Ange Postecoglou's brilliant post-match interview goes viral after Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea | OneFootball

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been praised for his honest post-match interview after his side suffered a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday night. In what will be remembered as one of the most chaotic fixtures of the Premier League era, Postecoglou’s men battled valiantly with nine players during the second half but Nicolas Jackson’s late hat-trick ultimately sealed all three points for the visitors.

Spurs duo Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were sent off either side of half-time while five goals were disallowed over the course of the match, which contained a total of 21 minutes due to various stoppages - mostly caused by a string of VAR decisions. Despite their two-man disadvantage, Postecoglou instructed his players to continue defending with a high line, leading to a host of chances for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The impressive Guglielmo Vicario produced a series of excellent saves to keep his side in the contest after Udogie’s red card, but the Tottenham goalkeeper was powerless to prevent Jackson putting Chelsea 2-1 up with 15 minutes remaining. Jackson, who joined the Blues from Villarreal in the summer for £32 million, then added two more goals to his tally in second-half stoppage time.

Asked about persisting with a high line after having two players sent off, the no-nonsense Postecoglou insisted he had no regrets, telling Sky Sports: "If we go down to five men, mate, we'll have a crack." That positive attitude is one of the fundamental reasons why Tottenham have enjoyed such a strong start to the campaign in the Australian coach’s debut season.

Winner of the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award in each of his opening two months with the north London outfit, Postecoglou has been a breath of fresh air not just at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but for English football in general. His post-match interview after one of the most incident-packed matches of modern times, meanwhile, has earned him further praise and respect from the football community.

What Postecoglou said after Spurs 1-4 Chelsea

Speaking to Sky Sports, Postecoglou was asked if he had any complaints about either red card, to which he responded: “No, I’ve already said that whatever decision they’ve made, they’ve made. At some point, we have to accept the referee's decision. That’s how I grew up.

“This constant erosion of referees' authority, this is what the game is going to get: they will not have any authority, it is going to get diminished and we are going to be in the control of someone a few miles away watching a TV screen. The decision’s the decision - you either accept it or you don’t. Trust me, in 26 years I’ve had plenty of bad ones and I’ve had plenty that have fallen in my favour. It is what it is.” Watch the clip from Postecoglou’s post-match interview below:

After watching the clip, former England striker Michael Owen commented on X (formerly Twitter): “If every manager was this gracious our game wouldn’t be in the mess it is. Managers have a huge responsibility to protect the game instead of whipping their fans up into a frenzy with biased nonsense.”

While Oliver Holt, the Daily Mail’s chief sports writer, wrote: “Postecoglou’s reaction tonight to decisions that went against him was a striking contrast to [Mikel] Arteta’s on Saturday. Arteta behaved like a petulant, over-entitled child. Postecoglou behaved like an intelligent, reflective leader. I know which of them I’d want in charge of my club.”

Arsenal boss Arteta was fuming after Anthony Gordon’s winning goal was allowed to stand during Saturday’s Premier League clash away at Newcastle. The Gunners then released a controversial statement “wholeheartedly” supporting Arteta “after yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors” at St James’ Park.