Tottenham lost their heads during chaotic 4-1 loss to Chelsea that derailed their season after going gung-ho with nine men… but has Ange Postecoglou learnt his lesson as he bids for revenge at Stamford Bridge?

There is one image that stands out most from Tottenham’s crushing 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last November. Not the photos of Mauricio Pochettino’s men cheering or the dejected faces of the home team. It was an image of all eight Spurs outfielders pushed to halfway.

Even after Ange Postecoglou was reduced to nine men in one of the most chaotic and frenetic Premier League games of all time – with Tottenham trailing 2-1 – he refused to relent.

Genius or madness? That was the question asked about Postecoglou’s persistent attacking philosophy. And to be fair, Spurs had two great chances to draw level with Chelsea before being eliminated on the counter.

“We can go back to five men and then we will make a crack,” the Australian said after the match. “It’s just who we are, buddy, and who we’re going to be as long as I’m here.”

Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge on Thursday to wipe those painful memories from existence, whilst still maintaining the unwavering ethos of their manager.

The Australian will face Mauricio Pochettino again on Thursday as Tottenham look to right the wrongs of their hammering

Tottenham lost their heads that night when they were sent to nine men against Chelsea

It’s unlikely we’ll see anything close to that eyebrow-raising highline from Spurs on this occasion, but that doesn’t mean Postecoglou has learned his lesson. Far from it. Why? As for his tactics, he doesn’t believe there is a lesson to be learned.

As for the temperament of his side, there is room for improvement and that will be crucial to achieve any results at a venue where Tottenham have won just once in fourteen years.

Tottenham completely lost their minds in the first match, when Cristian Romero was sent off for mindlessly charging at Enzo Fernandez with a studs-up challenge that also resulted in a penalty. The Argentina international is a fantastic defender, but he is also a notorious hothead.

Destiny Udogie also got his marching orders in the second half to give Spurs a mountain to climb – even with the score at 1-1 – when a hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson killed the game and set up an agonizing scoreline for Spurs.

Postecoglou took responsibility for the result, which marked a milestone for the side led by the former Celtic boss. In his words: eleven men or five men – either way his teams go for the jugular. This is exactly how he wants his side to play, and in many ways he was perhaps even happy with the result as it showed that the players had adopted his mentality.

The problem is that this match was tougher than he could have imagined, after a combination of injuries to Mickey van de Ven and James Maddison and suspensions for Romero and Udogie sent Spurs into a tailspin, destroying their hopes of an early title faded quickly.

Spurs need to show better temperament this time to have a chance of winning

That damaging night in north London had disastrous consequences for Tottenham’s season as injuries and suspensions derailed any title hopes

In the resulting games his side has been ripped open far too often this season, showing ‘Ange ball’ and the way his side set themselves up still needs a lot of work.

Spurs’ fitness problems haven’t gone away and that won’t help matters. Maddison is back, but looks a fraction of the player who played for them earlier this season. Udogie, Ben Davies and Timo Werner have all been ruled out for the season.

Chelsea will look to Tottenham’s latest result – a 3-2 defeat to rivals Arsenal – and take confidence after seeing Spurs go down 3-0 in the first half as the Gunners took control despite not being the dominant team were.

Former Spurs boss Pochettino knows this club inside and out and although many of the players who were loyal to him during his five-and-a-half year tenure are now gone, he will feel he has a good idea of ​​what the current Tottenham team will look like to play.

The Argentinian has come under a lot of pressure this season and Chelsea have started off in sketchy form in the first match between the two sides.

Thrashing Spurs did not prove to be the catalyst that turned their season around as they followed it up with a 4-4 draw against Man City, a 4-1 defeat against Newcastle, a 3-2 win against Brighton before heading back to played back. defeats against Manchester United and Everton.

Tottenham are at a low ebb after a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal and Chelsea will see weaknesses

But Chelsea themselves are plagued by inconsistency and infighting

Recent results are hardly inspiring either, with a lack of consistency being the pressing problem for the Blues. It was a 2-2 draw at home against Burnley, after which Man United was defeated 4-3. Draw 2-2 against Sheffield United and beat Everton 6-0. Lose 5-0 to Arsenal and then draw 2-2 against high-flying Aston Villa.

You may see a pattern here, but in reality you never know what you’re going to get from Chelsea. Add to that the recent fighting – after Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer all argued over who would take a penalty against Everton – and you have a real mess at Stamford Bridge.

This would be seen as a good time to play them given they have scored seven goals in their last two games, but Spurs have conceded exactly the same number after also being beaten 4-0 by Newcastle earlier this month .

Spurs will be motivated by righting the wrongs of the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea when they arrive in West London. This is a chance to show how Postecoglou can perform well against another top team, just as they did when they beat Aston Villa 4-0 at Villa Park, or when they drew 3-3 against reigning champions Manchester City.

But the Australian insists they are not thinking of revenge. Maintaining the desire to beat their rivals in a huge London derby will be motivation enough.

Postecoglou insists his side are not looking for revenge, but Spurs have a chance to put things right

“I have never believed in that revenge nonsense because it would suggest that you need motivation other than winning football matches,” he said at his pre-match press conference.

‘You can understand the meaning of matches for fans, but players and staff don’t need extra motivation. That’s what you have to do every week.’

Tottenham are seven points behind Aston Villa with five games left to play, but this is one of two games they still need to win against Unai Emery’s men. The other is against Man City. It’s unlikely, but two huge results could make things very interesting in the top four race.

The first match against Chelsea was a benchmark for their season in terms of embracing their playing style and lessons learned. The second leg offers a chance for redemption and shows how far the team has come since that painful night.