Just your typical game of two halves down at the Lane. Tottenham were in cruise control by half-time – but that attitude proved dangerous as Stoke's second-half switches wiped out a two-goal lead and embarrassed the hosts.
Spurs made two changes to the side which somewhat unluckily lost 1-0 at Manchester United last week, Hugo Lloris grabbing the gloves and Ryan Mason replacing Nabil Bentaleb in midfield. But it was Eric Dier, continuing his much-debated role in holding midfield, who put the hosts in front after 19 minutes, nodding home an Christian Eriksen corner.
MATCH REPORT Late fightback stuns Pochettino's men
Spurs certainly had the better of the first half and the game seemed up for Stoke when Nacer Chadli's injury-time volley put the hosts two up at the break. Irked Stoke Marks Hughes and Bowen angrily accompanied the officials off the field at half-time but the statistics were damning: the home side had dominated the ball with 64% possession and completed 262 passes to Stoke's 132, with 5 shots on target to the visitors' 2.
The second half started with Spurs notably less urgent while Stoke sought a way back into the game. Just before the hour Hughes called on Stephen Ireland and Joselu - and it worked.
The new striker was fouled for the 78th-minute Marko Arnautovic penalty which halved the arrears, while the impressive Ireland crossed five minutes later for Mame Biram Diouf to level.
Linking particularly well with Arnautovic, Ireland could have bagged the winner with five minutes to go. During the first half Hughes might have wished he could call on suspended record signing Xherdan Shaqiri, but on this performance there's plenty of life left in the Irishman, who turns 29 next Saturday. He completed 20 of his 21 passes, and Hughes will be hoping to coax this kind of showing from him on a more regular basis.
Mauricio Pochettino might regret substituting Harry Kane after less than 20 minutes of the second period. Replacement Erik Lamela once again showed very little and Tottenham urgently need more firepower – otherwise Stoke, with an ever-improving squad and coming off the back of their finest-ever Premier League season, might fancy they could threaten the Londoners' top-six place.
Match stats
- Eric Dier's 3 Premier League goals have all come in August.
- Nacer Chadli has scored in each of his last 2 league home games vs Stoke.
- Tottenham have conceded more penalties than any other Premier League side since the start of last season (8).
- Marko Arnautovic’s two Premier League goals since the start of last season have both come in London (Upton Park and White Hart Lane).
- Spurs had won their last 74 Premier League home games when they had gone 2+ goals ahead before today; a run that goes back to a 4-4 draw with Leicester in February 2004.
- It was the 14th time in PL history that Spurs (home or away) had failed to win after going at least two goals in front.
- The Potters came from 2 goals down to claim a point for the first time since December 2012 against Southampton and for the first time away since March 2009 at Aston Villa.
- Stoke equalled their record for most shots on target in a PL away game (7, also v Wigan in September 2012).
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