sport news Tottenham's season of promise and excitement is fizzling into a whimper after ... trends now

Tottenham’s flying start to life under Ange Postecoglou already seems like a distant memory.

It is only 27 weeks since a Friday night triumph at Crystal Palace eased them five points clear into the rarefied air at the Premier League summit.

They lost for the first time on their next outing against Chelsea, and Thursday night at Stamford Bridge another beating at the hands of former boss Mauricio Pochettino left Postecoglou fuming on the touchline.

The first-half display was as bad as anything his team has produced all season. Two more goals were conceded from set-plays, a recurring nightmare for Postecoglou. One in each half, scored by Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson.

Spurs have now lost three in a row and go to Liverpool on Sunday, still fifth but with this season of promise and excitement fizzling into a whimper.

Qualification for next season’s Champions League seems unlikely with a seven-point gap to Aston Villa and games in hand now down to one, against Manchester City in a fortnight. A campaign in the Europa League beckons.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are making a belated climb from the depths. Thanks mostly to their impressive home form and helped by six points against a team they love to hate from North London.

'Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again,' gloated the home choir as the final seconds of stoppage time ebbed away.

Tottenham travelled across the capital nursing the wounds of Sunday’s defeat at home to Arsenal and might have been behind inside five minutes when Jackson burst clear, released by Mykhailo Mudryk.

Jackson poked a shot under Guglielmo Vicario but the Spurs goalkeeper took the pace off it and Micky van de Ven raced back to make a clearance, which smacked against Cole Palmer and flew over the open goal.

The frantic episode was a warning of what was to come, both sides committed to football at full throttle, although Chelsea made a more cohesive start, winning possession in dangerous areas and threatening behind Tottenham.

Mudryk skipped past Pedro Porro with ease a couple of times in the opening exchanges and, on the other flank, Noni Madueke tested Emerson Royal, deputising out of position at left back.

Pochettino, who gave those in the away end a cheery wave before kick-off, was limited by 14 injuries and picked six teenagers among his substitutes, but his team make a strong and purposeful start, and were ahead midway through the first half.

Somewhat inevitably from Tottenham’s perspective, the goal came from a set-piece, a free-kick delivered by Conor Gallagher and finished by centre-half Chalobah, an elegant header sent looping over Vicario.