Tottenham’s struggles have continued, while Liverpool benched a big name to ignite another and Chelsea’s coach called out double standards after a tense draw with Arsenal.

Elsewhere, Pep Guardiola has leapt to one of his player’s defence after a sportmanship row erupted.

Read on for the latest edition of Premier League talking points!

SPURS’ STRUGGLES PROMPT UNCOMFORTABLE ANGE QUESTION

Would Tottenham have been better off if they kept Ange Postecoglou?

That is the question former Premier League striker and Celtic legend Chris Sutton was asking after Spurs slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Fulham to extend their wretched home record in 2025.

Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Thomas Frank defended his tactics after the dismal loss which saw Tottenham concede twice in the first six minutes, with Mohammed Kudus’s reply not enough to stop the north Londoners suffering a fourth defeat in their last six league games.

It was a brutal week for the under-fire Frank after a 4-1 thrashing by north London rivals Arsenal and a 5-3 loss at Paris Saint-Germain.

Tottenham have won only three of their last 13 fixtures under Frank, who has faced flack from supporters for his conservative tactics since arriving from Brentford to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou in the summer.

“Of course the game-plan was definitely way more difficult after the 2-0. We were going in behind when we shouldn’t go in behind, we were playing in the middle when we shouldn’t play in the middle,” Frank said.

“All those bits because we were rushing too much. But I’m not worried, because I think we have seen clearly other times it has worked much better.”

While Frank is confident in his system and results eventually turning around, the fanbase is growing impatient while the frustration is starting to find its way onto the field too, with Pedro Porro pictured yelling at Lucas Bergvall after Tottenham’s latest loss.

That followed the post-game scenes in early November where Micky van den Ven and Djed Spence ignored Frank after a loss to Chelsea.

The fans, meanwhile, are starting to turn on the players with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario booed after his latest blunder against Fulham.

Frank was incredibly strong in his defence of Vicario after the game, labelling the behaviour from the Tottenham fanbase as “completely unacceptable”.

Tottenham’s head coach Thomas Frank. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)Source: AP

While the Spurs supporters came to embrace Postecoglou during the good times, the Australian would know all too well how quickly that can change and like him, Frank is at risk of falling out of favour with the majority of the fanbase.

Former Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy told the BBC, however, that it is simply what Frank signed up for and that the Tottenham coach has to “ride the criticism”.

“He’s taken a high profile job at a huge football club with massive expectation. There is pressure and responsibility that comes with that,” Murphy said.

“The performances at home have been poor and they have to improve quickly. I don’t think at the moment he knows his best team and he’s not sure on his best formation and that’s a problem.”

The biggest question is whether Frank will be given the time to find the answers. It is not his fault that he inherited a squad that struggled under Postecoglou, winning just two games with three drawn and nine lost in their previous 14 home games.

But the lack of improvement has him squarely in the spotlight and if a Europa League trophy wasn’t enough to save Postecoglou, you have to question what Frank needs to prove he is the solution.

Sutton, who questioned whether Tottenham made the right decision to sack Postecoglou in the first place, said Spurs’ current coach is now finding out that this is “just an odd club”.

“Some Spurs fans are questioning whether he has the credentials to manage them, which I don’t understand. All he needs is time,” Sutton wrote for BBC Sport.

“… They need to get things right on the pitch but when they have brought in a manager who did win something with them, Ange Postecoglou, they have sacked him.”

Ange Postecoglou. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)Source: AFP

DOUBLE STANDARDS CALLED OUT AS CHELSEA ‘SEND A MESSAGE’

After trading blows with Arsenal for 94 pulsating minutes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were left bruised but unbowed.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had insisted that his young team were not title contenders ahead of their crucial clash with the Gunners.

But Chelsea showed that they are capable of going toe-to-toe with Mikel Arteta’s men, despite the 38th minute dismissal of Blues midfielder Moises Caicedo for an ugly lunge on Mikel Merino.

In total, there were six yellow cards for Arsenal and one for Chelsea, who refused to be intimidated by the leaders.

They even took the lead through Trevoh Chalobah’s second half header — from a corner routine that mimicked Arsenal’s own set-piece prowess.

Although Merino headed Arsenal’s 59th minute equaliser to leave third-placed Chelsea six points behind the north Londoners, Maresca could take heart from a spirited display that suggested they could emerge as title challengers sooner than he expected.

“I think we showed we are heading in the right direction,” the Italian said.

“We are closer. We’ll see where we are in February and March and then we’ll assess our target.”

Chelsea captain Reece James, meanwhile, told BBC Match of the Day that the performance would “send a message to the other teams in the league”.

It was a solid showing from Chelsea. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)Source: AP

“The team is so young and we went toe to toe with the Premier League leaders at the moment,” he said.

“We didn’t show fear. We tried to come out to win the game and unfortunately we didn’t do that but lots of positive to take.”

While an incredibly promising result regardless, Maresca did call out what he perceived as double standards in officiating after Piero Hincapié was not sent off for an elbow on Trevor Chalobah.

“Moises’ red card – it’s a red card, but why was Bentancur’s against Reece not a red card when we were at Spurs away?” the Chelsea boss said.

“As a manager, I struggle to understand why they judge in different ways. Moises’ is a red card, yes. Bentancur’s is a red card, yes, so why they don’t give him a red card?

“I struggle to understand. The reality is that it’s a red card but why do they judge it in different ways? The Trevoh one, I asked the referee, he said to me that it was not an elbow. This is what he said. (Chalobah had a) black eye, ice at half time, but they judge in different way.”

Chelsea and Gunners fight out tense draw | 01:05

HUGE CALL TO BENCH STAR UNLOCKS $253M LIVERPOOL RECRUIT

Alexander Isak slid to his knees as Liverpool’s players rushed to embrace the Sweden striker, whose celebration of his first league goal for his new club was tinged with relief as much as euphoria.

On a freezing afternoon in east London, Isak finally showed the predatory instincts that convinced Liverpool to pay a British record £125 million ($A253 million) to sign him from Newcastle in the transfer saga of the summer.

The 26-year-old calmly converted Cody Gakpo’s pass with a low first-time finish from just inside the area.

After five league games without a goal, it was Isak’s second strike for Liverpool and his first in 10 matches since netting against second tier Southampton in the League Cup in September.

Isak’s gain was Mohamed Salah’s loss after Slot took dramatic action in a bid to stop Liverpool’s alarming slump by dropping Liverpool’s superstar striker for the West Ham game.

It was the first time the Egypt striker had been left out of a Premier League starting line-up since April 2024, also at West Ham in a 2-2 draw.

That day Salah came on as a late substitute but on Monday he did not take the field at all, with Hugo Ekitike replacing shortly after his goal.

“Mo has had an unbelievable career here at this club and will have a very good future at this club because he’s such a special player,” Slot said, explaining the decision.

“We have four games in 10 days with only 14 to 15 outfield players available for us. Then you have to decide once in a while to make a certain line-up and you try to pick the best line-up for every single game.”

Salah had not scored or assisted in his last four games while even before that he had left plenty to be desired on defence, prompting former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney to call on Slot to make a major change ahead of the West Ham fixture.

Alexander Isak celebrates scoring his team’s first goal. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“If I was Slot, I’d try and make a big decision just so it has an impact on the rest of the team,” said Rooney on his podcast last week.

“Salah is not helping them defensively.

“If you’re one of the players who they’ve signed and you’re on the bench and you’ve seen him not running – and again he’s a club legend and everything he’s done for the club – but if you’re on the bench, then what message does that send to you?”

Both Isak and Slot had been under fire during a woeful run of nine defeats in 12 matches in all competitions prior to their trip to West Ham.

While the doubts will linger for a while longer given the extent of Liverpool’s stunning decline after last season’s title triumph, this was a step in the right direction while the decision to drop Salah sent the right message too.

It has, however, also cast doubt over his future at the club.

“It was a big call by Slot, but I guess it is made easier by Liverpool’s results,” Alan Shearer told BBC Sport

“When things aren’t going for you, you have to make big decisions – and that was a big one because of what he’s done for Liverpool in the past. But Salah can’t complain because he hasn’t been playing well, and when that’s the case, then you have to accept the decision.”

Mohamed Salah was benched. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

SPORTMANSHIP ROW AS CITY STAR ACCUSED OF FAKING INJURY

Pep Guardiola defended Gianluigi Donnarumma after Leeds boss Daniel Farke sparked a sportsmanship row by suggesting that the goalkeeper had faked an injury during Manchester City’s dramatic 3-2 win.

City dominated the first half at the Etihad Stadium, going ahead through Phil Foden’s goal just 59 seconds into the match before Josko Gvardiol doubled their advantage.

But Leeds hit back in the second half of this Premier League encounter, with substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulling a goal back for the visitors.

The score was still 2-1 to City when home keeper Donnarumma called for medical attention with manager Guardiola quickly gathering his players around him as he attempted to adjust to a change of formation from Leeds.

City manager Guardiola’s team talk could not stop Leeds equalising after Gvardiol conceded a penalty from which Lukas Nmecha scored on the rebound following a Donnarumma save.

Guardiola insisted he had believed Donnarumma’s injury was genuine, instructing James Trafford to warm up in case he was required.

“I didn’t speak with Gigio,” he said.

“When it happened, I looked back to the dugout and said ‘James, warm up’. I don’t know. Next press conference you can ask me and I will ask Gigio.”

Farke was adamant that there had been a significant change in the game after Donnarumma received attention, even though Leeds drew level.

“It is within the rules,” said the German.

“It is smart. (Whether) I like it, (whether) it is in the sense of fair play… I keep it to myself and I leave it to the authorities to find solutions for it,” he added.

“I asked the fourth official at this point if you want to do something and he said: ‘No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything’.

“If we don’t educate our players in football, what to do in terms of fair play? Sportsmanship? If you just try to bend the rules to your advantage and you can do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is nothing I personally like but if it is within the rules, I can’t complain about it.”