sport news Tottenham lost their heads during chaotic 4-1 loss to Chelsea that derailed ... trends now
There is a picture that stands out most from Tottenham's crushing 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last November. Not the pictures of jubilation from Mauricio Pochettino's men or the dejected faces of the home side. It was an image of all eight Spurs outfielders pushed up to the half way line.
Even after being reduced to nine men in one of the most chaotic and frantic Premier League games of all time - with Tottenham 2-1 down - Ange Postecoglou refused to relent.
Genius or insanity? That was the question being asked about Postecoglou's die-hard attacking philosophy - and to be fair to him, Spurs had two big chances to get level against Chelsea before they were picked apart on the counter.
'We could go down to five men and we will have a crack,' the Australian said after the game. 'It's just who we are mate, and who we will be for as long as I am here.'
Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge on Thursday seeking to wipe those painful memories from existence while still maintaining their manager's unwavering ethos.
Tottenham's infamous high line in their 4-1 loss to Chelsea in November has become a symbol of Ange Postecoglou's attacking philosophy
The Australian goes up against Mauricio Pochettino again on Thursday as Tottenham look to right the wrongs of their hammering
Tottenham lost their heads on that night as they were sent down to nine men against Chelsea
It's unlikely we will see anything close to that eyebrow-raising highline from Spurs on this occasion, but that doesn't mean Postecoglou has learnt his lesson. Far from it. Why? As far as his tactics go, he doesn't believe there's a lesson to be learnt.
As for his side's temperament, there is room for improvement and that will be key to getting any kind of result from a venue where Tottenham have won just once in 14 years.
Tottenham completely lost their heads in the first game with Cristian Romero sent off for mindlessly lunging in on Enzo Fernandez with a studs-up challenge that also resulted in a penalty. The Argentina international is a fabulous defender but he's also a notorious hothead.
Destiny Udogie was given his marching orders too in the second half to give Spurs a mountain to climb - even with the score at 1-1 - as a Nicolas Jackson hat-trick killed the game off and inflicted an agonising scoreline for Spurs.
Postecoglou took responsibility for the result, which laid down a marker for the team under the leadership of the former Celtic boss. In his words: eleven men or five men - his teams go for the jugular no matter what. This is exactly how he wants his side to play, and in many ways, he might have even been happy about the result as it showed the players had bought into his mindset.
The problem is, this game was more punishing than he could have imagined after a mix of the injuries to Mickey van de Ven and James Maddison and suspensions for Romero and Udogie sent Spurs on a downward spiral, with their early title hopes quickly fading.
Spurs must show better temperament this time around in order to have a chance of victory
