Postecoglou's story of hard luck hints at deeper Spurs issues

Likable manager points to injuries and refereeing errors but the club's underlying approach may be the problem

- David Hytner

It was another example of how things keep on conspiring against Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham. At least, that was how the manager wanted to frame it after the 4-3 home defeat by Chelsea on Sunday. At 2-0 up it was looking good, but this is Spurs, where stability has proved elusive, where problems can strike at any time. Often at the best of times.

So it was that Cristian Romero had to go off with a thigh injury in the 15th minute. The influential centre-half had passed a fitness test, having missed the previous four games with a toe issue, and, of course, he just had to feel the new setback after an extravagantly risky backheel move inside his own area on eight minutes.

Romero tried to continue, but he had to accept defeat and, moments after his exit with Spurs trying to reorganise with his replacement, Radu Dragusin, on the field, they conceded to Jadon Sancho for 2-1. Spurs had looked open before Sancho's goal and that became only more pronounced, especially in the second half. But nobody knows how it would have played out if Romero had not gone down.

Postecoglou had other gripes over matters beyond his control. He felt that the Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo ought to have been sent off for a lunge into Pape Sarr's shin in the 34th minute. It was still 2-1 and, again, that might have put a different complexion on the game.