Tottenham Hotspur’s unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end on Monday as they were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in a hectic game.
Spurs went ahead through Dejan Kulusevski’s deflected goal, before captain Son Heung-Min had a second goal ruled out for a narrow offside call.
Chelsea had three goals of their own disallowed before half-time, but VAR once again intervened to award the visitors a penalty for Cristian Romero’s challenge on international teammate Enzo Fernandez.
The defender was sent off, and Cole Palmer duly converted the spot kick to draw the Blues level.
After the interval, Spurs full-back Destiny Udogie was also sent off after being shown a second yellow card, leaving Ange Postecoglou’s side with just nine men on the field.
The hosts held firm initially, until Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson made a breakthrough for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, before later adding two more in added time to complete his hat-trick.
Van de Ven was forced off injured during Spurs’ defeat against Chelsea on Monday evening
Postecoglou was also dealt another huge blow as both Micky van de Ven and James Maddison were forced off injured during the game, and it appears that the Lilywhites will now prioritise certain areas during the upcoming transfer window.
As per Football Insider, the North London outfit will focus on signing a central defender and a defensive midfielder when the window reopens in the new year.
Postecoglou has primarily used Romero and Van de Ven at centre-back so far this term, but with the former now suspended and the latter likely to face a spell on the sidelined, the Australian is in need of defensive reinforcements.
Defensive midfielders are also of interest to Tottenham, with both Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr expected to be absent in the new year whilst they participate in the African Cup of Nations.
Spurs have enjoyed a remarkable start to the season, and Postecoglou will therefore be keen to delve into the market in January in an effort to bolster his squad and give them the best possible chance of maintaining their fine form during the second half of the campaign.
