Dejan Kulusevski believes Ange Postecoglou’s fun football can bring more great results following Tottenham’s swashbuckling win against Manchester United.
A challenging year for everyone connected to Spurs was compounded on the eve of the season when star turn Harry Kane completed his much-discussed move to Bayern Munich.
Tottenham showed promise and resilience to draw 2-2 at Brentford the following day and this weekend summer appointment Postecoglou celebrated his first win since taking charge.
United started strongly but Spurs eventually kicked into gear, with Pape Sarr’s strike and a Lisandro Martinez own goal secured a thrilling 2-0 win at a rocking Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“It was fantastic in the stadium today,” winger Kulusevski said. “Very, very good support from the fans.
“We want to make them happy and we are happy that we made them happy today.
“I think football has to be fun. That’s why we started playing and that’s when great results can come.
“So, it’s a great start to start having fun and then improve. Always have fun, then keep improving and we will be good.”
Kulusevski echoed Son Heung-min’s view on Postecoglou’s approach after the new captain said “it’s really, really fun” and “more enjoyable for the Spurs fans”.
Asked how his game has changed under the Australian, the Sweden international said: “A little bit, of course, because it’s more offensive.
“I don’t have to be more as a wing-back when we’re defending so I’m enjoying it a lot.
“I learn a lot of things every day. I like that because I’m still young, so it’s still good to go every day, to hear new things and keep improving.”
Kulusevski provided the cross that deflected into Sarr’s path for the opener on Saturday, but his wait for a goal stretches back to January’s 4-2 defeat Manchester City.
The 23-year-old’s goalless streak clearly frustrated the attacking midfielder, who says the whole Spurs squad need to chip in to help fill the void left by Kane.
“I had a good game, I just need to score,” Kulusevski said. “That’s all. “I just need to score and I try to find the right pass. I think that’s the only thing that’s missing in my game right now.
“We have to all do it and right now we’re doing it, everybody’s involved in the goal so that’s a good thing.
“The more people that score, we’re going to need that because we don’t have the 30 goals from Harry.
“He probably watched, yeah, for sure. We’re playing good. I think we’re doing the right thing every day but we’ve got to keep winning.
“Today we’re all happy about but tomorrow forget about it, keep improving and work harder.”
Spurs return to action at Bournemouth next Saturday lunchtime, while United will look to get back to winning ways against Nottingham Forest later that afternoon.
Skipper Bruno Fernandes held his hands up for a poor miss during a period of first half dominance for the Red Devils, who ultimately lost their way in north London.
“It’s about understanding what we did wrong in this game,” the Portuguese said.
“How we concede the goals, what we can do better, getting more ruthless when we are in front of the goal, understanding that we have to score that first goal.
“The meaning of the first goal, as the manager speaks so many times (about), and even more so now we’re at home.
“We know how it is with our fans there, they will be pushing for us.
“I think we have to understand that we’re in a good position still, it’s the beginning of the season.
“Obviously we don’t want to lose points straight away but we did and there’s nothing that we can do now apart from going into the next game and get the three points.”
Maresca: 'Brave' Chelsea had to send a message against Arsenal
Chelsea did not get the result they wanted but Enzo Maresca believed his team made a statement by fighting back to draw with Arsenal.
Pedro Neto's first Premier League goal for the Blues saw Chelsea restore parity in the 70th minute of Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge.
Gabriel Martinelli had put the Gunners ahead 10 minutes earlier, and Leandro Trossard squandered a great chance for Arsenal with the final kick of the game.
Chelsea finished with more shots (17 to 13) and a higher expected goals (1.28 to 0.99), and Maresca was satisfied with their performance.
"I enjoyed it, absolutely. The performance was good," he told BBC Sport.
"We know them quite well and we competed pretty well. The performance is very important for us in this moment and it was good. We can rest now and go again.
"The performance from Pedro [Neto] was very good. We played in the way we wanted to, brave, and try and play from the back always.
"It is the way we want to do things. We try and play face-to-face against every team. We are Chelsea, so it is important to send this message."
Neto has now either scored (two) or assisted (one) in each of his last three Premier League starts against Arsenal, with Sunday's goal ending a run of 17 league appearances in a row without him finding the net.
His goal was his first from outside the box in the Premier League since January 1, 2020.
"We wanted to win, but we knew we had hard work in front of us because they are a good team," he told Sky Sports.
"We came to win, so we're not as happy as we wanted to be, but we didn't want to lose and it's a good point against a good team.
"We read the game well. We had moments we could have been better but we've done a good job and we want to keep improving at this level."
The draw ensured Chelsea will end a day in the top three places of the Premier League table for the first time since the final day of the 2021-22 season, when they finished in third.
They face Maresca's former club, Leicester City, after the international break.
Van Nistelrooy praises Man Utd fight after signing off with win
Ruud van Nistelrooy praised Manchester United's fight to earn a 3-0 win against Leicester City in his final game as interim manager.
The Dutchman took over after Erik ten Hag's dismissal last month and went unbeaten in his short stint, winning three of his games and drawing the other, with Ruben Amorim set to take over from Monday.
Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho got the goals on either side of Victor Kristiansen turning into the back of his own net to earn United just their fourth Premier League win of the campaign.
United are now unbeaten in 19 straight Premier League games against promoted sides, taking 53 of a possible 57 points across these matches (W17 D2). Their last such defeat came away to Claudio Ranieri's Watford back in November 2021 (1-4).
It is not yet clear if Van Nistelrooy will remain at the club on Amorim's coaching staff, but the former United striker is proud of his short time in charge at Old Trafford.
"It was professional, you could see that players were fighting through the game," he told BBC Sport. "We scored two great goals and there were some good bits, but we didn't have real control of the game.
"I really enjoyed it [being interim manager], it's been a short but amazing period. We are in an uncertain position, but we tried to do our jobs and help the club, which is important.
"There are a lot of feelings there, the way the fans supported me and the team always in difficult moments. It was a special moment. To close down this block of games with good results and a good connection, I can't thank them enough.
"We will learn what the plan is now.
"This spell was a big responsibility; I took it very seriously. I wanted to help and get United into a better place. That was my goal. With three wins and a draw, it's a standard where you want to grow to as a club.
"The connection with the fans was there, I really felt it. This is what United is really about."
Going into their match against Leicester, United had scored just nine league goals, their lowest-ever tally after 10 games in Premier League history.
Fernandes scored four goals under Van Nistelrooy’s leadership, having failed to hit the back of the net in the league before that, bringing up his 100th goal involvement in the Premier League with his assist for Garnacho.
"You saw the class of the team in our goals, we also gave very little away," Van Nistelrooy added.
"We tried to stabilise after a difficult and emotional period. We wanted to get players performing at their best, we got the right feeling to them and got them to believe in themselves.
"It was an important three points. In the four games, Bruno scored some important goals, assisting too, so he is back producing. That's the Bruno that is helping the team the most.
"I spoke to Alejandro Garnacho before the game, he has played a lot of minutes, and I wanted him to make an impact off the bench, and I'm glad it worked out. We said: 'Let's make the most of these four games', get the maximum out of it and I think we did an OK job."
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Gunners' winless run continues at Stamford Bridge
Arsenal squandered a golden last-gasp chance as they failed to make up ground on Premier League leaders Liverpool after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Having lost two of their last three league games, Mikel Arteta's Gunners entered Sunday's match 10 points adrift of Liverpool and in need of a victory.
Though Kai Havertz saw a first-half strike disallowed for offside after latching onto Declan Rice's quick free-kick, Arsenal were en route to claiming that win when Gabriel Martinelli – assisted by fit-again captain Martin Odegaard – struck on the hour.
The Brazilian was played onside by Levi Colwill as he took down Odegaard's excellent pass from the corner of the box, allowing him to side-foot past Robert Sanchez at his near post.
However, their lead was short-lived as Pedro Neto cut inside from the right to drill into the bottom-right corner 10 minutes later, scoring his first Premier League goal for Chelsea.
Leandro Trossard failed to capitalise on a brilliant opportunity with the last kick of the game as he took William Saliba's searching left-wing cross off Havertz's toe with the goal gaping, leaving Arsenal winless in four Premier League games.
They sit fourth with 19 points, behind third-placed Chelsea on goal difference and already nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Data Debrief: Shaky defence prolongs Arsenal slump
Having been beaten at Bournemouth and Newcastle United either side of a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool ahead of Sunday's game, Arsenal have now gone four Premier League matches without a victory.
They last endured a run of that length in April 2023, when their title tilt fell apart at the tail end of the 2022-23 campaign. They had won 21 of their previous 25 league games before their current run began (three draws, one loss).
Arsenal never truly felt in control of proceedings and Chelsea – who fired off 17 attempts – deserved their point after a battling performance.
Arteta's team have now faced 15 or more shots in four Premier League games this season, already twice as many times as they did across the entirety of 2023-24 (twice).
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