August. Louis Theroux Interviews: Anthony Joshua airs on BBC Two on Tuesday 7 November, starting at 9pm GMT. Read More Anthony Joshua reveals how much cannabis he smoked as a teenager Anthony Joshua admits his boxing career has stopped being ‘fun’ Eddie Hearn eyes up fight against Francis Ngannou for Anthony Joshua

The Football Association will not take any action against Alejandro Garnacho over the Manchester United winger’s use of gorilla emojis in a post about Andre Onana. Two weeks ago the goalkeeper produced a stoppage-time penalty save to secure a key 1-0 victory against Copenhagen in the Champions League group stage. Garnacho later uploaded a photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the United players celebrating with Onana, along with a caption featuring two gorilla emojis. The post was quickly deleted and the Cameroon international defended his team-mate, whom he said was trying to express “power and strength” and added: “This matter should go no further.” The FA has punished players in the past for making racial references on social networking sites but will not be taking any action against Garnacho. An FA spokesperson said: “We have concluded an investigation in relation to a recent post on Alejandro Garnacho’s social media. “We sought the player’s observations as part of our investigation, and he explained that the use of two gorilla emojis was intended to highlight the strength and power of his team-mates – specifically Andre Onana and Harry Maguire – following the pivotal roles that they played in Manchester United’s win over FC Copenhagen. “We are satisfied with Alejandro Garnacho’s explanation and the context that it provides, so we will not be issuing disciplinary proceedings on this occasion. (Garnacho) explained that the use of two gorilla emojis was intended to highlight the strength and power of his team-mates FA spokesperson “However, we have reminded the player of his responsibilities around social media posts and the use of emojis in particular which can be interpreted in different ways. “We also intend to liaise with Kick It Out and the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) to discuss other potential issues around the use of emojis and similar forms of messaging, and education that can be provided about them.” Garnacho has been included in the 23-man squad for the reverse fixture against Copenhagen at Parken on Wednesday evening. Read More Luton threaten to ban fans involved in ‘tragedy chanting’ during Liverpool match Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Spurs went down with flag held high but loss hurts a lot From Aguero winner to Keegan dismay, Spurs-Chelsea joins Premier League classics

An honest Anthony Joshua has told Louis Theroux that the days when boxing “was for fun” are “gone” for him. Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, is the subject of the 7 November episode of Louis Theroux Interviews, in which “AJ” discusses his upbringing, boxing career and future plans. In one emotional segment of the episode, Theroux asks Joshua about his second successive loss to Oleksandr Usyk, who took the unified heavyweight belts from the 34-year-old in 2021 before beating AJ again in 2022. After that second defeat, Joshua seized a microphone and ranted at the crowd in Saudi Arabia, while also throwing Usyk’s titles out of the ring. “It was like, ‘These don’t even mean anything anyway. What? I ain’t got them, so they don’t mean anything.’ That was the ego and pride coming out,” Joshua tells Theroux in the latest episode of the BBC programme. “‘I brought this heavyweight division back.’ “Right or wrong...” Joshua continues, before Theroux interjects: “Probably wrong, probably wrong. I don’t think anyone says it was the right thing to do.” Joshua replies: “You asked me a question, yeah? You asked me a question and I’m answering it. Could I have done it better? Of course I could have. “I felt frustrated and annoyed, I knew I was out of the title race, and then the questions started: ‘What is he like? Where’s his head at? Can he be three-time champion of the world?’ “People now create this narrative and put pressure on me. It’s, like, too much. Gone are the days when it was for fun, when you’re just doing it for the passion, [when] you’re a prospect.” Theroux then says to an emotional-sounding Joshua, “Let’s have a cup of tea. Are you alright?” to which the boxer replies: “Yeah, I’m feeling good, come to the kitchen.” Later in the episode, the pair return to the subject, with Joshua saying: “Yeah, [money] plays a part, but I’m passionate. This is all I know, this is what I dedicate my life to. “Do I want to get myself to the championship? I would love to. Am I gonna be smart in how I get there? Yeah. Do I know a lot more about boxing than I used to? A hundred per cent. Am I still trying to improve as a boxer? Yeah. ‘How come he doesn’t fight with the same passion that he used to?’ Because I’m a better boxer than I was then.” Elsewhere in the episode, Joshua relives a fight he had with ‘six guys’ who attacked him in the street. Joshua bounced back from his losses to Usyk by outpointing Jermaine Franklin in April. The Briton then knocked out Robert Helenius in August. Both fights took place at London’s O2 Arena. Louis Theroux Interviews: Anthony Joshua airs on BBC Two on Tuesday 7 November, starting at 9pm GMT. Read More Anthony Joshua relives fight with ‘six guys’ who attacked him in the street Eddie Hearn eyes up fight against Francis Ngannou for Anthony Joshua Betfred ads featuring boxer Anthony Joshua banned because of appeal to under-18s Fury vs Ngannou 2? Joshua vs Wilder? The heavyweight fights we need in 2024 Hearn makes bold Fury vs Joshua prediction after Ngannou win On this day in 2017: Anthony Joshua beats Carlos Takam to retain world titles

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are pushing for the Turkish Super Cup on 29 December to be played on home soil rather than Saudi Arabia. There has been public pressure for the game to be staged at home because it marks the centennial anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish republic. Saudi Arabia has moved in recent years to stage more international games and tournaments ahead of the men’s World Cup it is all but certain to host in 2034. Fenerbahce put forward a motion at a board meeting on Sunday for the Super Cup to be played at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, where last season’s Champions League final took place, or the Samsun 19 Mayis Stadium, the home of Samsunspor. The proposal was accepted unanimously, the club said. Samsun, on the Black Sea coast, is where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk launched the war of independence and went on to establish the Turkish Republic from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire on 19 Ocober 1923. The issue was also on the main agenda of a Galatasaray board meeting on Monday, with the club saying it wants the game played “in the Turkish homeland, which our ancestors won and protected with their blood, lives, ideas and wisdom.” The club want young people to “watch the match in the lands they own and experience this feeling within the borders of the Republic of Turkey in the 100th anniversary of our Republic, with national consciousness, regardless of which team they support.” The Super Cup is a match between the league champions (Galatasaray) and cup winners (Fenerbahce). It is currently due to be played at Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh. The Spanish and Italian Super Cups have also been held in Saudi Arabia in recent years. AP Read More Football rumours: Chelsea and Arsenal leading the race for Ivan Toney I know my worth – Rasmus Hojlund ready to build on promising start at Man Utd Erik ten Hag heaps praise on United goalkeeper Andre Onana after penalty heroics

António Costa says he has handed in his resignation during a meeting with the Portuguese president.

Former England captain Wayne Rooney has described his abuse of alcohol early in his football career as a “release”. The Birmingham manager appeared on the new podcast of ex-rugby league star and Motor Neurone Disease campaigner Rob Burrow, and opened up on the difficulties he faced in finding a way to deal with the pressure of fame as a young man. Rooney first broke into Everton’s senior side at the age of 16, became an England international at 17, and joined Manchester United at 20, but has said his high profile came with a cost. The 38-year-old told Burrow: “My release was alcohol when I was in my early 20s. I’d go home, and spend a couple of days at home and not leave the house. I’d drink almost until I’d pass out. “I didn’t want to be around people, because sometimes you feel embarrassed. Sometimes you feel like you’ve let people down and ultimately I didn’t know how else to deal with it. “When you don’t take the help and guidance of others, you can be really in a low place, and I was for a few years with that. Thankfully, now I’m not afraid to go and speak to people about issues.” Former Leeds Rhinos star Burrow and his wife Lindsey have launched a new series called Seven on the BBC’s The Total Sport podcast, in which they interview seven sporting greats and ask seven questions, with Rooney the first guest. Burrow uses AI technology and a computerised voice with a Yorkshire accent to communicate. Rooney said Burrow’s approach to the disease had inspired others. “I know first hand the impact this (illness) can have on yourself and people around you,” he said. “Everyone must change the way of living and I had that with my sister-in-law, who suffered not the same illness but something as severe. “But your energy and positivity helps everyone else around you. I can see the money you have raised for charity and to help others - it’s really inspiring.” Read More Ian McKellen and Wayne Rooney lead tributes to theatre producer and ‘great man’ Bill Kenwright Sir Bobby Charlton turned tragedy into triumph with unique style and perseverance Wayne Rooney appointed new Birmingham boss and teams up with ex-England team-mate I know my worth – Rasmus Hojlund ready to build on promising start at Man Utd Bill Kenwright: Theatre producer who went from terraces to boardroom at Everton Mikel Arteta doubles down on VAR comments and vows to ‘talk loudly’ after criticism

A farce that sums up a lot of modern football, or one of the games of the season? It maybe sums up how confusing and contradictory this game was that it could genuinely be both. Chelsea’s eventual 4-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur could have huge effects for both of their seasons too. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have got the win it feels like they have been waiting for, and that at the stadium that still means more to him than any other in football. Ange Postecoglou’s scarcely believable high line with nine men and no main centre-halves did make it borderline for some time. Such a creditable approach earned the applause of the home crowd when it finally went wrong for Nicolas Jackson’s decisive second goal, but there was that unsettling feeling of momentum being undone. Spurs have not just lost their first league game under Postecoglou but also Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero to suspensions and possibly James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to injury. That all has the feeling of bringing down a flight that had been improbably soaring for some time. Postecoglou could of course tell his players it was a freak game. That’s one way of putting it. It was almost several different events in one, as we saw a spell akin to the infamous Battle of the Bridge as well as Saturday’s Copa Libertadores final, a grand staging for every debate about VAR over and over and then what amounted to a bizarre but brave training session, where Postecoglou seemingly set up the irrepressible Guglielmo Vicario against the entirety of Chelsea’s young attack. To top it off, and turn everything on its head, the previously misfiring Jackson got a hat-trick late on. It wasn’t quite an exhibition of finishing but there was enough to show the potential that is there. Whatever about this evening exhibiting various types of football events in one, mind, there were alternating periods that looked like it could have come from completely different matches. It was incredible to contemplate this by even the half-hour mark, but the first 18 minutes looked like it would be a comprehensive and confident Spurs win to continue their early-season surge. They were shredding Chelsea, especially on the wings. Both sides were being targeted, something inevitable given all the space, and the first real attack brought a goal. Dejan Kulusevski shot and the ball cannoned off Levi Colwell and past Robert Sanchez. Reece James was even more exposed on the other side, allowing Brennan Johnson to just saunter through and square for Son Heung-Min to slide the ball in. It was all so easy that Spurs were getting ahead of themselves, as the Korean’s wayward foot saw the goal ruled out for offside. That was what made what happened next all the more inexplicable, as Udogie went in with a dismally reckless challenge on Raheem Sterling. He didn’t get sent off – yet – but it was like the entire tone changed. It was also a bit of Chekov’s foul, as Udogie would go for similar later on. That itself was influenced by what the match briefly became, which was somewhere between an old storyline from this fixture like the Battle of the Bridge and the Libertadores final. Cristian Romero was at the centre of it, with two challenges of his own that each could have received red cards. He was eventually sent off as part of the same sequence that saw a second Chelsea goal chalked off, to bring a penalty. It was almost difficult to keep up, the sense of dislocation added to by how the match was played at a frenetic pace and yet also frequently stopped for long VAR checks. Cole Palmer’s ensuing penalty consequently may not have been as pure as he’d have liked but it did make its way in. For Pochettino’s part, Udogie’s challenge wasn’t the only big change. He altered Chelsea’s formation to ensure they had taken tactical control of the game even before Romero’s red card. It probably shouldn’t have got to that for Spurs, though. It was going to get worse. Both Maddison and Van de Ven had to go off injured before Udogie eventually got his red card. What happened next was perhaps the most unexpected development of all, though. Postecoglou refused to back down. He doubled down. Despite nine-man Spurs losing two of their leading players to injury, with both of their main centre-halves off the pitch, Postecoglou seemed to go even higher with his line. Spurs basically offered up the entirety of their half to Chelsea’s attack. It was bold, to say the least. It immediately led to Chelsea setting up a series of one-on-ones, the game almost becoming a training exercise between their forwards and Guglielmo Vicario, with some vague use of the offside trap in between. And yet this might well have been where there was a clear logic. Given how inexperienced this Chelsea squad is, many of them seemed to keep making the bad choices when such good chances were offered. There was rarely a third-man run. Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson kept going outside when they should have gone inside, or vice versa. Vicario, for his part, was brilliant. Every unlikely stop amplified the atmosphere. It was as if every wasted one-on-one – and they were becoming countless – was further eroding their confidence. This could have been a hugely embarrassing game for Chelsea, rather than the humiliation for Spurs it was almost set up for. Except, the risk was just too great. A team with someone as experienced as Sterling was eventually going to get one right. It was duly his pass that set up Jackson. At 2-1, Spurs had no choice but to go for it even more. Jackson claimed even more, twice scoring in stoppage time. That may be a turning point for him as well as Spurs, but only after a night that really did the rounds. You can try to make sense of it – but maybe it’s just best to be experienced. Read More Ange Postecoglou reacts to VAR calls as Spurs earn two red cards in defeat to Chelsea Ange Postecoglou’s high line epitomised Tottenham’s optimism - and their downfall Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Spurs went down with flag held high but loss hurts a lot

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has doubled down on his severe criticism of Premier League match officials

Mikel Arteta has stood by his VAR outburst following Arsenal’s loss at Newcastle on Saturday and insists he will continue to “talk loudly” until he believes the situation improves. The Gunners lost 1-0 at St James’ Park on Saturday – their first Premier League defeat of the campaign – as Anthony Gordon scored a controversial winner for the hosts. The second-half goal was checked for three separate VAR offences – the ball going out of play, a foul by Joelinton on Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes and a potential offside – but survived them all to ultimately earn Newcastle the three points. Speaking after the defeat, Arteta said it was “embarrassing” and a “disgrace” that the goal stood – while Arsenal issued a statement on Sunday in support of their manager’s forthright views. Asked on Tuesday if he would have done anything differently, the Spaniard replied: “It is my duty to stand in front of you, to stand in front of the cameras, and give a very clear and honest assessment of what happened in the game. “And this is what I did, reflect very openly on how I felt that the team played and how the game was conditioned by this results with the decisions that were made. It is the duty. “My duty is to be defending my players, supporting my players, supporting my club, defending my people in the best possibly way and this is what I am going to time after time. We have to talk loudly. If you have a problem and you put it in your draw, the problem is in the draw and it’s going to stink at some point Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta “I do it, not the way I feel, (but) with the evidence and being as clear as possible. And I always do it, when we play real I need to say it, when we have lost, to take my responsibility, the first one is me to do it. It is the way that I am and I have to defend my club.” Arteta suggested it is the duty of managers to discuss VAR and the issues it is currently presenting within the game. “If you guys and everyone watching football are there, we have to give our opinion in an honest way and clear,” he added. “Don’t talk about other things. Be very clear and respectful, but clear and honest and value what we have. “Errors are part of evolution. The trajectory is never going to be like this (gestures straight up), there are always going to bumps in the road and these things are necessary to improve the game in the right way. “But we have to talk loudly. If you have a problem and you put it in your draw, the problem is in the draw and it’s going to stink at some point. If you have a problem, let’s talk about it, try to improve it. That’s what we are trying to do. Nothing else.” Arsenal’s statement claimed “yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors” occurred during the loss at Newcastle as the club “wholeheartedly supports” Arteta’s comments, stating players, coaches and supporters “deserve better”. The statement has been criticised in some quarters with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelling it “dangerous”. Arteta, though, believes it does not legitimise those who abuse referees for perceived poor decision-making against the club. “No, the support we have given to everybody is not going to change. I will be in meetings trying to reinforce that,” he said. “This is not the topic. Everyone wants the same thing, but we have to understand that we (managers) have to be there. “We have a duty to express how we feel with all the evidence we have and the history of what happened. “We have to stand for our people, our values and who we are. When the club has done it, it’s been in very specific moments for the right reasons. “It shows the unity and understanding that is within the club to position ourselves in a really clear and honest way. That’s our duty as a club.” Arteta was speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash against Sevilla, where victory on Wednesday night could see his side qualify for the knockout stages with two Group B games to go. “The moment you have a chance in football to put it to bed, do it,” he said of wrapping up qualification early. “We have to do a lot of things right tomorrow to earn the right to win it and against a really good team with enormous experience in this competition. “We have to prove it tomorrow in front of our people how excited we are to play that game and what it means for us.” Read More Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Spurs went down with flag held high but loss hurts a lot From Aguero winner to Keegan dismay, Spurs-Chelsea joins Premier League classics England assistant Carl Hopkinson insists Netherlands clash is no ‘dead rubber’ Always need to improve – Nicolas Jackson keen to push on after hat-trick heroics On this day in 2009: David Haye becomes a heavyweight world champion Los Angeles Chargers demolish New York Jets 27-6

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said Tottenham went down with “the flag held high” in their 4-1 loss to Chelsea and has backed the squad to cope with the absence of key personnel. Spurs lost their unbeaten start to the Premier League season in a pulsating London derby in which five goals were disallowed and the hosts played the final 35 minutes with nine men. To add salt into fresh Tottenham wounds, Micky van de Ven was forced off with a hamstring injury and James Maddison had to be withdrawn due to an ankle knock, while Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, who were both sent off, will sit out this weekend’s trip to Wolves. Ange Postecoglou’s side battled admirably, first with 10 men from the 35th minute and then when down to nine early in the second half, but Nicolas Jackson grabbed the first of his three goals with quarter of an hour left to finally break the hosts’ resolve. Hojbjerg said: “I think we went down with the flag held high. We gave it our all but the result hurts a lot. “We showed what we had in our hearts but the result hurts. “Tuesday we have a day off and when we see each other on Wednesday, we’ll gather the pieces and focus on the next game, as we have to. “Everyone has to show their availability and show they are prepared to do what it takes. We lost the game, we hate to lose, it was the first of the season, but we have to make sure this doesn't happen again and play 11 v 11 because then it is much harder to beat us. Tottenham attacker Dejan Kulusevski “A good squad is not 11 players. It is 18 or 25 players and this is what we have to show. The result hurts a lot but we have to keep going.” Mauricio Pochettino’s first return to Tottenham had initially started in the worst possible fashion when Dejan Kulusevski’s curled effort deflected off Levi Colwill and beyond the helpless Robert Sanchez after six minutes. The wheels started to fall off during a 57-minute first half where four goals were chalked off by video assistant referee John Brooks at Stockley Park, who decided that Romero’s tackle on Enzo Fernandez was worthy of a red card and a penalty in the 33rd minute. Spurs’ uphill task increased further when Udogie was shown a second yellow after 10 minutes of the second period, but Postecoglou deployed a high line and Guglielmo Vicario starred in the sweeper-keeper role before Jackson made it 2-1. Tottenham remained resolute and started to create chances with substitute Eric Dier marginally offside when he volleyed home soon after Jackson’s first goal before Rodrigo Bentancur and Son Heung-min squandered opportunities. Jackson made the points safe in stoppage time when he lashed in from Conor Gallagher’s pass, but Spurs supporters greeted the goal with a standing ovation for their crestfallen players. Kulusevski said: “It was unbelievable, honestly. Some things are bigger than life, bigger than football, bigger than the wins. “Honestly I was really proud of that moment and the fans. I was grateful and it makes me want to give more back. “It has to give us fuel. We lost the game, we hate to lose, it was the first of the season, but we have to make sure this doesn’t happen again and play 11 v 11 because then it is much harder to beat us.” The consequences of this defeat could be long-lasting with Romero set for a three-match ban, which will rule him out of matches with Wolves, Aston Villa and Manchester City. Of bigger concern is centre-back partner Van de Ven after he pulled up at the end of the first half in a sprint with Jackson, which saw him helped off the pitch and he was later seen on crutches. Udogie will also miss Saturday’s clash at Wolves and with Ben Davies nursing an ankle knock, Postecoglou could use Under-21 defenders Ash Phillips or Alfie Dorrington this weekend. “It will be a test for sure. They (Van de Ven and Maddison) are amazing players and I hope they are back very, very soon, but as you saw the players that came in were amazing,” Kulusevski said. “We train really hard every day and everybody is ready. You saw Eric Dier, he came in, did his first appearance and was unbelievable. The guys are ready. “Everybody wants to play and it is so high level the training. So, if (Phillips) will be called, he will be ready.” Read More From Aguero winner to Keegan dismay, Spurs-Chelsea joins Premier League classics England assistant Carl Hopkinson insists Netherlands clash is no ‘dead rubber’ Always need to improve – Nicolas Jackson keen to push on after hat-trick heroics On this day in 2009: David Haye becomes a heavyweight world champion Los Angeles Chargers demolish New York Jets 27-6 Injury blow for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones

The UK will establish an independent football regulator for England’s Premier League and lower divisions, to protect the

When Mauricio Pochettino was asked about Ange Postecoglou’s surprisingly high line at nine, he wasn’t too willing to get into it. The Chelsea manager instead pointed to his side’s own impact on proceedings, how proud he was. He probably wasn’t the only one unwilling to indulge too much praise of Tottenham Hotspur, after a 4-1 defeat Postecoglou’s side unnecessarily lost control of. There is already that sense of rival fans, if for rather obvious tribal reasons, bristling at the regular appeals to “mate”. The explanation of that high line was probably extreme Postecoglou, the Australian in his ultimate form. “It is just who we are, mate, it is who we will be for as long as I am here,” the Spurs manager said on TV. “If we go down to five men, we will still have a go.” And yet the last six words are why there was a sense of pride around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, almost because of a 4-1 defeat where they went against the grain to their own cost. Postecoglou was willing to abandon himself to the “purity of the game”, as he actually said later about VAR. It is so different to what Spurs fans feel they have had to put up with over the past four years. As incredible as the sight of eight outfield players at the halfway line was, going against most football convention, it’s obviously more invigorating than just keeping 11 back as both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte did. It wasn’t all self-defeating purism, either. There was some pragmatic logic to it, in the calculation that an inexperienced Chelsea weren’t guaranteed to take advantage. This wasn’t Manchester City, for all the post-game discussion of how Pep Guardiola’s side might have scored around nine in that situation. That appreciation could be sensed in the loud applause that went around the stadium after Nicholas Jackson’s first goal, and Chelsea’s eventual second. There was the feeling they’d made the best of a bad situation, and given themselves the best chance of victory. Spurs did waste one big chance at just 2-1, and it could have been very different had Eric Dier delayed his run for that offside goal by a millisecond. That doesn’t mean discussion should stray too far into describing this as a moral victory. It was a largely self-inflicted defeat. There’s even an argument that is Postecoglou’s very excitable approach with a young team maybe played into a certain recklessness. Spurs were in complete control at 1-0, only for an inexplicable series of rash challenges to see them lose the lead, two players and - eventually - the game. Through that, they have also lost crucial momentum, that had felt like it had been elevating what would still have been an encouraging start to the season even without the winning run. It’s difficult to argue Spurs haven’t been overperforming now. Within that applause was also the awareness this was also about to get a lot more difficult. As well as that emotional momentum, they won’t have Cristian Romero, Micky van der Ven, Destiny Udogie or James Maddison for a time. That is going to take some adjustment. It might represent the start of a period where things start going the other way. That doesn’t mean discussion should go too far the other way, mind. One temptation from Postecoglou’s line was to dismiss it as typical Spurs, all talk about romance and no victories. It’s abundantly clear that the Australian is changing things here. They have just been markedly overperforming, and ahead of schedule. They shouldn’t now be overly criticised for that, as they probably face up to a trickier period that was always going to come. Postecoglou’s approach will bring more wins than they would otherwise achieve. His willingness for adventure shouldn’t be confused with tactical naivety. There is a serious coaching mind underneath. That is something that has also become clear to everyone at the club. It was why the players, after the game, were only too content with the approach. They weren’t questioning it. Postecoglou, after all, has far more answers than just that high line. Read More Ange Postecoglou laments ‘theatre’ of VAR checks after Chelsea defeat Ange Postecoglou appears to aim barb at Arsenal and Mikel Arteta over VAR controversy Ange Postecoglou reacts to VAR calls as Spurs earn two red cards in defeat to Chelsea Chelsea triumph over Tottenham in Premier League clash that had everything and more Tottenham vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result and reaction Ange Postecoglou happy with Daniel Levy relationship but rules out rafting trip