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Ange Postecoglou will notch up a half century of Premier League games in charge of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, AEDT, with a crucial month ahead for the Australian.

The 59-year-old led Tottenham to fifth place in his first season at the helm — a solid improvement on its eighth-placed finish the season before.

But after a spectacular start to his Tottenham reign when the team bagged 26 points from its first 10 Premier League games, the subsequent period has been mired in inconsistency.

This season it has won five and lost five of its first 11 games, with the latest setback coming before the international break when it was beaten 2-1 at home by Ipswich Town.

His side are in 10th place in the table ahead of their trip to champions Manchester City this weekend.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the former Celtic and Socceroos manager said his team had progressed from last season and that judging it so early in the campaign was unfair, although he admits it faced a crucial period with nine games in 29 days.

"I think it's going to be a real pivotal part of the season. If we're still 10th at Christmas obviously people won't be happy, but we might not be 10th," he told reporters.

"If we had beaten Ipswich we'd be third and I reckon this press conference would be a lot different, wouldn't it? I'm not going to let my life be dictated by one result.

"I take a sort of wider perspective on these things because I know how fickle it can be.

"But we need to address our position for sure.

"If we're 10th at Christmas, yeah, it won't be great, for sure. Absolutely and rightly so there would be a lot of scrutiny around me."

'The key is the next 50 games'

Postecoglou insists there has been progress in his first 50 Premier League games in charge after inheriting a squad in need of a major rebuild.

His side has produced some scintillating football at times this season in wins against Manchester United and Aston Villa, and it beat Manchester City to reach the quarterfinal of the League Cup.

But there have been slip-ups, including losses to Ipswich and Crystal Palace.

"I think I said I am steadfast and I am clear on some really strong principles that I just won't budge on. But that doesn't mean I don't feel at times I need to adapt in the way I deliver things," he said.

Asked for his assessment on his half century, Postecoglou said: "Where did I think we'd be after 50 games? God knows, mate. Could have been a whole lot worse now, but when you look at it in the current prism of 10th, you kind of go, doesn't look good. I understand that and we have to improve that.

"But over the 50 games, I think there's enough there that shows where we are progressing as a team, and we are developing into the team we want.

"The key is the next 50 games. If they can be better than the first 50, firstly that means I'm still here. But secondly, I think we'll be in a good space."

Ange Postecoglou has suffered another setback in his roller-coaster season with Tottenham Hotspur, and has ended up shouldering the blame for his side's chronic inconsistency following a second loss in four days.

Spurs succumbed 2-1 at home to previously winless Ipswich on Monday morning (AEDT), gifting the struggling Tractor Boys their first Premier League victory in 22 years with an insipid display that had social media critics out in force with their criticism of the Australian.

Postecoglou was left reflecting recently that a week is a long time in football, after being derided as a grumpy old so-and-so one week and an all-conquering hero the next.

He may have been thinking the same as a week that had begun with him feeling emotional and humbled while being honoured at the Australian High Commission for his contribution to the sport ended with one of his side's most deflating displays of the campaign.

Four days after they had lost to Galatasaray in the Europa League, Spurs lost for the fifth time in 11 Premier League games this season, leaving them 10th, a dozen points behind leaders Liverpool, when a routine win over Ipswich would have catapulted them to third.

Spurs are in the League Cup quarterfinals but they haven't been able to stretch together more than two league wins in a row this season and have demonstrated wild fluctuations in form, even within the same match.

"It's just down to me. I'm not getting consistent performances from the players," Postecoglou told the BBC.

"It's something I need to address. I'm the person in charge so that's usually the way it goes.

"I take responsibility when their performances don't meet the levels that they should."

Poor starts in matches have been a constant thread and so it was again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs fell behind 2-0 by halftime through goals from Sam Szmodics and Liam Delap.

Rodrigo Bentancur's header pulled one back but it was not enough, with Postecoglou admitting that playing catch-up — this was the 13th time Spurs have gone 1-0 down in 15 home Premier League matches in 2024 — was a problem.

"There are different reasons," Postecoglou said when asked why it had happened.

"Today was a bit different to other times. We were way too passive.

"If you give the opposition that much of a head start, it takes a lot to claw it back."

Two second-half goals from Dominic Solanke and a sublime James Maddison free kick helped Tottenham Hotspur to come from behind and overwhelm Aston Villa 4-1, ending the visitors' seven-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Unai Emery's Villa led at half-time through Morgan Rogers, but Spurs were level soon after the break when Brennan Johnson tapped in at the far post.

Solanke's two goals in four minutes, including a flowing team move finished off with a delightful dink over Emiliano Martinez, secured the win, before Maddison curled in a free kick in stoppage time.

Ange Postecoglou's Spurs had struggled to break down Villa in the first half, largely resorting to shots from distance, but they upped their intensity in the second period and two quick goals from Solanke sealed the win.

Postecoglou was full of praise for Solanke, a key signing from Bournemouth this summer, describing his effort levels as "unbelievable".

"I just can't speak highly enough of what he's contributing to our team at the moment," Postecoglou told reporters.

Spurs have bounced back well from a disappointing defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend, knocking Manchester City out of the League Cup in midweek, but Postecoglou was keen to stay grounded.

"You don't fall off cliffs and you don't climb mountains within a week," Postecoglou said.

"I'm totally focused on the long game here."

Emery, whose side had looked comfortable in the first half, said he was disappointed with the result, but not too worried about the manner of the defeat.

"We are disappointed, frustrated but we are accepting it," Emery told the UK's Sky Sports.

"We know our way, it is 38 matches, the league is very tight."

Villa's goal punctuated a drab first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Rogers poking home from a yard out after Lucas Digne's corner was flicked on into the six-yard box.

Spurs skipper Son Heung-min provided an assist on his return from injury, whipping an excellent out-swinging ball across the goal for Johnson to slot home at the back post shortly after half-time.

Solanke's first goal was a flowing one-touch team move, latching on to Dejan Kulusevski's cute pass and chipping the ball over the on-rushing Martinez.

Minutes later, a mistake by Villa defender Pau Torres set Spurs charging forward again with second-half substitute Richarlison squaring for Solanke to grab his second goal.

Maddison put the gloss on a fine display late on, caressing the ball around the Villa wall from 20 yards out and into the top corner past a helpless Martinez.

Spurs move up to seventh on the Premier League table on 16 points, two points adrift from VIlla in sixth who fell out of the top five after Chelsea secured a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has rued his side's lack of composure in a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, saying the visitors conceded a poor goal after losing the ball near their own box.

Palace claimed its first win of the season when Spurs defender Micky van de Ven slipped in possession while looking to play the ball out from the back, with the home side capitalising to score through Jean-Philippe Mateta.

"We could have dealt with those situations better but it was a poor goal and we should do better at that and not concede like that," Postecoglou told reporters.

"There were other solutions out there and again even in that moment we didn't have to lose our composure. It just seems we kind of wanted everything to run smoothly and we know it doesn't, especially in a game like today.

"There are still ways you can overcome that but it was a poor goal to concede because the game was always an arm-wrestle. It was never going to be one with bags of chances … so to concede like that was disappointing."

Postecoglou said he did not want Spurs to play Palace at their own game and said the stop-start nature of the match did not allow his players to settle down.

"What I want to try to do is get people to adjust to playing our game. Some of it is out of control because they're obviously going to be pretty aggressive in their approach," he added.

"How the referee deals with that, not so much in terms of the challenges but in terms of stoppages and taking their time, all of that is out of our control. But I just felt when we had control of things, we could have dealt with it better.

"We ended up doing silly things, giving away silly fouls and losing our composure, which just adds to that sort of game when you can't get any traction.

"We directed our frustration in the wrong way rather than dealing with it like we should have."

Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario kept Palace at bay with some crucial saves and the Italian said the home side showed more fight in the London derby.

"They fight and I think we lacked that today," Vicario told Sky Sports.

"We are disappointed because we have to fight. We play good football but maybe sometimes we lack the desire to fight. They show a real desire to fight for something."

"I think we lacked a bit of energy to be better than them.

"We have to take this personally and it has to hurt us a lot."

Spurs sit in eighth place in the Premier League, with a four wins, four defeats and a draw from their nine matches this season.

Ange Postecoglou has not cut such a dejected figure in his 15-month reign as Tottenham boss as he did after their sorry Premier League capitulation at Brighton, a defeat he called "as bad as it gets".

Spurs had been coasting to what appeared the most straightforward of victories on England's south coast on Sunday, having outplayed Brighton with some scintillating football to be 2-0 up at halftime through goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison.

But demonstrating the inconsistency that's become a Spurs hallmark — and not just under Postecoglou — the Australian's team was almost unrecognisable after the break, folding so meekly that they conceded three goals in 18 minutes to Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck.

It was the 10th time that Spurs have lost a game in the Premier League era when they were two goals ahead. No other club can match that dispiriting stat.

Postecoglou has been occasionally tetchy and often defiant when Spurs' performances have been questioned this season, but this time his response, with head bowed, was unusually subdued.

"That's disappointing. I'm frustrated, absolutely gutted, that's probably the worst defeat we've had since I've been here," he said.

"Unacceptable second half, we weren't anywhere near where we should be, and we just got carried away with how we were going.

"We kind of accepted our fate, which it's a bit hard to understand, because we haven't done that since I've been here. We've usually fought for everything, but when you don't, you pay a price, and we paid the price.

"Maybe things were travelling on too smoothly, and football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself — and that's what it looked like to me second half.

"There's no message (to the players). It's a terrible loss for us, as bad as it gets, and there's only one way to fix it — and that's my responsibility."

What must have been particularly galling for the 59-year-old was that, after a sticky start to his second season in charge at Spurs, they had appeared to be moving into a higher gear, reeling off five straight wins including an impressive 3-0 win at Manchester United last week.

With Spurs having slumped to ninth in the table when they could have been sixth with a victory, many of Postecoglou's squad will now disappear on international duty with food for thought.

"So they will process individually, and then 'll deal with it when everybody gets back," the manager said.

Spurs' England international Maddison also admitted that they had "lost complete control of the game".

"In adversity in the Premier League, the best teams stay strong in that moment and weather the storm," he said.

"We definitely didn't do that."

Hayley Raso has capped her comeback to England's Women's Super League with a slaloming, solo goal for Tottenham.

The 30-year-old, whose year-long spell as the first Australian ever to play for Real Madrid proved a frustrating stop-start affair but featured some dazzling moments, kicked off her third spell at a WSL club with a beauty to launch Spurs' 4-0 win over newcomers Crystal Palace on Sunday.

On another busy day for the Matildas' contingent in the WSL, summer signing Raso introduced herself to the Spurs' faithful at Brisbane Road in the 19th minute when she found space in the Palace half and, despite being shadowed by three defenders, embarked on a speculative run.

Trademark ribbon flowing, Raso first turned Katrine Veje inside out, weaved into the right of the box, and swivelled to strike the ball into the opposite corner, not with the greatest connection but directed perfectly to give keeper Shae Yanez no chance.

"I feel like it was rolling slowly, so I just said 'please go in, please go in'," Raso said after the match.

"Really good team performance, everyone's happy to start off the season like that and to get a goal topped it all off for me," she said.

Clare Hunt, snapped up from French club PSG, also made her debut for the Lillywhites, but didn't have too much to do.

Tottenham's other Australian international Charli Grant just enjoyed a few minutes off the bench.

Raso, who has also played for Everton and Manchester City in the WSL, was Spurs' player of the match.

"They've been lovely, super supportive," Raso said of her new teammates.

"Credit to the girls here, they've made the transition easy for us, we've gelled well pre season and I think we've showed that today. I've found my feet pretty quickly."

At the Emirates Stadium Arsenal's Matildas contingent Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord went head-to-head with Manchester City's Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy in a thrilling 2-2 draw to open the season.

Foord helped initiate Arsenal's opener with a bright run down the right flank that set up Frida Maanum's goal but City, pipped for the title by Chelsea on the final day last season, equalised after the break through their new superstar striker Vivianne Miedema, the former Arsenal ace, who didn't celebrate out of respect.

A brilliant long-range effort from England international Jess Park looked to have given City the victory but Arsenal sub Beth Mead volleyed in a late equaliser.

Fowler, who came on for Miedema after 74 minutes, had been dropped to the bench despite scoring for City in the Women's Champions League win at Paris FC in midweek and she'll have a fight to get her starting place back with star Jamaica striker Khadija Shaw also having returned to the starting XI.

Veteran striker Jamie Vardy earned newly-promoted Leicester City a 1-1 draw with a wasteful Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League season opener.

Spurs dominated the first half but Pedro Porro's opener in the 29th minute was the only time they could make one of a host of good chances count.

Further clear-cut opportunities came and went after the break, with the visitors' wastefulness proving costly when Leicester skipper Vardy headed an equaliser into the net with 57 minutes gone.

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Brazilian Richarlison missed a golden opening to win it at the death and Spurs had to settle for one point in a match they really should have taken all three from.

"Disappointing night for us," Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou told Sky Sports.

"First half excellent and controlled the game but wasteful in front of goal. Second half was the same.

"We started off well and once Leicester scored, the crowd lifted and we lost our composure. It was an issue we had last year as well, we need to keep working hard and be a bit more ruthless in front of goal. At times we made poor decisions.

"It's not our football or effort. To get results you need to be a lot more ruthless in the final third. If we don't we won't get the rewards our football deserves."

Spurs' evening went from bad to worse when midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was carried off on a stretcher after an eight-minute stoppage in the second half, following a nasty collision.

The Uruguayan was given oxygen as he was surrounded by medical staff but was later reported to be recovering.

A poor end to last season saw Spurs miss out on a top-four finish in Australian Postecoglou's first year in charge.

The north London club have invested in several new signings in the close season to challenge for the Champions League qualification places once again, with striker Dominic Solanke the biggest outlay.

The former Bournemouth forward, playing Premier League football again after a year back in the second tier, should have opened his Spurs account in the first half.

Some wayward finishing from Solanke ensured Leicester were let off the hook early on, before Porro arrived on the end of a James Maddison cross to guide home the opening goal.

The second half appeared to be a matter of how many Spurs would score, with Solanke again guilty of wasting gilt-edged opportunities.

Vardy, however, made no mistake when presented with his chance to snatch a point for Leicester and the 37-year-old collected the eighth Premier League opening-day goal of his career, a tally bettered only by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

"I see age as just a number," Vardy said.

"As long as I keep looking after myself and my legs keep feeling great, then I will carry on for as long as is physically possible.

"I wouldn't say I am doing anything differently playing-wise. Probably adapted a bit by dropping in but I think the main thing is I am looking after myself recovery-wise to the maximum."

Australian defender Clare Hunt has left French club Paris Saint-Germain after less than a year to join Matildas teammate Charli Grant at Tottenham Hotspur.

Hunt has signed a three-year deal with Spurs in the Women's Super League.

"I was drawn to Spurs for the way they play, the club culture that is here and, for me, it feels like an environment where I can contribute," Hunt told Spurs' website.

The centre-back has become an integral part of the Matildas' defence since making her debut last year, starring at the Women's World Cup.

Hunt, 25, has just 23 caps to her name but is already one of Australia's locked-in starters.

She will be crucial to the Matildas' hopes of winning the 2026 Asian Cup on home soil.

Hunt joins several Matildas teammates — including Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross — in England's top-flight league.

Hunt departs Paris Saint-Germain after just 22 appearances. She won a Coupe de France in her short stint at the club.

Mary Fowler gets a rare chance to play a full match for Manchester City, scoring a goal as Tottenham ended City's FA Cup run.