Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has defended the club following comments made by former goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in his new book regarding the Champions League final in 2019.
Lloris, who made 447 appearances for Spurs between 2012 and 2024, suggested his former club were happy to be second best, claiming chairman Daniel Levy gifted the players watches with ‘Champions League finalists’ engraved on them before they faced Liverpool five years ago.
They went on to lose the final in Madrid 2-0. However, Postecoglou, who has questioned the club’s mentality himself, insists the period Lloris referred to should be looked back upon with pride.
"There could have been a very successful period for the club. They came very close. We're talking about finishing runners-up in the Premier League, runners-up in the Champions League,” Postecoglou said.
“It could have been a very different era and maybe, in retrospect, you would be looking at those things. It's easier to focus on the negatives when the outcomes are not what you want, but there was obviously a lot right at the time which got them close to the ultimate.
“From my perspective, you don't put a limit on what you can achieve because if you do, potentially you might miss something that comes along your way."
Spurs are aiming to avenge their midweek defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League against strugglers Ipswich Town, who, along with Wolves, are yet to win in the Premier League this term.
But despite the Tractor Boys’ form, Postecoglou is expecting a difficult test, lauding Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna for the “unbelievable” job he has done at Portman Road.
"Yeah, I think every weekend, every league game, has its potential to hurt you if you're not at your best. Ipswich will be no different,” Postecoglou said.
"They got close last week, close the week before. I think Kieran McKenna has done an unbelievable job. We're expecting a tough one at the weekend, our form at home has been pretty strong."
While Ipswich remain winless upon their return to the top-flight, McKenna believes there have been signs of progress at the club.
"I don't think you can always set an exact expectation or definition of performances because every game is different. One of our first goals is to be competitive in every match, and we're not too far away from that,” McKenna said.
“Across the 10 games we have certainly been in the large majority of games. We would have liked to have won a couple by now but, also, we've only lost five out of 10 with what we have been through and the challenges we have faced over the early part of the season.
"To pick up five results - certainly could have been one or two more - and to be as competitive as we have been, I think there are a lot of positives in there. We know there is another step to take to win games consistently in the Premier League.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham – Dominic Solanke
After scoring three goals in his last two games for Spurs across all competitions, Solanke will be hoping to get his season up and running against Ipswich this weekend.
But his work rate at the top end of the pitch has gone under the radar this term. He has applied more pressures in the final third than any other player in the Premier League this season (212).
Ipswich – Leif Davis
Davis has been a bright spark in a disappointing season for Ipswich thus far, creating more chances than any other defender in the Premier League so far this campaign (25).
But he has not neglected his defensive responsibilities either. Only Sam Morsy (17) has won more tackles than Davis (12) for the Tractor Boys in the top-flight.
MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN
Despite being heavily favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, Tottenham have won just three of their 10 Premier League games against Ipswich (D3 L4). Excluding ever-present sides, it’s their lowest win rate against any opponent they’ve faced 10 or more times in the competition.
And Spurs have also struggled after competing in the Europa League in midweek. They have lost their last two Premier League games at the weekend immediately following a European match, losing to Brighton and Crystal Palace. Only twice have they lost three consecutive such matches, doing so from December 2012 to March 2013 and from September to October 2019.
They have also conceded the first goal in each of their last four top-flight home games but have come back to win the last three. No team has ever conceded first but gone on to win four consecutive home games in the competition before.
However, Spurs have won 32 of their last 36 Premier League home games against promoted sides (D2 L2) and haven’t failed to score in any of their last 42 such games since a 1-0 loss to Wolves in December 2009.
Ipswich remain winless in their 10 Premier League games this season (D5 L5), their longest run without a win from the start of a top-flight season. They have lost their last two away games 4-1 at West Ham and 4-3 at Brentford, last conceding four or more goals in three consecutive away league games in March 1964.
The Tractor Boys have also struggled in recent visits to the capital. They have lost their last five Premier League away games against London sides, conceding at least two goals each time (16 in total). However, 33% of their Premier League wins in London have come against Spurs (2/6), including their last such victory in December 2001.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Tottenham – 71.2%
Draw – 16.2%
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
Bompastor pleased with Chelsea's rotated side in 3-0 Champions League win over Celtic
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor was delighted with her side's 3-0 home victory over Celtic in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, which extended her 100% start and secured their place in the quarter-final.
Bompastor's side remain three points above Real Madrid at the top of Group B and can now no longer be caught by third-placed Twente.
"I told the players before the game tonight that it was an opportunity for us to qualify for the quarter-final, and we did that," she told the official club website after the game.
The result comes after a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the WSL last weekend, which also has them top of that table with seven wins from seven.
"We also remain top of the table, which is also something we want to make sure we achieve. It's great news that we were able to rotate the squad and give opportunities to some players to play a Champions League game again.
"We could rest some players thinking about the Manchester United game [on Sunday]."
One of those players who got on the pitch as a result of that rotation was 17-year-old Lola Brown, who made her professional debut after coming off the bench in the 85th minute.
"It's a special week for her individually, but also for the club," Bompastor said. "I'm really pleased for her and the opportunity for her to come in, especially in a Champions League game.
"She's been training with us and I can see her talent, even if she is young. She's really dynamic as a player, really smart, and really good with the ball. She will progress and this experience tonight will bring her a lot of joy and a lot of confidence.
'As a manager, I worked a lot with the young players, especially when I was at the academy with Lyon, and it's also something special for me when I can give an opportunity to a young player to come in and show themselves. It's really good and shows the good job that the club is doing with young players.'
Aside from Brown, Bompastor made six changes to Chelsea's starting XI for the game and was pleased with the contribution of the players who came in.
"It's been my mindset from the beginning of the season. We play so many games and have to make sure everyone is involved. It's also the opportunity for me to show my trust in the players and the squad.
"It's important because it's not possible for a player to play 90 minutes every three days, especially with a lot of international players who play for their national team and club and travel all around the world. I think that's the way it has to be.'
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