Thomas Frank made no excuses as Tottenham Hotspur fell to Chelsea at home
Tottenham were completely blown out of the water by London rivals Chelsea as they suffered yet another home defeat in the Premier League. The Lilywhites were nowhere near their best, and it was arguably their worst performance of the season. There was no gameplan, and the players did not seem to be up for the occasion as they came up against a determined Chelsea side.
The 1-0 scoreline hardly reflects how poor the North Londoners were in every department. If not for Guglielmo Vicario, the margin of defeat would have been much greater. The Italian goalkeeper made several outstanding saves to keep Thomas Frank’s men in the contest, but his efforts ultimately weren’t enough to rescue a result.
Tottenham failed to create a single clear-cut chance, registering just 0.10 XG (via Sofascore). The players looked completely out of sync, and the loud boos from the home crowd summed up the frustration. Too many careless passes and individual errors at the back proved costly, and it’s fair to say the Lilywhites were the architects of their own downfall.
Thomas Frank faces an uphill task at Tottenham as they fall short to Chelsea
It was another disappointing night at home for Tottenham as they dropped points against their London rivals. Their home record speaks volumes: just four points from their opening five Premier League matches at N17 this season. Even more concerning is that they’ve scored fewer league goals at home than relegation-threatened Wolves, which highlights their ongoing struggles in attack.
Reflecting on the performance, Thomas Frank was brutally honest in his post-match comments. Speaking in his post-match presser (via BBC), Frank said,
“I think we were second best. Chelsea were better than us, no doubt about that. I saw a lot of effort from the players, but not a good performance. We lacked the energy and intensity that you have to put into a game like this. We go 1-0 down and then we are chasing the game.”
The Spurs boss added,
“I think we made so many simple passing mistakes and lost the ball too many times. It can be down to freshness and many other things. We can play at every pace that is needed. Today, slow or fast, it didn’t work no matter what. There will always be positives but, at the moment, I’m struggling to see it.”
As Frank rightly pointed out, Spurs were second best in every aspect, failing to rise to the occasion against their local rivals. The players didn’t get the basics right and lacked intensity from the very start. The Danish manager admitted his side couldn’t adapt to the flow of the game and that there were few positives to take from another disappointing home defeat in the league.
Performances like this simply cannot continue if the Lilywhites are serious about securing European football at the end of the season. The players must step up and show more fight to turn their home form around. As for Thomas Frank, the loud boos echoing around N17 should serve as a stark reminder that he still has plenty of work to do to win over the supporters this season.
