Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-1 to Leicester City at home
Tottenham Hotspur suffered their fourth straight Premier League defeat on matchday 23 as they were beaten on home soil by Leicester City by a 2-1 margin. Richarlison’s first-half strike was cancelled out by two goals within five second-half minutes by Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss. Yet another loss means some more pressure on Postecoglou’s continuity as the head coach, simply compounded by the board’s unwillingness to back the Australian in spite of an unprecedented injury crisis.
The win for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side moves them out of the relegation zone, one point over Wolverhampton Wanderers, who lost to Arsenal earlier on the matchday. The Foxes are now just two places behind 15th-placed Spurs, who have a lot of things to work on if they are to come away with anything valuable come the end of the campaign. With that said, here is a look at the three talking points from the match.
Another day, another injury
Tottenham Hotspur were hit by yet another injury with Richarlison coming off for Mikey Moore 10 minutes into the second half after seeming uncomfortable some time ago. While Postecoglou confirmed that the Brazilian international was indeed injured, it remains to be seen how much time Richarlison will spend on the sidelines. Either way, it is the third time that he could be injured this season, with this time a groin injury being suspected.
Richarlison has scored in two successive Premier League games for Tottenham in his short-lived return from a hamstring problem earlier this month and would have been key for the team, especially given that Dominic Solanke has also been diagnosed with an issue and is set to miss the next few weeks. Spurs are expected to be on the lookout for a forward this summer and unfortunately, it may come at the cost of sacrificing Richarlison, solely because of his unreliable fitness record.
Tottenham pay the price for five bad minutes
Tottenham Hotspur were not necessarily the worst side between themselves and Leicester City. As a matter of fact, Ange Postecoglou’s men had 15 shots, three more than their opponents, as well as two big chances unconverted, compared to the visit side’s solitary opportunity. Jamie Vardy’s goal immediately after the second half commenced slightly unsettled the home side, whereas Bilal El Khannouss compounded their misery shortly thereafter and things went further south with Richarlison’s withdrawal.
While there is no hiding place for the Lilywhites after winning only one league game since December started, their defeat to Leicester City came due to a number of fine margins.
High time for the board to assume responsibility
Ange Postecoglou might not be the only one for whom time is ticking at Tottenham Hotspur. As a matter of fact, the Australian probably has more supporters than detractors with a lot of fans finally seeing that the board is focused on commercial success over anything else. Some Spurs fans also held a banner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium questioning their club’s lack of success under the ongoing leadership, which has failed to back serial winners like Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho too.
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Daniel Levy could soon have some questions to answer from the club’s most crucial stakeholders – the fans. The Tottenham chief has arguably done more wrongs than rights in his tenure at Hotspur Way, with the 2024/25 season exposing some gaping holes in the operating structure. The lack of signings in January is almost unacceptable given the injuries that the first team has faced, though once more it could be the manager who pays the price by being relieved of his duties.