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.”
Guardiola demands commitment from Man City players after losing run
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City players have to be completely committed to the club's cause as they look to end their poor run against Feyenoord.
City's losing streak stretched to five matches when Tottenham stunned the Premier League champions with a 4-0 win at the Etihad on Saturday, marking the first time Guardiola has lost five games in a row in his managerial career.
It is also the first time the club have lost five consecutive matches in all competitions since April 2006. In fact, City are the first reigning top-flight champions to lose five games in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in March 1956.
Their campaign has been hindered by a rash of injuries, with Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku and Oscar Bobb among those currently on the sidelines.
Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension at City last week, has led them to 18 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League crown, and urged the team to stick to their philosophy.
"Look at where we've come from. It's so difficult to defend the success we have had, that's why I'm so relaxed. That is why I want the commitment, the commitment, the commitment and the commitment," Guardiola told reporters on Monday.
"Just being ourselves isn't enough, we have to show commitment every day.
"Just because this team won a lot, a lot, a lot for many, many, many years. I think in the situation, we have to go direct to our principles, change less more than ever.
"We create a lot of chances. We're not winning the duels. We have to run backwards because our first centre-backs are not there. Rodri is not there.
"We normally play four central defenders, but we have injuries, we had to play [Ilkay] Gundogan, our best attacking midfielder, as a defensive midfielder because of injuries ... What do we have to do? Insist. If not Tuesday, next Sunday. If not, the next game. We keep trying."
City are currently eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who they face on Sunday, in the Premier League, and Guardiola said his side were not, at present, ready to win the league but stressed that this phase will pass.
"We need to win one game. I want the players to perform well. In certain departments, we need more focus. It will pass. It's going to rain tomorrow, life goes on," he added.
City are 10th in the 36-team Champions League table with seven points from four games, two points off the automatic qualification places. Feyenoord are a point behind in 21st.
After drawing their opener in the competition, Guardiola's side recorded big wins over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague before falling to Sporting CP in their most recent outing.
Asked how he planned to turn City's form around, the Spaniard said: "Prepare for the next game, try to beat them, which is Feyenoord. I don't know any other way.
"It's the same as winning seven games in a row? What should I change? Impossible. The players have played a lot of minutes, we have players who are injured. It's unusual."
Hayes has 'smile' back after stress made her feel 'unwell' at Chelsea
Emma Hayes revealed she feels refreshed as the United States head coach after stress at the end of her time at Chelsea made her feel "unwell".
Hayes was in charge of the Blues for 12 years, during which she won seven Women's Super League titles, including each of the last five between 2019-20 and 2023-24.
Overall, she oversaw 345 games in all competitions, winning 244 of those (70.72%-win rate).
The 48-year-old left Chelsea at the end of last season, pulling off a stunning comeback in the WSL title race to beat Manchester City to the title on goal difference, and took over as the USA women's head coach in May.
She led the team to Olympic gold in her first tournament, going unbeaten on their tournament run in Paris.
Asked about the perks of international football compared to a domestic level, Hayes admitted the latter had taken its toll on her.
"I don't have to sacrifice the things that made me healthy. I didn't feel healthy at the end, I actually felt unwell at the end of my time at Chelsea," she said in a press conference.
"It wasn't pressure, it was the stress and toll it took on me and doing that during menopause was even harder.
"To get on top of all of those things, I've got my mojo back and my smile and enjoyment back, which I didn't realise I had lost."
The USA will face England at Wembley on Saturday, and Hayes will face off against some of her former players, with Millie Bright, Hannah Hampton and Aggie Beever-Jones in the Lionesses squad.
Hayes, though, is determined to keep her unbeaten start as USA head coach intact against her home nation.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Sarina [Wiegman]," she said. "Of course, I need to go through a weird moment when the national anthems are being played.
"I'll hum along to it [God Save the King] being the English person I am, but also the same for the US one because I love it, I love both anthems.
"Beyond that weird moment and coming up against players I've gone to war with, it's business come kick-off. I hope it's an entertaining game and a sell-out."
Premier League MD12: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
Pep Guardiola may have signed a new contract at Manchester City, but there was no turnaround in fortunes for the Premier League champions.
City were humbled 4-0 by Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, losing a fifth straight game in all competitions.
Liverpool capitalised on that result, coming from behind to beat lowly Southampton 3-2 on Sunday and moving eight points clear at the top in the process.
Ruben Amorim made his bow as Manchester United boss in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road, while Chelsea and Arsenal are hot on Man City's heels.
We also saw a managerial departure, with Leicester City parting ways with Steve Cooper after four league matches without a win.
But, who were the unlucky losers, and lucky winners, from the weekend's Premier League fixtures?
Unlucky losers: Fulham
Man City were not the only team to ship four goals on Saturday, with Fulham also having that unwanted badge of honour following their 4-1 home loss to Wolves.
But while Wolves were excellent on the counter and clinical when their chances came, it is fair to say Fulham were unfortunate to concede four times, given they only gave up 1.3 expected goals against (xGA).
Indeed, Fulham and Wolves both had 10 shots, while both teams also had 23 touches in the opponents' box.
It was a bad day at the office for Marco Silva, but he can at least take solace that the numbers suggest they were somewhat unfortunate.
Unlucky losers: Bournemouth
Bournemouth were beaten 2-1 by Brighton on Saturday, as the Seagulls held off their south coast rivals despite Carlos Baleba's red card.
David Brooks pulled one back for Bournemouth late on, as Andoni Iraola's team fell short of their 1.6 xG.
Brighton, on the other hand, accumulated just 0.9 xG, the third-lowest total of any of the 18 games to have been played across Saturday and Sunday.
Bournemouth had 19 shots but only got five of them on target. Brighton, on the other hand, sent four of their six attempts on target.
Lucky winners: Tottenham
Time for some controversy...
Spurs were brilliant against City, with James Maddison marking his 28th birthday with a first-half double before Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson got in on the act after the break.
Yet, the metrics suggest Tottenham were fortunate to keep a clean sheet, with City - who had 23 attempts - accumulating 2.1 xG.
That is not to say Spurs were not impressive going the other way. They finished with 2.5 xG from just nine shots, showing they created high-calibre chances.
But should it really have been 4-0? The numbers suggest not, but then again, stats must always be used within context and should not be all we go off.
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