Ange Postecoglou was left bemoaning a “painful” collapse as Tottenham surrendered a two-goal lead to succumb 4-3 against Chelsea on Sunday. They took a commanding 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes and were unable to hold the advantage, suffering a gut-wrenching defeat.

Early Dominance For Spurs

Tottenham made a dream beginning to this game, with Marc Cucurella both on occasions committing an error to see Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski score for Tottenham two goals within the opening 11 minutes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The lead was soon cut when Chelsea got a goal through the effort of Jadon Sancho that reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 17th minute of play.

Chelsea’s Second-Half Fightback

The game went dramatic in the second half as Chelsea launched a fierce comeback. Cole Palmer’s two penalties were given due to Yves Bissouma committing a foul on Moises Caicedo and then Pape Sarr trying to challenge Palmer, which resulted in Chelsea being 3-2 up. Then Enzo Fernandez came and scored a sensational strike that left Tottenham gasping for breath at 3-2. Despite a goal from Son Heung-min in stoppage time, Spurs couldn’t equalise and succumbed to its second loss in three days.

“It’s a sore one for sure, it’s painful,” the Tottenham boss told Sky Sports. “We started the game really well and then we lose Cristian Romero and we had to reshuffle.

“We still had some big moments to get a third and finish it off. The second half was a ding-dong for long and then they scored. The two penalties weren’t great, we need a bit of discipline in the box.

“It’s a key point when you lose a key player in the first 20 minutes, He couldn’t continue so it’s not ideal.

“We didn’t play well in midweek but we did here. They’re a top side, you have got to give credit to them. We got distracted in key moments.“

Replays of Controversial VAR Decisions & Calls By Referee

Tottenham had reasons to feel wronged, especially when Moises Caicedo of the opposition challenged Pape Sarr in the first half in a manner that many thought would have been enough for a red card. After a VAR review, though, Caicedo was not penalized, and the Chelsea midfielder remained on the pitch. The controversies mounted Spurs’ frustrations as they lost control of the game.

“We need to realise we are tough to stop when we do play our football. The two penalties were poor. When you’re playing these top teams, the momentum shifts quickly.”

“I haven’t seen the replays. I thought a couple of decisions were poor,” Postecoglou said of the Caicedo decision. “We have to accept it and move on.”

Record-Breaking Defeat: A Historic Collapse For Spurs

Sunday’s loss was the 11th time in Premier League history that Tottenham had lost a game after leading by two or more goals-more than any other team in the competition’s history. It was also the first time Spurs had suffered such a collapse at home in the league since a 5-3 defeat to Manchester United in September 2001.

Son Takes Blame For Lost Opportunity

Tottenham’s skipper, Son Heung-min, too expressed his disappointment after the defeat. Son said that he was more disappointed about the missed opportunity to draw the game at 2-2 when he got one-on-one with Chelsea’s goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. He said that if he had scored, then the match would have ended differently.

“It’s very disappointing. I don’t know what to say at the moment,” Son told Sky Sports. “We can’t concede goals like this. We can’t dive into this situation.

“I can stay here all day talking about the mistakes but I’d rather blame me with the chance and I’d rather take the blame.

“We have got to stick together in such difficult moments, it’s very important and it’s why we need big support. The players are very young and they need support more than before and more than we had.

“The fans were always supporting amazingly but I think it’s time the players also need to step up. We need some big support and big cheering up.”

Postecoglou’s Disturbing Statistics

Under Postecoglou, Tottenham have played their fair share of high-scoring games, with 36 of his 53 Premier League games having featured both teams scoring—68 percent of the time. Ossie Ardiles in his 54 games has had a higher percentage than Postecoglou; both teams scored in 69 percent of them.