Tottenham have found themselves on the painful end of a 3-0 thrashing by a well oiled Stoke.
Goals by Charlie Adam, Steven Nzonzi and Mame Biram Diouf earned Stoke a deserved victory. Stoke, who were better in every department, were ahead in the 22nd minute when Adam, one of the smallest players on the pitch, headed home after Vertonghen’s attempted clearance let the midfielder in.
Eleven minutes later it was 2-0, Nzonzi beating Hugo Lloris with a smart finish after the Spurs keeper and defender Eric Dier made a hash of a clearance.
It went from bad to worse for Spurs as Chiricheș, booked in the first half for a foul on Jonathan Walters, became the seventh player to be sent off in seven league games between Stoke and Tottenham at the Britannia for hauling down Diouf in the 52nd minute. Stoke added a third four minutes from time as the Senegalese Diouf turned in a cross by the impressive Marko Arnautovic.
Tottenham have only won one of the last six league games and could miss out on Europe all together unless they can turn aroud a poor run of form in the last two games. This was game number 55 for the season for Spurs and it showed as they produced a lackluster performance devoid of any of the ingredients which earned them victories over Chelsea and Arsenal earlier in the campaign.
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