RELEGATION DANGER: TOTTENHAM SIT 16TH AS IGOR TUDOR FACES MUST-WIN FULHAM CLASH
Igor Tudor brings an Italian "small team" mentality to Tottenham as they face a desperate fight for Premier League survival.
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Tottenham’s manager, Igor Tudor, isn’t afraid to shake things up. He’s made it clear that Spurs need to stay humble and hungry, leaning on an idea he picked up in Italy: think like a small team. That’s how you keep your edge, even when things get rough.
It’s been a tough stretch. After losing 2-1 to Newcastle in early February and failing to win a single Premier League game in 2026, Spurs parted ways with Thomas Frank. His time in charge? Pretty brutal, eleven losses in 27 games. Tudor took over just in time for the north London derby against Arsenal, but his debut didn’t exactly go to plan. Arsenal handed them a bruising 4-1 defeat at home.
Now, Tottenham find themselves 16th in the table. They’re only four points ahead of West Ham, who sit in the drop zone, so every match feels massive right now. Richard Keys even warned that relegation could actually happen for Spurs, a thought that’s probably unthinkable for most fans.
With the pressure mounting, Tudor keeps drilling the same message into his squad. He wants his players to approach every game with the grit and humility you’d expect from a team fighting for survival, not one coasting on reputation. That means showing up every single match, motivated and ready, just like they would against the league’s best.
He’s open about it, too. At a press conference, Tudor said, “We work that way. In Italy, we talk a lot about having the mentality of a small team. It’s all about staying humble, staying motivated, and always wanting more, like you’re up against a giant. That’s where it starts for us.”
He says the players get it. They know what’s expected. He keeps repeating it in training: stay focused, stay hungry.
And when it comes to relegation? Tudor doesn’t even say the word, not because he’s scared, but because he thinks it’s dangerous to let that fear creep in. For him, it’s all about the work in training and the focus on performance. If they do that, the points will follow. He tells his players, “Don’t worry about the table. Don’t worry about points. Just focus on what we can control: how we train and how we play. That’s all that matters.”
Even with all the drama at home, Spurs somehow found a way to make it to the Champions League Round of 16, where they’ve drawn Atletico Madrid. That’s a big deal, but it could also be a distraction, especially with injuries piling up and survival in the league still up in the air.
Today, Tottenham head to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham. There are only eleven games left. Tudor and his squad don’t have much time; they need to start picking up points, fast, if they want to make sure Spurs stay in the Premier League.
OLD TRAFFORD EFFECT: OLIVER GLASNER BLAMES "STADIUM BIAS" FOR PALACE’S PENALTY HEARTBREAK
Oliver Glasner blasted the "Old Trafford effect" after Crystal Palace’s lead vanished following a controversial penalty and red card.
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner didn’t hold back after Sunday’s match against Manchester United. Palace went into halftime up 1-0 thanks to a header from Maxence Lacroix, but then everything flipped. In the second half, Lacroix dragged down Matheus Cunha, and referee Chris Kavanagh immediately pointed to the spot. VAR took a look, and Lacroix got a red card.
Kavanagh explained the decision: “Crystal Palace number five commits a clear holding offence which denies a clear, obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The final decision is a penalty and a red card.”
Glasner was furious after the match. “The red card changed everything,” he said. “Honestly, it’s a really tough call. The foul starts outside the box. Cunha’s clever; he waits until he’s inside and then goes down.”
Reporters pressed him about it again, and Glasner just shook his head. “We spoke to the fourth official. They had to check if it was offside, where the foul started, and if it was a red card. There were a lot of things to look at. But I still think it’s the wrong call. That’s not a penalty. Maybe it’s a red for a foul outside the box, but the contact starts before. Maybe that’s just the Old Trafford effect.”
Chris Richards, Palace’s defender, echoed those feelings when he spoke to Sky Sports. He called Cunha "smart". Richards said, “You get an early 1-0 lead, and you want to build on that. But after the red card, United had all the momentum. We’re disappointed, but honestly, I’m proud of how we played today.”
He added, “Playing at Old Trafford, you kind of expect the home side to get a call like that. That’s just football. Cunha’s smart; he feels a tug in the box, and he goes down. Fair play to him. Going down to ten hurt us, sure, but you can’t fault the effort. No matter how many we had on the pitch, we played well.”
INSIDE VS OUTSIDE: DECODING THE EXACT MOMENT MAXENCE LACROIX’S FOUL BECAME A UNITED PENALTY
The Premier League Match Centre clarifies the penalty and red card that saw Maxence Lacroix sent off during Man Utd’s 2-1 win.
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The Premier League Match Centre stepped in after the chaos around Manchester United’s penalty and Maxence Lacroix’s red card. It all started when Crystal Palace’s Lacroix brought down United’s Matheus Cunha. The contact began outside the box, but by the time Cunha hit the ground, maybe a bit dramatically, they were inside. Lacroix had his arm on Cunha’s shoulder throughout.
Then came VAR. Referee Chris Kavanagh watched the replays and sent Lacroix off, leaving Palace, who had been 1-0 up before Fernandes buried the penalty, with ten men. The officials said Lacroix denied Cunha a clear shot at goal. Because Lacroix pulled him back instead of going for the ball, he didn’t get the ‘double jeopardy’ protection, which only covers players who make a genuine attempt to play the ball. Lacroix was nowhere near it.
The Match Centre summed it up in their statement: “After review, Crystal Palace number 5 commits a clear holding offence which denies a clear, obvious goalscoring opportunity. The final decision is a penalty and a red card.”
Michael Dawson, watching for Sky Sports, didn’t think there was much debate: “It’s a foul. Fernandes plays a great ball, Cunha gets away, and Lacroix has his hands all over him. Whether it’s two fingers or a full hand, it kept going. For me, that’s a penalty. Was it a goalscoring chance? Absolutely. Once Cunha gets goal-side and goes down, he’s got a real chance to score.”
Palace actually struck first, with Lacroix heading in from a Brennan Johnson corner just four minutes in. They kept United quiet for the rest of the first half, but everything changed early in the second. Lacroix’s mistake let United back in.
Fernandes equalised from the spot, sending Dean Henderson the wrong way. Not long after, Benjamin Sesko finished off a Fernandes cross to put United ahead. That’s seven goals in eight games for Sesko, and he’s now scored in three straight matches under Michael Carrick.
Since Carrick took over, United haven’t lost. They’ve now racked up six wins in seven games, climbing to third in the Premier League. They’re level with Aston Villa on 51 points but edge ahead on goal difference. It’s the highest United have been in the table since May 2023.
As for Lacroix, there’s a bit of unwanted history: he’s only the second visiting player ever to score and get sent off in the same Premier League game at Old Trafford. The last one? Michael Owen, for Liverpool, back in 1998.
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