WAKE-UP CALL: JOãO PALHINHA APOLOGIZES FOR ARSENAL LOSS, PROMISES PSG FIGHT
João Palhinha apologises to Tottenham fans after a "frustrating" 4-1 North London Derby loss to Arsenal. The midfielder promised a big reaction from the team ahead of their crucial Champions League clash with PSG.
After a tough 4-1 loss to Arsenal, João Palhinha apologised to Tottenham fans and promised a strong comeback soon.
Spurs had a rough time against their north London rivals at Emirates Stadium, giving up two goals in each half while barely getting any shots on target.
Coach Thomas Frank is only five months into his job at Tottenham, but this poor showing comes after a similar performance in a 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea. Now, they've got a worrying game against Paris Saint-Germain coming up on Wednesday.
"First, we need to say sorry to our fans," Palhinha said, sounding disappointed.
There aren't many words to say, to be honest. It's always frustrating to lose like this against them. I think the result is fair, and we need to respond big time.
We need to show the team we used to be in the next two games.
I don't need to say much about it, but we need to react and look at the game, but not dwell on what happened.
Frank's decision to switch from his usual 4-2-3-1 lineup to a three-at-the-back formation against Arsenal didn't work out.
Eberechi Eze, who Tottenham wanted to sign in the summer and almost joined in August, had too much space outside the box and ended up scoring a hat-trick.
Frank went back to his usual system at halftime, which helped Spurs play better, but Palhinha admitted it still wasn't good enough, even though Eze scored quickly after the break.
The Bayern Munich player said they'd play better against PSG, who beat Tottenham on penalties in the Super Cup back in August.
Palhinha added, "We played with that setup against PSG in the Super Cup."
We tried to press them the same way or a bit closer than we did in that game, but after we decided to change at halftime, I think the team got better.
Even after we let in that early goal after halftime, I think we did better when we switched, but we need to take a closer look.
We can't let in goals like that, especially when we're playing with five at the back.
To come here and lose by four goals isn't our standard. We'll get back to our level in the next two games.
All I can say is we'll do everything we can to win those games.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.