“Be a man, step up,” Dejan Kulusevski sends RALLYING CALL to Tottenham Hotspur teammates as disaster run continues

Dejan Kulusevski urges his teammates to step up in bigger games after Tottenham's woes continue in the latest iteration of Premier League.

“Be a man, step up,” Dejan Kulusevski sends RALLYING CALL to Tottenham Hotspur teammates as disaster run continues

Dejan Kulusevski and Spurs players, image courtesy: X

Tottenham’s struggles in December entered a new low as they lost to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. Despite winning against Manchester United in the EFL Cup, the results didn’t turn a corner, as they lost 4-3 against Chelsea and then 6-3 against Liverpool before submitting to Forest. The consistent string of losses forced pundits to question Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs’ coach.

In the clash against Liverpool, Tottenham was down by 5-1 after the half-hour mark. However, showing intent, the Lilywhites did manage to pull two goals back in quick succession. Dejan Kulusevski scored the team’s second goal and pointed out that they could have actually pulled off a sensational comeback only if there had been more contribution from the other players.

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I said to myself [at 5-1]: “If you want to play, play now’’ It’s easy to play when you’re winning. It’s easy to play when everything is going good. If you want to be a man, step up now and do your best. And that’s what we did. Honestly, at 5-3, I said that we’re going to do it. It was so frustrating to see the ball go in [from Díaz] for 6-3 and after that the game is over. I really thought that it could happen, something special.

Dejan Kulusevski in the post-match presser against Liverpool

Despite all the huffing and puffing from Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool finished the game within the 85th minute. Luis Diaz stormed home a late finish to draw the difference between the two teams to a three-goal cushion. Much to Tottenham’s woes, they were braved by Nottingham Forest too in their latest PL clash as Anthony Elanga found the back of the net.

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Arne Slot is okay with conceding three goals against Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool’s fine run in the Premier League continued with a stunning victory over Spurs. However, as they soar at the top of the points table, conceding three goals in the last game could have been a concern. Much to everyone’s surprise, Arne Slot was happy that Spurs did score those three, as he said that it served as a reality check for the team.

Dejan Kulusevski
Arne Slot, image courtesy: X

Hopefully, that’s the good thing about these 15 minutes that we showed (when Spurs scored twice in the second half). That we understand we cannot underestimate one minute in the Premier League, because then we’re not as good as we might think we are if we are on top of our game. Yes, maybe it is human that if you are 5-1 up you think, ‘OK’, and I think in general it is also enough because not many teams after being 5-1 down just keep on going.

Arne Slot said in the post-match presser after the game

Liverpool bossed Leicester City in their Boxing Day fixture, as they won the game 3-1. Jordan Ayew propelled the Foxes to a lead in the 6th minute. However, Cody Gakpo restored parity in the 46th minute while Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah completed the rout.