Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea

Spurs made it three Premier League defeats on the bounce last night after they sank to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from the game:

Serge Aurier returns

I honestly assumed that Aurier was done in a Spurs shirt after last week but he was back in the side last night. Such is the lack of options at right-back, I guess with Matt Doherty having failed to have impressed. The Ivorian actually played pretty well, especially that last-ditch tackle on Timo Werner.

The Eric Dier experiment is over

I understand that Jose Mourinho wanted to give Dier a chance at the back when he came in and, at times, it has worked a treat. However, the Englishman has shown time and time again that he simply does not have the brain or consistency to play at the back in a top-four side. That penalty was one of the most frustrating things I have ever seen a Spurs player do.

Playing without Kane

It looks as if Tottenham are trying to play the same brand of breakaway football but without the link that is Harry Kane. Without him, or the likes of Eriksen/Dele, it simply does not work. There is no one there who can link defence and attack as Harry Kane does. Spurs desperately need a different way of playing without him.

Park the bus

I think most Spurs fans would admit that defence is the weakest current part of the team. Yet this consistent game plan puts more emphasis on the defenders than anyone else on the pitch. When Mourinho first came in, it seemed as if he wanted to use attack as the best form of defence and Spurs scored hat-loads of goals thanks to it. These days, he seems to be trying to see out 1-0 wins with a set of players who simply cannot do that.

Lamela to start against West Brom

The Argentine certainly made a case for himself after coming off the bench against Chelsea. Not necessarily amazing, but perhaps more worthy of a chance than others on the pitch – and even had a shot on goal which many of his team failed to manage inside 90 minutes.

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