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da supremo： Tottenham Hotspur have endured a dramatic dip in form in recent months and now face a very real battle to qualify for the top four.
Following their dramatic 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, Spurs are now just one point clear of sixth-placed Chelsea and were leapfrogged by Arsenal on Monday night, as the Gunners beat Newcastle United 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
With just seven games of the season remaining and Spurs set to play their first game at the new stadium on Wednesday against Crystal Palace, Mauricio Pochettino’s men need to get back to winning ways quickly.
The dip in form has coincided with a handful of poor performances from certain individuals who have fallen below the high standards they have set for themselves in recent years.
Football FanCast has taken a look at three players who have let the side down this season.
Hugo Lloris
This one’s obvious. Lloris made a terrible error against the Reds at the weekend, parrying a tame Mohamed Salah header against Toby Alderweireld, who was left stranded as the ball trickled over the line.
He has made too many errors this season, both at home and abroad.
After an embarrassing error in the World Cup final with France against Croatia, Lloris was sent off in the Champions League encounter against PSV Eindhoven after clattering into Hirving Lozano while the winger was through on goal.
That error came after a mistake in the home clash with Barcelona, rushing out to tackle Jordi Alba but missing the challenge, allowing Philippe Coutinho to finish into an empty net.
On a visit to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, Lloris also endured a mix-up with Kieran Trippier, with the right-back inadvertently passing the ball into his own net.
For a perceived world-class goalkeeper, his mistakes have become all too regular and all too costly.
If he can be upgraded this summer, Spurs should do just that.
Kieran Trippier
Trippier perhaps reached the zenith of his career in the summer.
During a sweltering heatwave in England, as the nation basked in the glory of a run to the World Cup semi-finals, Kieran Trippier scored a goal that will be forever etched into the minds of everyone who watched it.
Playing against Croatia in the last four, Trippier stepped up to a free-kick and sent it into the top corner, giving the Three Lions a lead and a sniff of their first World Cup final since 1966.
Of course, fate intervened and Croatia made a deserved comeback, winning 2-1, but Trippier is seemingly still living in the moment.
He has not been anything like the defender he was in Russia for Spurs this season, actively regressing and committing two errors leading to goals – more than any other player in the squad.
He continues to be selected by manager Mauricio Pochettino because his only alternative, Serge Aurier, may as well be a walking yellow card.
Trippier has laid on four assists this season but Spurs have kept just one clean sheet in the last seven games that the full-back has started. That is certainly no coincidence.
Harry Kane
This might be a controversial one but his return from injury has undeniably coincided with the club’s poor form.
He was reintroduced against Burnley as Spurs lost 2-1 and then played again in the defeat to Chelsea. In both games, he did not appear to be fit.
More to the point, he has limited the effectiveness of Son Heung-min, who scored in every single game in which Kane was on the treatment table.
It does, of course, need pointing out that the England captain has scored 24 goals in 37 outings this season and continues to lead from the front.
But he is perhaps too good; players are all too willing to hide behind the striker and, when he is not at it, neither are Spurs.
He needs to get back to full fitness and form quickly if Spurs are to rescue their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.