Chelsea comes back to leave Ange frustrated again
Cole Palmer's penalty double completed a remarkable 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur as Chelsea cut the gap on Premier League leader Liverpool to four points.
Chelsea thumped nine-man Spurs 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last term but required an almighty comeback as Marc Cucurella's errors gifted the hosts an early 2-0 lead.
Dejan Kulusevski's pinpoint finish followed Dominic Solanke's well-taken opener at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears with a delightful finish with just 17 minutes on the clock.
Palmer levelled just past the hour with his first penalty after Yves Bissouma needlessly felled the marauding Moises Caicedo, who had earlier survived a VAR check for a lunging tackle on Pape Sarr in the first half.
The Chelsea talisman won another spot-kick after Sarr's mindless push, with Palmer coolly drinking beyond Fraser Forster, after Enzo Fernandez had blasted the Blues ahead with 17 minutes remaining.
Son Heung-min’s stoppage-time strike appeared to tee up a nervy ending for Chelsea, as the Spurs winger slotted past Robert Sanchez from substitute James Maddison's cutback pass.
However, Enzo Maresca's side held firm to move two points clear of Arsenal in second and make ground on Liverpool, while Spurs sit 11th after a second defeat in the space of three days.
Palmer's heroics saw Tottenham lose an 11th Premier League game after having been two or more goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in Premier League history.
Already under pressure from the Spurs fans after a tense exchange with them in midweek, the Australia was left to rue another three points thrown away.
"It's a sore one for sure, it's painful," he said. "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.
"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."
Son shared a similar frustration to Postecoglou, but wanted to shoulder the blame for his missed chance at 2-2 when one-on-one with Robert Sanchez.
"It's very disappointing. I don't know what to say at the moment," Son said. "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."
