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Brentford vs Tottenham predictions: Chris Sutton on Premier League game

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Micky van de Ven's return from injury is great news for Tottenham, but he cannot be expected to transform their fortunes on his own.

Last week's defeat by Leicester was hugely damaging to Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou and his side were so flat in that game. They have only picked up five points from their past 11 games and they cannot afford to keep on losing.

I don't think Postecoglou has been helped by the club's lack of activity in the transfer market. They have had all these injuries but they have brought in a goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky, to add to their senior squad, and that's it.

I look at Brentford and think they are going to do this Spurs team some damage.

With Bryan Mbeumo on the right and Yoane Wissa up front, the Bees have got a lot of goals in the team. They will have a go at Spurs and I think they will find a way through.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

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Richie Wellens apologises for 'stupid' Ange Postecoglou comment

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Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens has apologised for a "stupid comment" he made about Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou after Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Stockport.

Asked in a post-match interview whether injuries had played a part in the loss, Wellens said: "I'm not going to make excuses, I'm not Ange Postecoglou."

Tottenham have slipped to 16th in the Premier League amid an injury crisis that has left them without nine first-team players for Sunday's trip to Brentford.

Later on Saturday, Wellens withdrew the comments, saying he was "deeply embarrassed".

He said: "After today's game, I was asked about the injuries within our squad and, without thinking, I made a stupid comment about Tottenham Hotspur.

"That comment was brought to my attention later in the evening and, having watched my interview back, I am deeply embarrassed and regret what I said.

"At Leyton Orient we have a strong relationship with Tottenham Hotspur and it was never my intention to say anything that would jeopardise that. Their manager, Ange Postecoglou, is a world-class coach and I want to apologise for my comments and wish Spurs all the very best for the second half of the season."

Tottenham have a close relationship with Orient, with academy players Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley on loan at the club until the end of the season, while former Spurs captain Harry Kane had a loan spell there early in his career.

Tottenham women also regularly play their home games at Orient's Brisbane Road ground, which is under five miles from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Wellens has been in charge of Orient since March 2022 and led them to the League Two title the following year.

Their defeat against Stockport was their first in 12 matches, though they remain in the play-off places on goal difference.

They take on Premier League champions Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round next weekend.

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Tottenham still attractive club for prospective signings, says manager Ange Postecoglou

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Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham remain an attractive proposition for new signings - saying they are "exploring some opportunities" before Monday's transfer window deadline.

Spurs are 15th in the Premier League following a seven-game winless run in the competition but are in contention for three other trophies this season.

Postecoglou, whose squad has been wrecked by injuries, will be without nine first-team players for Sunday's league fixture at Brentford.

However, Spurs are yet to sign an outfield player this month, with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky's £12.5m move from Slavia Prague their only January addition.

Asked if potential new signings still want to move to the club, head coach Postecoglou said: "It depends what the players are looking for.

"You can look at it two ways. OK the league form is not great but there's some pretty big possibilities to have success here in the last three or four months [of the season].

"It's still a big club, it's still a club that can challenge for honours and it's whether the player sees the potential that we see right now, or certainly that I see. If it's too much of a hard sell, it's probably not the right one for us."

Despite their poor league form, Tottenham retain hope of a first trophy since 2008.

Spurs hold a 1-0 lead over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals before next week's second leg, while they are also through to the FA Cup fourth round and last 16 of the Europa League.

Postecoglou was without 12 players for Thursday's 3-0 Europa League win over Elfsborg because of injury and ineligibility, and lost defender Radu Dragusin to injury on the night.

While he would not comment directly on the club's links to Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel, Postecoglou said the club was "exploring some opportunities in the last couple of days of the window", which closes on Monday at 23:00 GMT.

"There is definitely a need for us [to make signings] and has been a need," Postecoglou said.

"That's why we've been looking for a player or two to help us with what's ahead, but they have to be the right types and fit in with what we're doing.

"I guess that's the tricky bit. There are plenty of players available but are they going to be the right ones? That's the question for us."

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Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham head coach says: 'Every time I've seen the light it's been an oncoming train'

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Ange Postecoglou has summed up Tottenham's injury troubles by saying: "Every time I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, it's usually been an oncoming train."

But the Spurs head coach hopes their recent injury woes will soon be behind them.

Postecoglou, 59, is under pressure following a seven-match winless streak in the Premier League, which has included six defeats and left Spurs 15th in the table.

Key centre-back Micky van de Ven made a welcome return from a hamstring injury in Thursday's 3-0 Europa League win over Elfsborg.

But Spurs were without 12 players for that match because of injury and ineligibility, and they lost substitute defender Radu Dragusin to injury on the night.

"We've had to deal with a real extreme situation, which unfortunately once we got hit with what we got hit with, it is then very hard to rectify on the run," Postecoglou said.

"We obviously got some significant injuries early on, which hampered our progress, and then we had to rely on a small group of players to get us through and that then burdened them.

"It has been this vicious cycle. [With] the volume of games that clubs are playing, we've been in an extreme situation but a lot of clubs are facing similarities in Europe."

Postecoglou hopes to have goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Timo Werner and James Maddison available again within the next 10 days.

However, defender Cristian Romero and striker Dominic Solanke are expected to require longer before returning to the squad.

Spurs begin a significant week in their season at Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday.

They will then continue their pursuit of a first trophy since 2008 when they take a 1-0 first-leg lead to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Thursday, before facing Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round at Villa Park three days later.

"We seem to be losing players as we get them back," Postecoglou said.

"We don't want to lose anyone else, but again, best laid plans. We obviously tried to shield Radu last night, because he had played a lot of football. He comes on and he gets injured.

"You can't plan for these things. We've got a big week coming up, starting Sunday. We're going to have to do it with this core group of players, so we've just got to be careful about how we go about it."

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Nedum Onuoha column on Tottenham's injury crisis

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Whenever clubs suffer an injury crisis, it feels to me as if people often decide what is causing it without actually showing anything that backs it up.

Tottenham Hotspur are probably the best example of some of the myths that exist around this subject at the moment.

Although they are far from being the only Premier League club to have several players sidelined at the same time, Ange Postecoglou's playing style, training methods and selection decisions are widely assumed to have been a major cause of their issues.

My concern about focusing on those aspects is that people are not considering the perspectives of the actual people involved - the manager, the medical staff and the players themselves.

All three will have a very different mindset when it comes to managing injuries, and will be feeling different pressures that affect their decisions.

More than anything else, that is what has led to the kind of scenario we are seeing at Spurs.

I am certainly not against using data, as a broad term, to help explain why injuries happen - as long as it is relevant.

There are times, however, where people seem to want to use a subconscious bias to decide why something is happening. In the case of Spurs, it has been suggested their players get injured because Postecoglou makes them run around too much.

Historically, when I think about teams who have played with a high intensity, and sustained it over multiple seasons, then Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool instantly stand out. Not only were they successful, they were not known for suffering multiple injuries that derailed them the way it has happened at Spurs.

I am not even sure Tottenham's style is that demanding anyway. People seem to have made their minds up about that, without watching them that closely.

Is it their centre-backs or full-backs being asked to get forward into midfield that is meant to be causing them to break down? Because we have seen plenty of other teams doing the same without the same issues, including Celtic's defenders when Postecoglou was manager.

With Tottenham's centre-backs specifically, they are often on the halfway line and standing one-on-one with the opposition forwards, chasing players. That's exactly the same way Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool play, but there seems to be this idea that Spurs do something different.

It's similar when people talk about their intensity in training. I don't know exactly what they do in their sessions, but I saw an interview on the BBC website with someone who does - Anton McElhone, Postecoglou's former fitness coach at Celtic.

McElhone says the biggest adaption the players go through is when Postecoglou first arrives. He spoke about how it took Celtic's players a period of time to get used to that way of playing and training, which was when they were more susceptible to injury, but once they had done that, they were fine.

He seemed surprised Spurs are going through this now, because it is something he thought could have happened last season.

If it is happening in year two, then it is down to something different.

In an ideal world, the manager listens to the medical staff, who are in tune with the players' fitness levels and their needs around any injuries.

When all three groups are working in harmony like that, it is best for everyone. But if results become an issue then all of a sudden everyone feels a different kind of pressure. People are more willing to take a risk.

If you are winning you can keep someone on the sidelines for longer, but no-one feels that way if the team is struggling.

Suddenly the manager, physiotherapist and the injured player all feel the need for them to get back as quickly as possible, in order to help.

I have seen situations where a player is out for four-to-six weeks, but by week three the manager is asking if he is nearly ready yet. As a player, what do you say to that? You don't want to be seen as reluctant to return.

In an ideal world, the physio is obviously the one who should be empowered to make the decision whether someone is fit or not, but no physio feels under more pressure than when their treatment room is full.

They can be questioned both ways - if a player gets injured again, or if they are not coming back quickly enough. Often they are led by what a player tells them, and it is hard to say no.

If you have spent time in a professional dressing room then you will know there are many players who carry niggles almost constantly, but they will do anything they can to make themselves available for the team.

They might not be 100% fit, and they might be taking painkillers or having extensive treatment, but a lot of the time they will say they are fine.

They feel they can play and they want to play, to do their bit for the team, and that is even more the case if - like Spurs - the team is not doing very well or is short of players and they are desperate to help.

That was the case with Pape Matar Sarr in Tottenham's defeat by Leicester - Postecoglou said afterwards that he wasn't fit but he still wanted to play.

The medical team will give their opinion to the manager too, but in my experience the player's desire is key.

So, while a lot of Spurs fans might see the return of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven from injury against Chelsea in December as being a risky Postecoglou decision that has proved extremely costly, I don't see how you can put it down to it being his call.

Although they were both forced to come off in that game and have not played since, it is highly likely they were desperate to play and, like Sarr, went out there thinking they could make a difference for the team - but instead ended up back in the treatment room.

From experience, your playing schedule is likely to have far more impact in terms of injuries than your team's playing style.

Playing games every three or four days, and going on international duty as well, adds up over time, but it becomes a bigger issue when you have a few injuries to deal with too.

The hardest thing in football comes when you are never able to get on a run of games because you are never really match-fit.

The more people who are like that in your squad, the bigger the problem is, and the greater the likelihood is of getting recurring injuries.

Manchester City's issues with their centre-backs this season is a prime example of that. In the past, the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji have all been rotated by Pep Guardiola, but they have largely been selected - or not - by choice.

This time, they have all suffered injuries that have seen them come in and out of the team. It has largely only been one little niggle after another, rather than anything long term, but it has still had a massive effect.

When you have a full squad available, you can make little changes the way City usually do and, as a consequence, spread out the workload and allow people to come in and out of the team.

But if you have a few injuries, including the ones you pick up randomly from bad tackles, which are out of your control and are the element of bad luck I mentioned earlier, things can quickly snowball.

From the moment you are missing a few players the situation can escalate the way it did for City and Spurs, because you are left with so few fit senior players that you cannot rotate them to try to help them out.

Instead, you are stuck in the same cycle and things are more likely to get worse - even when you are doing things for the right reasons.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

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Tottenham 3-0 Elfsborg: 'Play the kids' message as Mikey Moore record goal caps Europa League win

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For more than an hour Tottenham were heading for another night of frustration.

After no wins in seven in the Premier League, Ange Postecoglou's team struggled against Swedish qualifiers Elfsborg in the Europa League.

The loss of yet another player to injury did not help the mood inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as substitute Radu Dragusin joined the club's spiralling casualty list.

Then 20-year-old Dane Scarlett headed Spurs ahead before 19-year-old Damola Ajayi - just three minutes and 39 seconds into his debut - produced a confident finish to make it 2-0.

Tottenham were already heading for a win and a place in the last 16 when Mikey Moore produced the finish of the night, a low shot after a clever run.

It was a lovely moment.

At 17 years and 172 days old, London-born Moore became the youngest English player to score in major men's European competition, breaking Jimmy Greaves' record (17 years 245 days), set in October 1957.

Greaves, who became a Spurs legend, was a Chelsea player at the time of his goal.

Moore has been with Spurs since the age of seven.

"A fan just said to me then - just play the kids, we don't need to buy anyone," former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch told TNT Sports.

Tottenham fans have not had too much to shout about recently, but the sight of Scarlett, Ajayi and Moore all scoring their first senior goals for the club lifted the atmosphere.

"I just said it was made in Tottenham tonight," said Spurs boss Postecoglou afterwards.

"It's brilliant for the club and I'm sure there are academy coaches and players who won't sleep tonight because they are pretty excited.

"We kind of knew we would have to rely on some young players tonight, and all the way through this campaign to be honest.

"I thought they stood up really well. The whole group played well but we were going to need some young boys to make an impact and not just the three goalscorers.

"We had a couple of 18-year-olds in there as well who continue to drive us on. So it is a great night for the club and something the whole academy should be proud of."

Tottenham became the first English side to have three scorers under the age of 21 in a major European match since Arsenal in October 2007.

The win over Elfsborg meant Spurs avoid an unwanted two-leg play-off in February.

They have four Premier League games - as well as an EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool and an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa - before they play in Europe again.

"The fact the three young lads have come into the team and scored and made the difference, it's just lifted the whole place," added Crouch.

"The manager has been under so much pressure and under so much stress.

"But everyone's coming away pleased tonight because they've seen three young lads start their careers."

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Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou the 'right man', says Dejan Kulusevski before Europa League game

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Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski says manager Ange Postecoglou retains the backing of the players and is the "right man" for the club.

Kulusevski, 24, has been Spurs' outstanding performer this season, scoring nine times in 36 appearances.

Australian boss Postecoglou has come under pressure following a dismal run of results, with Spurs 15th in the Premier League.

He said after a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City on Sunday that he was unsure over his future at the club.

But the former Celtic boss has made the case that Tottenham could finish the season with "something special" given they remain in three cup competitions: the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League.

"I agree with him," Kulusevski said. "I think we can do big things in these last four months."

Asked why he considers Postecoglou the man for the job, Kulusevski said: "Because we had games where we showed perfect football and football not many teams can play in the world.

"We played beautiful against [Manchester] United, [Manchester] City away 4-0 and we're behind him."

Tottenham were 3-0 winners at Old Trafford against Manchester United in September, and they followed that league win with a 4-3 victory over the Red Devils in the EFL Cup in December.

Kulusevski considers such days still relevant for Postecoglou as he said: "I have to fight for him because I believe in that football too. He is the right man."

Spurs have won just one of their last 11 Premier League matches, leaving them eight points above the relegation zone.

They face Swedish side IF Elfsborg in their final Europa League group fixture on Thursday, when a win would guarantee a place in the knockout stages.

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Ange Postecoglou: Why are Tottenham fans angry at chairman Daniel Levy?

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Ange Postecoglou has had some tough moments during his second season in charge at Tottenham.

There was defeat by newly promoted Ipswich in November, a 6-3 loss to Liverpool at home in December and needing extra-time to scrape past non-league Tamworth in the FA Cup in January.

But Spurs' season plunged to new depths on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to Leicester City, who had been on a seven-match losing streak before arriving in north London.

The mood inside the Tottenham Hotspur stadium turned toxic at full-time but Postecoglou was not the only one bearing the brunt of the supporters' rage, as fans made their feelings clear towards chairman Daniel Levy.

After defeat to Leicester left Spurs 15th in the Premier League and on a seven-match winless run, Postecoglou admitted he was unsure over his future.

But why is a lot of the anger directed elsewhere?

Nizaar Kinsella - BBC Sport football news reporter

A banner displayed by fans in Tottenham's South Stand during the first half put it simply, saying: "24 years, 16 managers, one trophy - time for change".

There's a sense that changing the manager now would not solve Spurs's problems - as they have repeatedly tried since Mauricio Pochettino's longer five-year spell - with Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.

Chairman and owner Levy is the most powerful person at Spurs and, rightly or wrongly, it is him rather than manager Ange Postecoglou who is the target of anger.

The criticism largely centres on a perceived inability to re-invest the riches earned from growing the club, including the building of a world class stadium in North London, into helping to build a winning team.

Spurs also have one of the best, if not the best, training grounds in the country, but the criticism is that the development of infrastructure is not matched on the pitch.

Yes, Levy might argue that Spurs have given Postecoglou £214m to spend in the transfer market but £100m of that came from the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

Reports that Spurs can't compete on wages with their London rivals Arsenal for January signings have also put Levy's project under scrutiny.

This comes amid Postecoglou's repeated calls for "help" in the form of new signings amid a 10-player injury crisis, which has derailed the season.

A protest movement against the ownership began ramping up in mid-December but has been taken to the next level and is now more mainstream in January.

Speaking to the media on Sunday, Postecoglou said he had not been able to "unify" the club.

"Certainly, something I wanted to try and do when I took on this role was to try to unify the club and create an environment here where we are all focused on the one thing. Obviously it hasn't worked out that way," he said.

"It's understandable, like you said, the fans are not happy with our current situation. It is a difficult one to navigate because we need them right now, especially at home to create an atmosphere."

While there is sizeable pressure on Levy's ownership, Postecoglou is by no means escaping scrutiny.

The Australian brought swashbuckling football back to the club in 2023 when he replaced Antonio Conte, winning eight and drawing two of his first 10 league games.

That run helped Spurs to finish fifth in the Premier League last season, earning 1.74 points-per-game.

But that record has dropped dramatically to 1.04 points-per-game this season, with Spurs winning seven, drawing three and losing 13 of their Premier League matches.

Taking out the initial 10-match unbeaten run at the start of Postecoglou's reign, the side's points-per-game record is 1.25 in the Premier League.

The former Celtic boss will point to the injuries that have blighted Spurs' season and there is no doubting that the long-term absences of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie has contributed to the poor results.

Postecoglou has largely refused to adapt his playing methods, deciding to continue with the same style of play even without key players at his disposal.

Depending on who you talk to, this is either Postecoglou's biggest strength or his main weakness.

"I have been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we are at at the moment and rightly so in some respects. It's not good enough," said Postecoglou.

"If people want to put context to that they can, if not so be it. From my point of view, I'm still very much stuck on the fact that the players are just giving everything they can. They did on Thursday night, they did today.

"Hopefully over the next 10 days to two weeks we should get some significant players back which I think will help this group a lot. It will give them the boost they need. We have still got some fantastic opportunities this year to make an impact in the second half of this year and I'm sure that will happen."

Asked if he has enough credit in the bank to still be at the club for when those injured players return, Postecoglou said: "Who knows. I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no.

"When you are the manager of a football club, you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don't feel that.

"I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that."

Spurs are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, on the brink of qualifying for the Europa League knockout stages and they take a 1-0 lead to Liverpool in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final next month.

"I still think that in these last three months we can do something really special and I think these players believe that," said Postecoglou.

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Premier League LIVE: Crystal Palace vs Brentford & Tottenham vs Leicester - scores & radio

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Tottenham v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Yep, that does count, Anon. And cheers to you too, Padraig.

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium it's properly chucking it down. A few Leicester players are doing their stretches with their hoods up.

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Tottenham v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Nedum Onuoha

Former Manchester City defender on Final Score

I think Ange is probably routing for his players to come back and be available for as long as possible.

If a new manager comes in with this same availability of players, I don't think they would do any better.

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Crystal Palace v Brentford (14:00 GMT)

Brentford are already out and warming up at Selhurst Park.

The Bees' training top is very striking. A camouflage pattern in pink and purple.

Leicester can survive - Van Nistelrooy

Tottenham v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Leicester City

Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy insists the Foxes can stay up this season: "We are trying to achieve something. Today is a new game. We prepared ourselves, we are motivated, we are eager to start and to prove what we can do. We showed it - also in the seven losses (in a row) - the levels we can reach but it's consistency. That is the motivation. We are in a situation that we can still get out of and we are motivated to achieve that."

'Leicester looking down the barrel'

Tottenham v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Rob Green

Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

It’s a long road and it has been a long road already this season.

They got that win against West ham in Ruud's opening game, but since then Leicester have been looking down the barrel.

Recent results has been really worrying.

Maddison 'not 100%'

Tottenham v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on James Maddison's absence from Spurs' squad: "He was still a bit sore from the other night (against Hoffenheim), it took a fair bit out of the group. He wasn't 100% so yeah he misses out today. Hopefully he should be alright for next week."

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Tottenham v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Four of James Maddison's last five Premier League appearances have been off the bench. Tottenham fans may rate him, but is appears from the outside anyway that Ange Postecoglou may not.

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Women's Super League LIVE: Five games including Chelsea v Arsenal, Crystal Palace v Spurs, Leicester v Liverpool, West Ham v Everton, Man Utd v Brighton

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'We want to go the season unbeaten'

FT: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal

Chelsea

Chelsea's Lucy Bronze, speaking to BBC Two: "I thought it was quite an even game, both did really well. I've not watched the penalty back, Kim Little assures me it wasn't a penalty but I don't know. We just saw the game out in the end."

On the tactics: "From the off we were front-footed, it's something we want to do in most games. I think we're still getting used to the tactics of Sonia. The great thing about Chelsea this year is there's not one XI, we adapt in different ways. We started really well on the front foot."

On what Sonia Bompastor's instructions are: "She wants us to dominate games, to be in control of games. Chelsea in the past have been good on the transition but we also need to be able to dictate games, you can't just play at full pace for 90 minutes for 40 games a season."

On Arsenal being tough to play against: "They're a good team, they've found a bit of form recently under the new manager. We knew it would be a good game and it would be tough to break down."

On the gap at the top of the table: "At the end of the day we're trying to win trophies and that's difficult, we wanted to get a good stretch of points so that when we're trying to compete in all cups we're in a good place. We can afford that but we want to go the season unbeaten so that's the way it us."

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