EPL

'Something has to change' – Stellini questions Spurs' mentality after heavy Leicester loss

By Sports Desk February 11, 2023

Cristian Stellini has questioned the mentality of Tottenham's players and accepts "something has to change" after a 4-1 loss at Leicester City.

Spurs failed to build on last weekend's 1-0 win over Manchester City as their hopes of finishing in the Premier League top four suffered another setback.

Rodrigo Bentancur gave Tottenham the lead, but Leicester responded with goals from Nampalys Mendy, James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho before half-time.

Harvey Barnes added a late fourth at the King Power Stadium to inflict a fourth league defeat on Spurs in seven matches since the turn of the year.

Tottenham assistant Stellini, who took press duties despite Antonio Conte returning to the dugout following gallbladder surgery, was not pleased with what he saw on Saturday.

"To be consistent is a long process; it's a mental process," he said. "You have to be better mentally and better with the approach. After we scored the goal, something changed.

"We struggled a lot and we are disappointed for that. There's not an explanation because if you know what happened you can change this. 

"It happened last season, after we beat Manchester City we lost to Burnley. We are a team, and in the team something has to change, not individually. It's about the desire.

"It's about recovering the mental energy. After a game against City, maybe we used all the energy we had. To recover that is like a battle. You have to recreate the same energy."

Conte returned to Tottenham's training ground on Thursday, eight days on from undergoing surgery, but Stellini explained the head coach is still recovering.

"It's good for the club, the team and everyone to have Antonio back," he said. "He has to take it easy a bit. 

"He cannot use his energy 100 per cent and we have to give something more to cover the gap. We know we have to be more responsible."

Tottenham are two points behind fourth-place Newcastle United, who played out a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth later on Saturday and have a game in hand.

Conte's side host London rivals West Ham and Chelsea in their next two league games, but first is a Champions League last-16 first-leg tie away at Milan on Tuesday.

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    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Tottenham – Son Heung-min 

    Son scored twice for Spurs in the reverse fixture against Arsenal in September – a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. In all competitions, only five players have scored more goals in the fixture's history than Son's seven. 

    The only player to score multiple goals in both north London derby matches in a league season was Arsenal's Ted Drake, who did so back in 1934-35.

    Arsenal – Martin Odegaard 

    Odegaard has been involved in six goals in his last six away appearances in the Premier League, scoring three and assisting three.

    The Gunners captain was in mesmerising form in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Chelsea, leading all players on the pitch for assists (two), chances created (eight), passes into the final third (34) and duels won (eight). A repeat performance would be huge for the visitors' title hopes.

    MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN

    Tottenham have won just one of their last six Premier League games against Arsenal (one draw, four defeats), with their four losses in this span as many as they had suffered in their previous 16 against the Gunners (six wins, six draws).

    They also lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season, meaning the Gunners could win on back-to-back league trips to Tottenham for the first time since enjoying a run of three victories there between 1987 and 1988.

    Arteta's men know there is no margin for error with the title race in City's hands.

    Even a draw could prove fatal to their hopes – at the end of the 2015-16 season, the North London derby was the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 20 of 48 meetings finishing level (42 per cent). Since then, only four matches between these rivals have seen the points shared (27 per cent).

    Arsenal have kept six straight clean sheets on their travels in the Premier League, with only two teams ever keeping seven in a row – Chelsea from September to December 2008 and Manchester United from November to February in 2008-09. The Gunners should have enough to grind out a huge win.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Tottenham – 31%

    Arsenal – 41.3% 

    Draw – 27.7%

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