Tottenham Hotspur fell to a fourth home Premier League defeat of the season against Liverpool last night, losing 6-3 to the league leaders in North London.
The loss will undoubtedly crank up the pressure on boss Ange Postecoglou, with his side now sitting in 11th place after a run of just one win in their last five league matches.
Arne Slot’s men dominated the meeting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, making light work of the Lilywhites, highlighting how poor they have been in recent weeks.
Injuries have played a massive part in the recent slump in form, losing key members of the backline, but the alarming drop in work ethic and quality will be the biggest concern to the boss.
The clash against the Reds saw yet another makeshift backline, with numerous members of the side failing to impress during the thumping against the table toppers.
How Spurs' leaky backline faltered against Liverpool
Djed Spence started just his second league game of the season in the clash with Liverpool on Saturday, featuring in an unfamiliar left-back role.
He was faced with the prospect of man-marking one of the most potent attackers in world football in the form of Mohamed Salah but didn’t look out of place despite the Egyptian scoring twice.
The 24-year-old made five tackles, completing 93% of passes and winning seven duels, undoubtedly being the shining light of Postecoglou’s backline on what was a disappointing evening in North London.
Centre-back Radu Dragusin is the only fit senior option at the heart of the defence, being partnered by youngster Archie Gray, who, like Spence, featured in an unnatural role during the defeat.
The 22-year-old attempted 11 long balls during the loss, only completing one of them, looking wasteful in possession and contributing to the onslaught from Slot’s men in North London, notably being caught out of position for Dominik Szoboszlai's goal.
However, he wasn’t the only one to produce a display to forget last night, with the club making a huge mistake in not selling him when they had the opportunity just a couple of months ago.
The Spurs player who doesn’t deserve his mega price tag
Spurs forward Heung-min Son has been the go-to player for creativity in the final third after Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023.
The South Korean notched 17 goals in all competitions during 2023/24, finishing as the club’s top scorer, but he’s failed to replicate such form this time around, leaving himself open to criticism in recent weeks.
It was claimed that numerous Saudi Arabian sides were interested in a move in the attacker over the last couple of summers, but that the hierarchy demanded £100m to part ways with their star man.
He may have scored six times in the Premier League to date, but the 32-year-old has shown signs of reduced performance levels in recent weeks, none more so than against the league leaders on Sunday evening.
Son - who should have been their go-to man for inspiration in the final third - failed to complete any of his two crosses and only completed 50% of his attempted dribbles, unable to get the better of Trent Alexander-Arnold throughout the majority of the contest.
He also lost possession ten times and was caught offside three times, looking wasteful and unable to pose a threat to the Reds backline during the defeat.
As a result, he was handed a measly 3/10 match rating by The Express’ Tom Parsons, highlighting how disappointing he was throughout the clash last night.
Given his recent slump in form, the club will certainly get nowhere near their £100m valuation of the South Korean in the near future, with his value only going to decline further as he gets older.
He is still capable of producing numerous moments of quality, but lately they have been too far in between, with fresh blood desperately needed in the Spurs frontline.