BEATEN AND BATTERED BUT BRAVE SPURS SHOW THEY HAVE BOUGHT INTO ANGEBALL

ON the surface, this was a damaging night for Tottenham, with consequences far beyond the end of their unbeaten run and a 4-1 defeat by one of their biggest rivals inflicted by Mauricio Pochettino

- Dan Kilpatrick

Spurs will be without Cristian Romero for the next three games and Destiny Udogie for Saturday's visit to Wolves after both defenders were sent off, while Micky van de Ven is surely facing a far longer spell out of the side after pulling up with a serious-looking hamstring injury.

A makeshift defence beckons for at least three matches, including the visit to Manchester City on December 3.

All at once, Spurs' luck appeared to run out and many of their calculated gambles backfired, specifically the squad's lack of cover at centre-half and for James Maddison, who was also forced off in the first half with an ankle complaint.

And yet, in spite of the result, the injuries and the suspensions, the most chaotic and controversy-packed game of the Premier League's VAR era was oddly uplifting for Spurs.

It felt like the night when the club truly came to belong to Ange Postecoglou, and it may prove as galvanising as it was damaging.