Micky van de Ven embarrasses in Tottenham loss v Chelsea after what he did
Tottenham were left flat on their face as Micky van de Ven had a night to forget against Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday.
Stamford Bridge hosted Spurs on 3 April as the visitors looked to end their three-game winless streak in the league.
Ange Postecoglou didn’t have much joy in West London as Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring just after the break.
Cristian Romero went missing for Spurs in the opening 45 minutes, with Van de Ven struggling to make a mark in the second half.
Tottenham rue defensive performance from Van de Ven
Van de Ven was unable to stamp his authority at Stamford Bridge after losing 50 per cent of his tackles and losing four of his nine duels, as per FotMob.
The Dutch defender also lost possession six times, committed two fouls, was dribbled past once and managed to complete just 33 per cent of his long passes, as per Sofascore.
| Competition | Appearances | Assists |
| Premier League | 11 | 2 |
Apart from the 23-year-old’s defensive fragility, he was unable to contribute much up front and failed to provide the North London outfit a threat in the box with a 0.1 xG and missing a big chance to score.
The defender also let Postecoglou down after his apparent error in the build-up to Chelsea’s goal, with Fernandez getting a free header.
Jamie O’Hara was raging with the former Wolfsburg star after the Lilywhites conceded, with the ex-midfielder writing on X (3 April): “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Where is van de Ven going?”
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh 😡😡😡😡 where is van de Ven going #Spurs
— Jamie Ohara (@Mrjamieohara1) April 3, 2025
Postecoglou needs reliable players at Spurs after loss v Chelsea
Postecoglou has been under pressure at Spurs for some time now after enduring what has been a difficult campaign.
The North London outfit hoped to end their 17-year trophy drought this season but find themselves out of the domestic cup competitions.
With the Lilywhites’ prospects in the Premier League looking bleak as well, the Australian manager will be hoping to go all the way in Europe.
Tottenham will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League and are arguably one of the most prominent teams left in the competition.
If the North Londoners get past the Bundesliga outfit in the quarter-finals, they will have an excellent opportunity to make it to the final in Bilbao.
While Postecoglou’s future is seemingly uncertain right now, he will undoubtedly continue next season if he wins the Europa League.
Winning the European competition will give Spurs a place in the Champions League, which doesn’t look possible through their Premier League position.
Postecoglou will need players he can rely on to win a major trophy in the coming months and Van de Ven needs to step up.