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| Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City celebrates after scoring the team's third goal during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur at The King Power Stadium on February 11, 2023 in Leicester, England. |
Tottenham’s mentality was questioned as assistant boss Cristian Stellini apologised for their humbling by Leicester City.
The Foxes were hugely impressive as they came from behind to win with four goals for the second time in a row.
Spurs, with boss Antonio Conte back in the dugout following a gallbladder removal, had an ideal start when Rodrigo Bentancur diverted home Victor Kristiansen’s sliced clearance.
But the resurgent Foxes netted twice in less than two and a half minutes to turn the game on its head.
First Nampalys Mendy scored only the second goal of his entire career when he crashed a first-time screamer into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Soon after, Wout Faes’ tackle on Harry Kane on halfway ricocheted into the path of Kelechi Iheanacho, who squared for James Maddison to score.
Spurs defender Eric Dier stood off Iheanacho, who stroked a shot into the bottom corner for a Leicester third before the break.
Harvey Barnes had a goal disallowed by the video assistant referee for offside but Spurs failed to learn their lesson and the winger slotted in a fourth from Maddison’s pass 10 minutes later.
“To be consistent is a long process, it’s a mental process, you have to be better mentally,” said Stellini, who spoke to the media instead of the recovering Conte.
“After we scored the goal, something changed. In the team something has to change, not individually. It’s about the desire.
“We have to apologise because our performance wasn’t good enough. We have lost too many tackles, too many duels. This comes from strength inside of you.”
To cap off a truly rotten afternoon for Spurs, they lost goalscorer Bentancur to a knee injury suffered as he tackled Mendy after an hour.
The Foxes are now 13th, six points above the relegation zone, while Tottenham remain fifth.
