Dejan Kulusevski insists Tottenham Hotspur must “change for the better” after Sunday’s heavy defeat at Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Spurs were beaten 6-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Arne Slot’s Reds ran riot in north London thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
Kulusevski was among the goals for Spurs, along with James Maddison and Dominic Solanke, but it was a very miserable night for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
The Australian, who kept the same squad after Thursday’s 4-3 win over Manchester United, was without several key defensive players, including Miki van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogi, as well as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Get in 💪🔴 #TOTLIV pic.twitter.com/abECvx8l3V
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 22, 2024
The injury list is proving costly: Postecoglou’s side have now conceded 10 goals in their last two home league games and are now in the bottom half of the table despite being top scorers in the division.
And Kulusevski believes Spurs must learn from the defeat.
“You have to improve, you have to find ways,” said the Sweden international.
“Maybe we should have let them (Liverpool) have more of the ball, but you know, that’s not how we play. So we went out, gave it our all. It didn’t work, maybe (we’ll) find out for next time.
“You have to think about how we are physically? Who’s playing? How many games have we played in the last week? Who are we playing? Did they rest for a week or something?
“You have to put everything in because it’s like life. It’s not just black and white. There are many influencing factors.
“We have to find out why we conceded six goals. I can’t sit here and say we’re doing something perfectly, we’re not. We have to change a little for the better, always try to change for the better.”
Son Heung-min reaches the same level as Harry Kane today 🤝
Only Hugo Lloris (361) has made more Premier League appearances for Spurs.#TOTLIV pic.twitter.com/wHiVRnpoC7
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 22, 2024
Postecoglou, meanwhile, could not hide his frustration when asked by a BBC reporter if anything other than Tottenham’s injury woes was behind his side’s recent struggles.
“I will stop answering these questions,” Postecoglou said. “If people can’t see the obvious, I’m not going to point it out.
“Make of it what you want, yes, we concede goals. If you want to avoid the fact that we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing.
“I don’t know what to say anymore. I think people make up their own minds. Whether they think what I’m doing is good or bad, that’s fine.”
Next up for Spurs is a meeting with their former manager Nuno Espirito Santo when they make the trip to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
