Inspired by Tottenham playing host to Anthony Joshua’s world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night, Nuno Espírito Santo had used boxing parlance to illustrate what he wanted to see from his team.
The Spurs manager said that they could not throw punches all the time and, when they took one, they had to cover up, to stop the bleeding. Their response to being dumped on to the canvas in the previous two Premier League games – the 3-0 defeats against Crystal Palace and Chelsea – had been non-existent.
