Tottenham’s woeful season hit a new low on Sunday as they coughed up a lead to lose 2-1 at home to lowly Leicester City.
MORE — Postecoglou reaction
Spurs have now gone seven games without a win in the Premier League, as their injury-hit side is running on empty but failed to make the most of an advantageous position against Leicester.
MORE -– Watch full replay
Spurs took the lead in the first half through Richarlison but Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss struck early in the second half and Leicester held on for a huge win to drag themselves out of the relegation zone.
With the win Leicester move on to 17 points, while Tottenham remain on 24 points with the pressure mounting on both Daniel Levy and Postecoglou.
Creativity gone as Tottenham hit new low
Ange Postecoglou defended his Spurs players after this damaging defeat but both he and his players were to blame for this woeful performance and the situation they’re in. Yes, Spurs have had huge injury problems. But so have other teams in the Premier League in recent weeks. Look at Bournemouth, Brentford and even Everton and Arsenal, they’ve all battled through injury issues for a while too. Tottenham can no longer blame that. Spurs had enough international, top-class players out there on Sunday who could close out a win against struggling Leicester City, at home, when 1-0 up. Failure to do that has put Ange Postecoglou under more pressure than he’s ever been under at Tottenham. He spoke after the game like a man resigned to his fate. He knows that Daniel Levy has to act soon and the only thing previously saving Postecoglou was that his swashbuckling and cavalier Spurs side were fun to watch, created chances and scored goals. That has stopped happening and Leicester had a higher xG. Spurs just panicked, ran out of ideas and lacked belief they would get back in this game. Postecoglou could stay on until the Liverpool League Cup semifinal second leg on February 6 but he may not last much longer than that. If Spurs can’t turn this around soon they’re in a real relegation battle.
Tottenham vs Leicester City player ratings (via FotMob.com)
What’s next?
Tottenham head to Brentford on Sunday, February 2. Leicester head to Everton on Saturday, February 1.
Tottenham vs Leicester score: 1-2
Richarlison 33'; Vardy 46', El Khannouss 50'
Tottenham vs Leicester live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright
Porro hits the crossbar!
A deflected free kick loops up and hits the frame of the goal.
Kulusevski almost squeezes home
Leicester throwing everything in the way of Kulusevski as his shot deflects off Faes, then Justin’s clearance almost hits Stolarczyk but the Foxes clear.
El Khannouss puts the Foxes ahead! — Tottenham 1-2 Leicester
Another poor giveaway from Spurs and El Khannouss curls a low beauty into the bottom corner. Leicester score twice inside the first four minutes of the second half. Spurs stunned. Leicester flying.
Vardy equalizes! — Tottenham 1-1 Leicester
What a start to the second half! Vardy scores yet again against Spurs. Game on!
Justin’s shot deflects wide
Good response to going behind from the Foxes. Justin pops up in the box and his low shot deflects wide with Kinsky beaten.
Richarlison heads home! — Tottenham 1-0 Leicester
Porro whips in a brilliant cross and Richarlison sneaks in behind Faes and heads home. That is so simple for Spurs but the defending is really bad from Leicester.
Son hits the crossbar!
Heung-min Son overhits his cross from the left and it curls over the head of Stolarczyk but clips the crossbar and comes back out. A cross then comes in but Ben Davies can’t get his header on target.
Stolarczyk tips Son’s curler wide
Tottenham are gathering momentum now and Son cuts in from the left and curls a low shot towards the far corner. It looks like it’s going in but Stolarczyk gets down well to push it around the corner. Most of the home fans thought that was in.
Porro denied by Stolarczyk
Bergvall tees up Pedro Porro and he smashes an effort on goal which Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk pushes away.
Ayew should do better
Leicester have looked bright on the break and keep forcing Spurs into errors. The latest sees Jordan Ayew picked out on the edge of the box but his effort is tame. That was a really good chance for Leicester.
Richarlison almost gets in
Decent start from Spurs as a long ball forward sees Richarlison sniffing around and he almost gets there before Stolarczyk but the Leicester goalkeeper collects. Leicester look a threat on the break though.
Tottenham lineup
Kinsky; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son
Leicester lineup
Stolarczyk; Justin, Vestergaard, Faes, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; El Khannouss, De Cordova-Reid, Ayew; Vardy
Tottenham team news, focus
OUT: Dominic Solanke (knee - MORE), Brennan Johnson (calf), Destiny Udogie (thigh), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Timo Werner (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Yves Bissouma (calf), Pape Mata Sarr (thigh), Cristian Romero (quad), Djed Spence (knock), Sergio Reguilon (undisclosed)
Leicester team news, focus
OUT: Mads Hermansen (groin), Ricardo Pereira (thigh), Abdul Fatawu (knee - out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Wilfred Ndidi (thigh)
Tottenham vs Leicester prediction
After missing two and a half months with a groin injury, Richarlison has looked lively and sharp in three appearances and will be desperate to feast on a defense giving up 2.2 goals per game this season. Tottenham 3-1 Leicester.
Tottenham vs Leicester preview
“Must-win,” as in, it’s hard to imagine a more ideal fixture for Tottenham to snap their six-game winless run (0W-1D-5L). That’s because Leicester (8 games - 0W-1D-7L) are one of only two sides (Southampton - 12) currently on a longer slide in the Premier League. These are very different winless runs, though. All but one of Spurs’ defeats came by a single goal amid an injury crisis that has engulfed the squad for the better part of two months now, whereas Leicester have only managed to lose by a single goal once and have been outscored 18-2 in their seven straight defeats.
Alas, Postecoglou indicated this week that the two most notable absentees, center backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, are getting close to a return, perhaps in the next week or two. The table looks awfully bleak at the moment (15th place - 24 points from 22 games) and European qualification has probably gone already (12 points back), but Spurs are still alive in three cup competitions as they chase their first trophy since 2008. Leicester (19th - 14 points), meanwhile, could be headed for their second managerial change of the season if things don’t turn around quickly.
How to watch Tottenham vs Leicester live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday (January 26)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
