Ange Postecoglou lamented that VAR has diminished the authority of referees after he watched nine-man Tottenham lose for the first time in the Premier League against Chelsea.

It was a frenetic meeting between the two rivals that saw five disallowed goals, two red cards, a penalty and two Spurs players forced off during the first half with injury, as Mauricio Pochettino marked his return to north London with a memorable 4-1 victory.

But the match was dominated by VAR’s involvement with the red cards two of nine decisions referred to the video referee.

Even with nine men the hosts continued to take the game to Chelsea and were well in the contest before Nicolas Jackson twice sprung their high line in stoppage time to add his team’s third and fourth goals and complete an unlikely hat-trick.

Postecoglou’s team had been comfortably on top in the first half before Cristian Romero’s red card in the 33rd minute, dismissed for a dangerous challenge on Enzo Fernandez and conceding the penalty from which Cole Palmer equalised Dejan Kulusevski’s deflected goal.

Destiny Udogie was also dismissed on 55 minutes, receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Raheem Sterling, but it took a further 20 minutes before Chelsea finally took the lead for the first time through Jackson.

Spurs’ night was compounded by the loss of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to injury on top of what is likely to be a three-game ban for Romero.

But it was VAR’s impact that dominated Postecoglou’s thoughts after the game after a total of 21 minutes were added on at the end of each half.

“It’s hard to analyse from a football perspective,” he said.

“We’re left with a result which is disappointing, but super proud of the players’ efforts and will and desire to get something from the game.

“(Lengthy VAR pauses) are going to become the norm, I think it’s where the game is heading. Unfortunately it’s how we’re going to have to watch and participate in football from now on.

“I don’t like it. I don’t like the standing around, the whole theatre around waiting for decisions. But I know I’m in the wilderness on that.

“In my 26 years, I was always prepared to accept the referee’s decision, good, bad or otherwise, and I’ve had some shockers in my career. I’ve had some go my way as well.

“I’ll cop that because I just want the game to be played. But when we’re complaining about defections every week, this is what’s going to happen.

“People are going to forensically scrutinise everything to make sure they’re comfortable it’s right, and even at the end of that, we’re still not happy.

“It’s just diminishing the authority of the referee. You can’t tell me referees are in control of games. They’re not. Control is outside of that, but that’s where the game’s going. You have to accept it and try and deal with it.”

Pochettino reflected on a game in which, despite a host of contentious decisions, he felt his team were deserved victors.

“I think we deserved to win,” he said.

“We forced them to make too many mistakes. Tottenham were better in the first 15 minutes but then we matched the game. Our performance was good.

“Everything you can see during the game I think was fair. We compare to the Tottenham Liverpool game, a similar game like today. Liverpool complained. But today, everything that happened was fair. That’s why I think 4-1, the performance was good.”

A hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson helped Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino enjoy a successful return to Tottenham, but only after a pulsating contest with two red cards and five disallowed goals.

Chelsea’s 4-1 victory ended Spurs’ unbeaten start to the Premier League season and earned Pochettino the first statement result of his reign – but it only told half the story.

Dejan Kulusevski fired Ange Postecoglou’s team in front during a 57-minute first half, where Cristian Romero earned a straight red card and Cole Palmer netted from the resulting penalty.

Tottenham also lost Micky van de Ven and James Maddison to injuries, while three goals were disallowed with video assistant referee John Brooks a busy man.

Spurs were reduced to nine men soon after half-time when Destiny Udogie was dismissed and the visitors’ numerical advantage finally told when Jackson slotted home in the 75th minute before he completed his treble with two stoppage-time strikes to bring an action-packed London derby to an end.

While all the pre-match focus centred on the reception Pochettino would get from the home fans, he walked out with the PA system booming so his main greeting turned out to be a bear hug from opposite number Postecoglou.

This match rarely disappoints for drama and Moises Caicedo’s crunching third-minute tackle on Maddison set the tone.

The rivalry between the clubs had always been there, but it ramped up a notch during Pochettino’s Tottenham tenure and especially after the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ in 2016.

Almost four years to the day since his sacking, this was Pochettino’s first return to N17 and he watched his new team concede after only six minutes.

Maddison was behind it with a wonderful pass under pressure into Pape Sarr, who recycled into Kulusevski and his curled effort deflected off Levi Colwill to beat Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea should have been level five minutes later when Raheem Sterling played in Jackson, but after he impressively side-stepped Van de Ven, he was thwarted by Guglielmo Vicario.

The breathless nature of the contest showed no sign of slowing with Son putting the ball in the net in the 13th minute after a slick move, but a VAR check showed he was marginally offside.

It would not be the first time Stockley Park was required with a check on Udogie’s tackle on Sterling soon after, but the left-back avoided a red card despite flying in two-footed.

Sterling was in the thick of the action with 21 minutes played when he finished well from an excellent Reece James pass, but Chelsea’s celebrations were cut short. A lengthy VAR check disallowed the goal for a handball by Sterling and Romero’s swipe at Colwill in the build-up was surprisingly ignored.

Caicedo’s long-range effort nestled into the bottom corner in the 28th minute  but the Stockley Park duo of Brooks and Daniel Robathan were required again.

After Brooks eventually decided Jackson had interfered with Caicedo’s strike and ruled out the goal, the check turned to two penalty shouts with Van de Ven’s air kick on Sterling fine, but Romero’s tackle on compatriot Enzo Fernandez deemed a spot-kick.

Tottenham received a double punishment though with Romero’s challenge that saw him crunch into the shin of Fernandez worthy of a red card in the opinion of referee Oliver, who reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Following a near-five-minute delay, Cole Palmer converted the penalty, but only after Vicario pushed his effort onto the post and in.

Spurs suffered when Maddison injured his foot while trying to press James, before Van de Ven pulled up in a sprint with Jackson. Suddenly Spurs were without three of their most crucial players.

The sight of 12 minutes of stoppage-time was the last thing Tottenham wanted and despite a flashpoint between Sarr and Colwill, which resulted in yellow cards for both, it remained 1-1 at the break.

Pochettino replaced Colwill during the interval, but Postecoglou kept on his cautioned full-back and it proved costly.

Udogie lunged in on Sterling and Oliver produced a second yellow card, which meant Spurs faced at least 35 minutes with nine men.

Substitute Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg somehow diverted Jackson’s close-range header over, before Vicario bravely dived at Marc Cucurella’s feet to deny Chelsea again.

However, the Italian had no answers with quarter of an hour left. James released Sterling down the right and he squared for Jackson to tap home for his fourth goal since his summer switch.

After VAR produced a relatively quick check, it was needed again three minutes later when Dier volleyed home from a flick on by sub Rodrigo Bentancur – but Spurs celebrations were ended by the offside flag.

There was still time for Bentancur to head wide from six yards and Blues keeper Robert Sanchez to save from Son before Jackson scored twice from Palmer and Conor Gallagher passes to settle an absorbing clash.

Ange Postecoglou feels he already has a very healthy relationship with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, but will not go white water rafting with him any time soon.

Postecoglou will on Monday night come up against former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who once revealed in his book ‘Brave New World’ that a staff-bonding exercise in Argentina resulted in himself, Levy and his coaches taking to the water.

While Postecoglou laughed off any prospect of a repeat occurring, he did acknowledge the importance of gaining Levy’s trust and gave credit to the previously under-fire chairman for a strong start to the new season.

“Nah, it’s not happening. Nothing against Daniel but I’m not going white water rafting,” Postecoglou said.

“Look my relationship with Daniel is pretty consistent with the relationships with all the people I’ve worked with at other clubs that have major influence as decision-makers.

“I need them to believe in me. That’s the basic core of it and you can get to that space in many different ways. It doesn’t mean you have to socialise with them, it doesn’t mean you have to talk to them every day.

“It’s about gaining their trust and belief, because without their trust and belief, I can’t do what I want to do. I can’t make decisions around staff, bringing players in, all these things unless the people above me have total faith and trust.”

Chants calling for Levy to leave Spurs were a regular occurrence during the second half of last season, but the discontent has quietened following a flying start to the campaign, although protests over ticket pricing has continued.

Postecoglou, whose side will return to the top of the table if they beat Pochettino’s Chelsea on Monday evening, said: “It’s not an unusual position. When I walked in at Celtic, the board weren’t too popular at the start either, but they backed me.

“They believed in me and when they do that, yes of course they deserve the credit because they’re the ones that have made the decisions and backed me to bring the club to where it is currently.

“So, of course they should get the credit, but I’ve treated those relationships all the same.

“The number one task I have when I go into a club is to get people to believe in me, trust me. Whether that’s the person working on the floor down here or the person who runs the club. It’s the same.

“I’ve got to get all of them to believe in me because I can’t do what I want to do by myself. It just doesn’t work that way.

“I’ve had a really healthy working relationship with Daniel and hopefully I’m gaining more of his trust to continue to do what I want to do.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has plenty of admiration for Mauricio Pochettino’s appetite to take on a “big challenge” but has suggested he would never allow others to take complete control of recruitment.

Pochettino’s Chelsea visit Spurs on Monday with the west London club struggling for a second consecutive season despite an outlay of £1billion since Todd Boehly took over with his Clearlake Capital consortium last year.

While Pochettino has failed to hit the ground running and acknowledged at the end of September he would “need to be more involved now” with regard to the January transfer window, it is a different story for Postecoglou and his summer transfers.

“I haven’t come across him,” Postecoglou said of the former Spurs manager.

“From afar, great admiration. I think the impact he had at Southampton and at Spurs is unquestionable.

“He has taken on some pretty big challenges post-Spurs as well, which I’m all for. I like managers who take on big challenges, so great admiration and respect for his work.”

Paris St Germain was Pochettino’s destination after his departure from Tottenham, but a plethora of signings under his watch were made by PSG sporting director Leonardo.

This summer Chelsea spent more than £350million during Pochettino’s first transfer window, although he has been left with a bloated squad of big-money additions which lack experience.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mauricio Pochettino (@pochettino)

By contrast Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison have quickly settled and Postecoglou said recruitment is a big factor for him, especially at the start of his tenure.

He added: “Wherever I’ve been, I’ve made sure that I have the biggest say over recruitment. I don’t do all the work, but I really think it’s an important part of my function and particularly when I first go into clubs.

“When you first go into a club, there are two measures that people will always put up against you.

“One is the results, that tells its own tale, but as a manager, and I’ve certainly had that experience, you can’t always guarantee the results early on.

“The other thing you get measured on is the people you bring in. Because at least if the results aren’t there, then people will say ‘okay, there’s something building here’.

“From my perspective, it’s the one area I really want strong control over.”

Spurs’ new technical director Johan Lange started work at the club on Wednesday and Postecoglou has already spent time with the ex-Aston Villa transfer guru, but a day earlier his focus was elsewhere.

Postecoglou and his wife Georgia were opening-night guests of Sir Kenneth Branagh on Tuesday at Wyndham’s Theatre to witness Shakespeare’s King Lear, a tale of a king seeking love from his three daughters, which ends in devastation.

The Aussie enjoyed the play but is eager for a different ending on Monday night.

“Sir Kenneth is a big Spurs fan and was kind enough to invite my wife and I to the theatre the other night,” Postecoglou revealed.

“We enjoyed it. I did have to swot up on King Lear. It wasn’t part of the curriculum at Prahran High!

“You always learn from life and the appreciation of seeing people excel at what they do is inspiring. You walk out of there thinking, ‘I don’t know how they do it’.

“Sir Kenneth was good after it. I caught up with him briefly, he was very kind with his time.

“He was all over how it’s going and gave me some little bits of advice, which I’ll ignore like he’ll ignore my advice on acting, mate! It was good. It was much appreciated.

“There was a fair bit going on in that play, mate! I definitely want a better ending than Sir Kenneth had.”

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is confident he will not repeat Ron Atkinson’s Mr Bean-esque gaffe of standing in the wrong dugout on his return to Tottenham.

‘Big Ron’ unwittingly provided entertainment at the City Ground in 1999 when he mistakenly took his place in front of the away team’s bench in his first match since being appointed Nottingham Forest manager.

Pochettino was asked about that famous blunder ahead of going back to Spurs on Monday evening but initially confused veteran boss Atkinson with near-namesake Rowan Atkinson, creator of comedy character Mr Bean.

Following the brief misunderstanding, the Argentinian, who managed Tottenham between 2014 and 2019, insisted he will not make a similar error as he helped design the layout of his former club’s stadium.

“Ah, Mr Bean? Ron Atkinson is the actor?”, Pochettino replied to the original question, before the mix-up was explained.

“Ah, OK, OK – I was thinking the actor. My wife will kill me! She will say, ‘I told you, remember that is the name’.

“No (I will not make the same mistake). I know very well the away dugout. I know very well because I designed where it was, I was there with the architect.

“On the right is the local (home) and the away is on the left.”

Pochettino is preparing for a special occasion on his first reunion with Tottenham since being sacked four years ago.

He holds fond memories of his spell with the north London club, which included reaching the Champions League final just months before his dismissal.

Despite being desperate for victory, the 51-year-old rejected any notion of seeking revenge in response to the nature of his departure.

Mid-table Chelsea are in great need of points to kickstart their season following just three Premier League wins from 10 games, while unbeaten Tottenham are among the early pacesetters.

“I want to win,” said Pochettino, who arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer. “I want to beat them.

“But when I play with my kids, I want to beat them, or my dad, or my brothers, or my friends – I try to kill them!

“I want to win because we are competitive, I am competitive.

“It’s not a special thing. I don’t want to go there and (people) think it’s a revenge. For what?

“For me, it’s going to be important because we need to win, Chelsea need to win because we need the points.

“But not because it’s special because it’s against Tottenham.”

Chelsea's spending should have the Blues competing for the Champions League but Jan Vertonghen says the quality of the Premier League and injury issues have hampered them.

The Blues once again splashed on big-money arrivals ahead of the 2023-24 season, bringing in the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer.

Caicedo's arrival broke the British record after his £115million move from Brighton, a mark only set in the previous season when Chelsea signed Benfica's Enzo Fernandez for £107m.

Their aggressive activity in the transfer market is yet to pay dividends, with Chelsea winning just three of their opening 10 Premier League games before Monday's visit to Tottenham.

Having also signed Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson and Robert Sanchez for significant fees, Vertonghen believes Chelsea's acquisitions should have helped a top-four challenge.

Former Tottenham defender Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform: "They had to make it into the Champions League.

"They signed so many players. When I saw the squad at the start of the year, I thought they had to reach the Champions League, with so many good young players and the signings they made."

Talented young midfielder Lavia and former RB Leipzig talisman Nkunku are yet to play a minute in the league for Chelsea due to injury.

With injuries taking their toll and the likes of Aston Villa, Brighton and Newcastle United exceeding expectations, Vertonghen acknowledged the struggles Chelsea face.

"They suffered a lot of injuries, and when you look how strong the Premier League is – it's not just Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, you've got Spurs doing well, Brighton, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Arsenal.

"It's not a top four or six anymore, it's a top nine or 10 at the moment, especially when you see United and Chelsea being so far out.

"It's not easy. Chelsea should do better, but they've suffered a lot of injuries."

While referencing the challenges his former rivals are up against, Vertonghen suggested Chelsea are in safe hands with Pochettino.

The Belgium defender worked closely with the Blues head coach when at Spurs, helping Pochettino's former side to the Champions League final in the 2018-19 campaign.

"He's very good at shaping a team, shaping a squad," added the 36-year-old, who made 232 appearances for Tottenham.

"I think that's what he did very well at Tottenham. He got the right players in, the right characters, who wanted to work in his system and we had the perfect squad for that.

"A very good young core of guys who wanted to work hard and achieve big things and in his team I learned how to work and get the best out of my body. That's what I learned from him."

Micky Hazard will applaud former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino when he returns with Chelsea and hopes “class and dignity” will be shown by the club’s supporters.

Pochettino will come back to Spurs for the first time since his 2019 dismissal on Monday night, but could be greeted with boos due to a fanbase split over his decision to join bitter rivals Chelsea despite a memorable five years in N17.

The climax of Pochettino’s tenure was a remarkable run to the Champions League final, while he also masterminded two ultimately unsuccessful title challenges.

Ex-midfielder Hazard has walked in Pochettino’s shoes after he left boyhood club Spurs in 1985 to move to Stamford Bridge, but remembers his return 12 months later where he scored twice in a 3-1 win for Chelsea.

“When I went back, I would like to think I got applause and cheers because the fans respected the job I did for them,” 1984 UEFA Cup winner Hazard told the PA news agency.

“They also respected I had a job to do because I was at another club and it was no slur on Spurs that I scored two goals. And it almost felt like it was two own goals because Spurs is my team.

“When Pochettino comes back and while the rivalry is that much greater nowadays, I think it is important as a fanbase we rise above it.

“We can show dignity and class by welcoming him back – not giving him a guard of honour as Ange (Postecoglou) says but when his name is read out, to give him a round of applause as acknowledgement and recognition of what he achieved.

“Then we go out and try to win the game and Poch is the enemy then, but ultimately we have to respect the job he did. I for one will certainly give him a round of applause when his name is read out.”

Pundits had expected Pochettino to hit the ground running at Chelsea and Tottenham to struggle without record scorer Harry Kane.

The opposite has occurred, with Postecoglou embarking on a superb 10-game unbeaten start to the Premier League season, and Hazard lauded the impact of summer signing James Maddison.

He added: “Look, anyone that loses a player of the stature and quality of Harry Kane is not going to be a better side because of it, but what Ange has managed to do is introduce a style where the players enjoy playing to that style.

“Of course James Maddison has come in and been the hub of the team with the creativity. That’s something we haven’t had for a while, that instinctive, creative, flair player that can unlock tight defences, play telling passes and score the odd goal, so he has been a revelation.

“It has been a real pleasure for me to see and he has ignited quality elsewhere in the team as well, which is brilliant.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tottenham Hotspur (@spursofficial)

“It feels like the players have all been given the freedom of expression within the framework of what Ange wants. There are smiley, happy faces on the pitch and we’re playing smiley, happy football, so they both go hand-in-hand and for me it is a joy to watch.”

While Hazard acknowledged there are “bigger tests” to come for Spurs, they pale into insignificance compared to the challenge his family has faced in recent times.

Hazard’s nephew Jay took his own life in 2019 but through the darkest of periods Hazard’s sister Michelle joined forces with her brother to set up Legend on the Bench charity.

It aims to raise funds to put benches in parks across the UK with telephone numbers on to help with suicide prevention and the first bench in memory of Jay, which will have the numbers of mental health helplines lit up, will be installed on February 28 in Sawbridgeworth.

The next fundraising event will occur at Fishers Green Car Park on November 18 with a 10-kilometre trek.

“We set the charity up in memory of Jay and we decided to go down the path of fundraising to help people in similar situations because we had no idea Jay was about to do it. He never spoke to anybody,” Hazard reflected.

“We named it Legend on the Bench and people sometimes think we mean like former players, but no, it is the name of the telephone numbers because they are the people who are the legends, the people that people will ring and who will save them.

“And the message is talk. There is always someone there to listen or to talk to, so if you are sitting there in your moment of need, just give those numbers a call and someone will be ready to talk to and possibly we save a life.”

Mauricio Pochettino believes under-fire Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has done an “amazing” job and harbours no lingering animosity over his sacking in 2019.

Chelsea manager Pochettino will return to Spurs for the first time since being dismissed by Levy for Monday evening’s derby against his former side.

The Argentinian was a popular figure during a five-and-a-half-year spell in north London but risked tarnishing his legacy by joining one of their fiercest rivals in the summer.

Levy – the Premier League’s longest-serving chairman – has endured criticism and protests from fans since the end of that era, albeit his recent appointment of Ange Postecoglou and a strong start to this season has restored some credit.

Pochettino received a message of congratulations from his former boss following his move to Stamford Bridge and insists they are on good terms ahead of an eagerly-anticipated reunion.

Asked about the state of the relationship, he replied: “Very good, yes.

“We are very respectful and he sent a text when I signed here, wishing the best to me and everyone.

“We need to be natural. Nearly six years working together, how many things happened in six years? Good and not so good.

“We are responsible for our relationship. We cannot now forget our relationship in a period which was very important in our careers and for the club.”

Tottenham challenged for the Premier League title, became Champions League regulars and built a £1billion stadium during Pochettino’s time working under Levy.

Pochettino feels the 61-year-old businessman deserves credit for helping grow the club.

He also acknowledged intense scrutiny comes with the territory when asked for his view on some Spurs supporters calling for Levy to go.

“Football is football,” said Pochettino.

“He is involved now more than 20 years in football and understands the situation.

“I think it’s really important to understand that the fans are very emotional, more than us, and they want that your team every time win and play well.

“I cannot say fair or not fair (the calls for Levy to step down). (Or) if it was fair that we were sacked or not – that is football and we need to accept the rules of football.

“Daniel is really clever, clever enough to understand that the feelings are the feelings. But that doesn’t mean that the people don’t recognise your job.

“He was amazing, the job he’s doing for Tottenham, for the club.

“You see Tottenham 20 years ago and now, how it changed, how it moved on and I think you need to recognise his job.”

Pochettino is unconcerned about the reception he will receive from fans of his former club.

The 51-year-old suggested he could still be Tottenham boss, if he had not been dismissed.

“I am going to accept what they will show,” he said of the supporters.

“I didn’t decide to leave. We parted ways because I was sacked.

“But it’s not a criticism to the club. That is a difference, we didn’t decide to leave. Maybe (we could be) still there.”

Jan Vertonghen believes his former Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane could be the "missing link" that helps Bayern Munich back to Champions League glory.

Kane has enjoyed a superb start to his career with the Bavarian giants, scoring his third hat-trick of the season in Saturday's 4-0 Klassiker win over Borussia Dortmund, taking his Bundesliga tally to 15 after 10 matches. No player has ever scored more than 13 in their first 10 games in the competition.

He is already just one goal behind the number the 2022-23 top scorers managed (Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug – 16), while he is halfway to the record for the most goals scored in a debut Bundesliga season, currently held by Uwe Seeler (30) in the 1963-1964 campaign.

His record-breaking form is giving Bayern fans hope that he can lead them to a seventh Champions League title and their first since the 2019-20 campaign, and Vertonghen, who reached the final of that competition alongside Kane with Spurs in the 2018-19 season, believes the England international can be the man to return Bayern to European success.

Asked if Kane could be the final puzzle piece to a Bayern Champions League win, Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform: "For sure.

"There's not a lot of great number nines at the moment – that's why Barcelona paid the money for [Robert] Lewandowski, that's why Bayern Munich paid the money for Harry.

"The young number nines are very rare – you have [Erling] Haaland, Gabriel Jesus. A lot of teams are looking for them.

"Harry was there, he's fit, he's got a lot of good years ahead of him and for sure he could be the missing link there."

Kane's Spurs exit in August saw him end a 19-year association with the club, leaving as the club's record goalscorer, having found the net 280 times in 435 appearances in all competitions.

Despite Kane's departure, Spurs have started the season very well under new head coach Ange Postecoglou and will return to the Premier League summit if they can beat Chelsea at home on Monday.

Vertonghen feels Kane would not have taken the decision to leave Spurs lightly, saying: "On his side it wasn't a no brainer, because Tottenham is in his heart – he's a legend there, everyone loves him, born and raised in London. It wasn't easy for him to leave, Tottenham really wanted to keep him as well.

"But I understand why he did it. He plays now for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he probably thought he had more chance of adding some silverware.

"It's a shame for Tottenham, it's a shame for Harry – especially now you see the way they're performing now, but nobody would have predicted that.

"Everyone at Spurs wants him to do well; he's a legend, a great guy and he never put a foot wrong for Tottenham. He never complained, even in the bad times, he was always there as a leader, so everyone just wants him to do well."

Tottenham can go all the way in the Premier League title race after making a brilliant start to life under Ange Postecoglou, says former Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen.

Postecoglou has made the best-ever start by a Premier League manager across their first 10 games in charge, leading Spurs to eight wins and two draws while implementing a vibrant brand of possession-based football.

The former Celtic boss could become just the third manager to go unbeaten through his first 11 games in the competition when Spurs host London rivals Chelsea on Monday. 

Frank Clark (with Nottingham Forest in 1994) and Maurizio Sarri (with Chelsea in 2018) are the only men to previously achieve that feat, with the latter avoiding defeat in his first 12 matches.

With new arrivals including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario requiring no bedding-in period, Tottenham have made their best start to a top-flight season since 1960-61.

On that occasion, they won their first 10 games in the old First Division before capturing what remains their most recent league title.  

With a lack of European football giving Postecoglou more time to work with his players, Vertonghen believes Tottenham can dream of replicating that success.

"He's doing an unbelievable job," Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform when asked about Postecoglou's impact.

"Lots of things have happened since I left Tottenham, but this year they made all the right decisions. 

"They signed the right players, the right coach with the right mentality that the club has missed for a while. 

"He's doing an unbelievable job. I'm really enjoying watching them and I don't see why they can't go for the highest things possible. 

"All the other clubs are playing in Europe or struggling with injuries, and besides that, Spurs have a great team and that's very important as well. 

"They have the crowd behind them. I can see them going all the way."

Spurs face a familiar face next time out as Vertonghen's former boss Mauricio Pochettino returns to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Chelsea on Monday.

Vertonghen's old club have won all four of their home league games under Postecoglou, with Manchester United and Liverpool among the teams to leave north London empty-handed in 2023-24.

Another victory would make Postecoglou the first coach to win his first five home games in the Premier League since May 2017, when Craig Shakespeare achieved the feat with Leicester City.

Ange Postecoglou has sent a warning to the rest of the Premier League by claiming Tottenham captain Son Heung-min can be even more of a goal threat.

Son has enjoyed a superb start to the campaign, scoring eight times to sit joint-second in the goalscoring charts behind Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.

Last season proved challenging for Son with the South Korea forward only able to net 10 goals in the Premier League, but two years ago he won the division’s golden boot along with Liverpool’s Mohamad Salah and the 31-year-old has been backed to be in the race again.

Postecoglou initially played Richarlison in the middle of his front three, but switched Son into a central position against Burnley and it has helped the Spurs ace quickly move his overall Premier League tally onto 111 goals.

“It was quite obvious with Harry (Kane) leaving there was a couple of ways we could go about it,” Postecoglou reflected ahead of Monday’s visit of Chelsea.

“I don’t think you can replace Harry like-for-like. Another one of him doesn’t exist so for me to think let’s jump into the transfer market and bring in someone who can score 25 to 30 goals in the first year, I don’t think was realistic.

“What I did know about Sonny having followed him for a long time is he is a great finisher, a smart footballer, has great movement and a real capacity for working, pressing, the stuff I love my strikers to do.

“So, I just thought he would be a really good fit for us and it wasn’t the only option I was looking at, but it was definitely the one I thought would be the best fit for where we are as a team and what we needed.

“Even with him, I think the more he plays in there, the better he will get in terms of really being a goal threat in every game. For us it’s a massive asset to have.”

After Son fired blanks from his previously regular left forward role against Brentford, Manchester United and Bournemouth, he has netted eight goals in seven league fixtures as a central striker.

The long-serving Spurs player is no stranger to the role with Maurico Pochettino, who will return to Tottenham on Monday for the first time since his departure, deploying the attacker there whenever Kane was absent.

Son performed strongly as a centre forward during Spurs’ run to the Champions League final in 2019 with three goals in the quarter-finals against Man City, but ex-Australia boss Postecoglou did not use that as evidence when he first broached the idea of changing his position.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Premier League (@premierleague)

He pointed out: “Sonny scored against me in the Asian Cup in 2015, mate. That was enough.

“I saw enough then to know he is a decent goalscorer, so I didn’t need any more evidence.

“I have followed him for a very long time and what you are looking for in attacking players is are they a goal threat? And he’s always been a goal threat and a good finisher.”

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is unsure if reuniting with former club Tottenham will feel like bumping into an ex-girlfriend because he cannot remember having one.

Pochettino enjoyed five full seasons in charge of Spurs between 2014 and 2019 but is poised to return for the first time as manager of one of their fiercest rivals.

The Argentinian, who believes Tottenham are genuine Premier League title contenders this term, is uncertain how he will be greeted by home supporters on Monday evening.

Yet he insisted a negative response would not tarnish his memories as he laughed off an analogy referencing his love life.

“My goodness,” he replied with a hearty chuckle when the situation was compared to meeting a former girlfriend.

“It’s difficult because I think I am nearly 32 years with my wife and I don’t know even if I had a girlfriend before my wife.

“That’s why it’s difficult to answer that question because I don’t know how you can feel.”

Pochettino led Tottenham to a second-placed Premier League finish in 2017 but was unable to end their long wait for silverware and was sacked five months after reaching the 2019 Champions League final.

Speaking about the reception he expects, the 51-year-old continued: “I’m not going to say nothing at the moment because until Monday we cannot guess what is going to happen then.

“The most important thing is people know that we cannot forget all that we lived together, amazing memories there.

“I am going to respect the people, how(ever) they are going to express, but it’s not going to change my emotion, my view, my feelings about a club that I think we spend an unbelievable journey (with).

“(It is) really special because I am back after four years in a place that we have amazing memories, we created amazing memories together. I think it’s special, I’m not going to lie.”

While Chelsea are languishing in mid-table 10 games into the campaign, unbeaten Tottenham top the table under Ange Postecoglou.

Pochettino feels the north London side are capable of remaining in that position and ending the season as champions.

“Yes, I think so,” he said.

“Ange and the coaching staff, they are doing a fantastic job and then of course very good players, very good team. You can feel they can be a contender.

“Of course it’s early in the season but they are showing the quality to be contenders.”

Tottenham’s new technical director Johan Lange officially started work on Wednesday, but boss Ange Postecoglou will not be banging on his door demanding a squad full of “24 world-class players” any time soon.

Spurs are next in action on Monday against London rivals Chelsea, who took their spending under Todd Boehly beyond the £1billion mark with several additions this summer, including midfielder Moses Caicedo for £100million.

While Tottenham’s signings have hit the ground running, Chelsea continue to flatter to deceive and have won only three times under Mauricio Pochettino in the Premier League this season.

Postecoglou was asked if he would like a £1billion war chest and insisted: “Not necessarily. I’ve always said I’ve never felt it is about just spending money. That’s been proved time and time again.

“Look if you get it all right then you’ve got a pretty strong case, but there’s always a limit to every team. You can’t have 24 world-class players. That will never work, it doesn’t work, its been proven.

“It’s about having a squad that’s balanced, guys that are committed to a cause, guys that maybe aren’t going to play every game, but every time they play they are going to make a huge impact for you because they buy into what you are trying to build.

“Just spending endless money to get the best players has been proven time and time again is not the answer. The answer is to get the right chemistry in your team, in your squad, to have 24 players committed to one cause.

“I don’t think you can do that if you just get the 24 best players in the world. That’s a headache I definitely don’t want.”

A large degree of the focus off the pitch at Spurs right now will be on preparing for the January transfer window with Lange eager to stamp his authority after three years at Aston Villa, where the likes of Emi Martinez, Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins were signed under his watch.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tottenham Hotspur (@spursofficial)

Tottenham confirmed Lange’s impending arrival on October 9 and he will be joined in north London by Rob Mackenzie.

Mackenzie, who was previously head of player identification at Spurs during the start of Pochettino’s reign, will be chief scout in N17 after he headed up Villa’s recruitment under Lange.

With the former Villa pair in situ along with chief football officer Scott Munn, the current Premier League leaders look well placed for a strong January transfer window where centre-back and a versatile attacker will be priority positions.

“I’ve caught up with Johan,” Postecoglou revealed.

“Nothing too formal. I don’t have the attention span for long meetings mate, so it tends to be just casual chats with people. It’s the best way to get my point across if I need to say anything.

“The good thing is he is in the building now so he’s interacting with all the right people. The bit with me is the easy bit. It’s about setting up the procedures and the structures to make sure he gets the department working the way he wants to get the right outcomes.

“Rob joining will help that. It is important they come in now. The January window, like for every club, is an important one.

“My view on the January one is that if you can get your business done early in the window it certainly is more helpful.

“That’s sometimes out of your control, so having him in is good. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of discussions between now and then and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario earned praise from captain Son Heung-min following his key role in their latest victory.

Spurs made it four wins in a row after they battled to a 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace, with Joel Ward’s 53rd-minute own goal and Son’s eighth strike of the campaign enough to earn all three points.

Jordan Ayew netted in stoppage time for the hosts, but Ange Postecoglou’s resurgent team held on and Son subsequently paid tribute to summer signing Vicario.

Vicario made two crucial early saves to deny Ayew and Odsonne Edouard, and while he missed out on a fifth clean sheet since he displaced Hugo Lloris as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, he continues to grow his reputation.

“Before we score without Vic’s saves we are going behind and when you go behind in this stadium, you know what is going to happen. I think big credit to Vic for making unbelievable saves,” Son told SpursPlay.

“I am enjoying every single moment (with Vicario) because he made a good save, is playing out well and it is fantastic to have him behind the goal.

“Obviously any game we are going to face chances and shots on target, but when you have Vic behind us you are just very comfortable he is going to make unbelievable saves, which he did.

“Big, big credit to Vic today and also the way he play with the feet is fantastic. It brings so much to the team and I am very, very happy to have him in the team.”

Vicario has adapted to life in England immediately and been an unsung hero during Tottenham’s ascent to first place in the Premier League.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guglielmo Vicario (@guglielmovicario)

The role of top goalscorer Son has earned more headlines and he netted again on Friday, but only after a brilliant team move. Pape Sarr’s diagonal ball was headed down by Brennan Johnson to James Maddison, who touched back into Johnson’s path and he teed up the Spurs captain for a smart close-range finish.

Former Empoli goalkeeper Vicario said: “I think our second goal was a top masterclass of football from the back. Find the spare man and then he (Son) attacks the right space.

“It is easy for him to come to the back and score this kind of goal. It is a big situation we work on during the week, so we’re happy for that and we have to keep going, keep improving on that because we can do it.

“Of course we enjoy the win, we take the rest of the week and then we go again.”

A largely perfect night for Tottenham was rounded off with Rodrigo Bentancur returning from injury to play for the first time since February 11.

Bentancur suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage to his left knee in a defeat at Leicester, which curtained a fine individual campaign that had seen him score five times.

Captain Son was thrilled to see the midfielder return with a late cameo, he added: “What an unbelievable player. Having him in our squad is kind of like a new signing.

“We couldn’t wait to have him back and when he came on I was getting emotional. He is one of my good friends and last year when I suffer with injuries, he was always pushing behind me.

“I am really grateful he came back healthy.”

Palace boss Roy Hodgson was downbeat about the impact of his substitutes and called for patience with Brazilian attacker Matheus Franca after his home debut off the bench.

“They need more time,” Hodgson insisted. “The fact is I feel sorry for Franca. For some reason people have tried to imbue him with qualities that we can’t expect to see from him.

“He’s 19 years of age, he has a handful of games in Brazil behind him and now we’re asking him to play against Tottenham, the team that is running away at the top of the Premier League at the moment.”

Ange Postecoglou was pleased Premier League leaders Tottenham passed their latest exam with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Crystal Palace and was in no mood to stop fans dreaming of a title challenge.

Spurs moved five points clear at the summit after they recovered from a sluggish first half at Selhurst Park to score twice in 13 second-half minutes.

An own-goal from Joel Ward broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when he deflected James Maddison’s cross beyond Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and it was 2-0 soon after when Tottenham captain Son Heung-min steered home after Brennan Johnson’s assist.

Jordan Ayew reduced the deficit for Palace in the fourth minute of stoppage-time, but Spurs held on to extend their unbeaten top-flight run to 10 matches and move five clear of Manchester City and Arsenal, who play Manchester United and Sheffield United respectively across the weekend.

“Let them dream. That’s what being a football supporter is all about. It’s fair to say this lot have suffered a fair bit, so I’m certainly not going to dampen that,” Postecoglou said.

“Top of the table is great and the results are great but it’s more in the manner we’re doing it. Pretty much from the first game we’ve had all sorts of different challenges we’ve had to overcome.

“Every time there has been a real focus and clear-headedness about the group collectively to deal with that.

“That has been a really pleasing thing and because they’re getting rewards from that, then that gives us the opportunity to accelerate the growth of giving them more tools out there to help them for whatever we need to overcome.

“I thought tonight was going to be a real difficult game for us. Coming here, Palace’s result last week, it’s a tight ground, they’d only conceded three goals in the four games so far and how were the lads going to cope with the fact we weren’t going to create as many chances as we had been?

“I really liked the way we worked through that as a group.”

After returning to the Premier League summit with a 2-0 win over Fulham on Monday, Spurs struggled in the first half at Selhurst Park and were indebted to fine early saves from Guglielmo Vicario to deny Ayew and Odsonne Edouard.

Postecoglou, who had lambasted his side for their second-half showing earlier in the week, introduced Emerson Royal for Ben Davies at the break and watched Ward put into his own net from Maddison’s cross to open the scoring.

It was 2-0 when Son fired home for his eighth goal of the campaign following Johnson’s smart pass, his first assist since a £45million deadline-day transfer from Nottingham Forest.

While Ayew managed to reduce the deficit – in the fourth minute of stoppage time after a lengthy VAR check – Tottenham stood firm to claim a fourth-straight win and show another side with a dogged defensively display, despite enjoying more than 70 per cent possession.

Postecoglou added: “I have always felt that matchdays are about the players. What we try to do on a daily basis is give them the tools to find the solutions.

“We prep them for their exam at the weekend, but we don’t know what the questions are going to be. They’ve got to work them out themselves.

“In an exam you are not asking anybody for help. You have to work it out yourself and hopefully what we’ve given them is the tools.”

Palace boss Roy Hodgson was disappointed to suffer a second-consecutive defeat and admitted his substitutes weakened his team.

“I thought it was an aggressive and quite-controlled first half from our side, but of course the first goal then produces a second,” he said.

“That is when we start putting players on the field, players who have not really played with the first team, Jes (Rak-Sakyi), (Naouirou) Ahamada, (Matheus) Franca and we lost the intensity we were able to do in the first half.

“In the end it became easy for them (Tottenham) to see the game through.”