Tottenham lost their minds in a chaotic 4-1 defeat to Chelsea that derailed their season after being enthusiastic with nine men… but has Ange Postecoglou learned his lesson as he attempts to recover avenge at Stamford Bridge?

There is one image that stands out most from Tottenham’s crushing 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last November. Not the images of jubilation of Mauricio Pochettino’s men or the dejected faces of the locals. It was an image of the eight Spurs outfielders pushed to the center line.

Even after being reduced to nine men in one of the most chaotic and frenetic Premier League games of all time – with Tottenham trailing 2-1 – Ange Postecoglou refused to give in.

Genius or madness? That was the question asked about Postecoglou’s uncompromising attacking philosophy – and to be fair to him, Spurs had two big chances to come back level against Chelsea before being split on the counter.

“We could go down to five and we’ll have a chance,” the Australian said after the match. “It’s just who we are, buddy, and who we’ll be as long as I’m here.”

Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge on Thursday in an attempt to erase those painful memories from existence while retaining their manager’s unwavering philosophy.

Tottenham’s infamous high line during their 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November has become a symbol of Ange Postecoglou’s attacking philosophy.

The Australian faces Mauricio Pochettino again on Thursday as Tottenham look to right the damage caused by his knocks.

Tottenham lost their lead that night as they were reduced to nine men against Chelsea.

We’re unlikely to see anything close to that Spurs scoring line on this occasion, but that doesn’t mean Postecoglou has learned his lesson. Far from there. For what? As for his tactics, he doesn’t believe there are any lessons to be learned.

As for the temperament of his team, there is room for improvement and that will be key to getting a result at a stadium where Tottenham have won just once in 14 years.

Tottenham completely lost their minds in the first game with Cristian Romero sent off for mindlessly lunging at Enzo Fernandez with a stud challenge that also resulted in a penalty. The Argentina international is a fabulous defender but he is also a notorious hothead.

Destiny Udogie was also given her marching orders in the second half to give Spurs a mountain to climb – even with the score at 1-1 – as a Nicolas Jackson hat-trick killed the game and inflicted a nerve-wracking scoreline on Spurs.

Postecoglou took responsibility for the result, which set a milestone for the team under the former Celtic boss. In his words: eleven men or five men, his teams go for the jugular no matter what. This is exactly how he wants his team to play, and in many ways he might even have been happy with the result because it showed the players had bought into his mindset.

The problem is that this match was more punishing than he could have imagined after a mix of injuries to Mickey van de Ven and James Maddison and suspensions to Romero and Udogie sent Spurs into a downward spiral, their early title hopes quickly fading.

Spurs need to show better temperament this time around to have any chance of victory

That damaging night in north London had disastrous consequences for Tottenham’s season, as injuries and suspensions derailed any title hopes.

The resulting games saw his team tear itself apart on too many occasions this season, showing “Angel Ball” and the way his team organized still needs a lot of work.

Spurs’ fitness issues haven’t gone away and that won’t help matters. Maddison is back but looks nothing like the player who played for them earlier this season. Udogie, Ben Davies and Timo Werner are all ruled out for the season.

Chelsea will look at Tottenham’s latest result – a 3-2 defeat to rivals Arsenal – and take confidence after seeing Spurs go down 3-0 in the first half as the Gunners took control despite not being not the dominant team.

Former Spurs boss Pochettino knows this club inside out and although many of the players who were loyal to him during his five-and-a-half year tenure have now left, he will feel he has a good handle on the how the current Tottenham team will play.

The Argentine has been under enormous pressure this season and Chelsea go into this first match between the two teams in the midst of unclear form.

Thrashing Spurs did not prove to be the catalyst that turned their season around as they followed it up with a 4-4 draw against Man City, a 4-1 defeat against Newcastle, a 3-2 victory against Brighton before a consecutive match. defeats against Manchester United and Everton.

Tottenham are at rock bottom after losing 3-2 to Arsenal and Chelsea will see weaknesses

But Chelsea themselves have been plagued by inconsistencies, as well as infighting.

Recent results are hardly inspiring either, with a lack of consistency being the pressing problem for the Blues. Draw 2-2 at home against Burnley, then beat Man United 4-3. Draw 2-2 against Sheffield United, then beat Everton 6-0. Lose 5-0 to Arsenal, then draw 2-2 against high-flying Aston Villa.

You might notice a trend here, although in truth you never know what you’re going to get from Chelsea. Add to that recent brawls – after Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer all argued over who would take a penalty against Everton – and you have a real mess at Stamford Bridge.

This would be considered a good time to face them given they have scored seven goals in their last two games, but Spurs have left exactly the same amount after also being beaten 4-0 by Newcastle earlier this month- this.

Spurs will be motivated to right the wrongs of that 4-1 defeat to Chelsea when they arrive in west London. It’s an opportunity to show how a Postecoglou side performs properly against another top team – just like they did when they beat Aston Villa 4-0 at Villa Park, or when they got a 3-3 draw against defending champions Manchester City.

But the Australian insists revenge is not on his mind – insisting the desire to beat his rivals in a huge London derby will be motivation enough.

Postecoglou insists his side don’t want revenge, but Spurs have a chance to put things right

“I never believed in this revenge bullshit, because that would suggest that you need motivation other than winning football matches,” he said in his pre-press conference. -match.

“You can understand the meaning of the games for the fans, but the players and staff shouldn’t need extra motivation. That’s what you need to do every week.

Tottenham are seven points behind Aston Villa with five games remaining, but this is one of two games in hand against Unai Emery’s men. The other is against Man City. It’s unlikely, but two huge results could make things very interesting in the top four.

The first match against Chelsea was a benchmark for their season in terms of adopting their style of play and lessons learned. The second leg offers a chance for redemption and shows how far the team has come since that painful night.