AliousTottenham Hotspur suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Igor Jesus opening the scoring just before half-time. Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi added further goals after the break to seal the result.
Before the goals, Spurs had a couple of penalty appeals waved away by referee Michael Oliver.
In the aftermath, former FIFA referee Keith Hackett argued that stronger action should have been taken earlier, particularly against Ibrahim Sangare for a first-half challenge.
Sangare first lunged at Djed Spence just outside the box before making another forceful tackle on Archie Gray, who came off worse and appeared to be in pain. Hackett felt the initial challenge was reckless and deserved a yellow card.
He explained that failing to punish the first foul allowed a second incident to follow, which also warranted at least a booking. Hackett added that the passage of play was poorly managed and required firmer control from the referee, noting that both players in the second challenge could perhaps count themselves fortunate.
Despite escaping punishment earlier, Sangare was eventually booked in the second half for a relatively minor foul, likely due to a buildup of offences.
The defeat only deepens concerns around Spurs under Igor Tudor. The result was widely seen as humiliating and raises doubts about whether he will remain in charge for their upcoming trip to Sunderland after the international break.
Including his time at Juventus, Tudor has now gone 10 league matches without a win — the worst run of his managerial career. Since arriving in north London, he has managed just one victory in seven matches across all competitions, which came in a largely inconsequential Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.
While some refereeing decisions went against Spurs, that alone cannot explain the performance. Despite strong backing from the fans, the players delivered a display that fell far short of expectations.
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