Tottenham star issued apology after 'ridiculous' decision played into Chelsea's hands

Tottenham welcome Chelsea on Saturday evening, with manager Thomas Frank eager to ensure his side avoids repeating the errors that proved costly in last season's corresponding fixture.

In December, Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma was forced to issue an apology following his team's dramatic collapse against the Blues, having established a commanding 2-0 lead inside the opening 12 minutes.

Last year, then-manager Ange Postecoglou witnessed his side surrender their lead and ultimately lose 4-3, as his team conceded two penalties that Chelsea capitalised upon. Bissouma was at fault for the opening spot-kick after bringing down Moises Caicedo on the hour mark, allowing Cole Palmer to equalise.

• Tottenham player ratings vs Chelsea - Vicario superb but Xavi & Co woeful as dull Spurs lose
• The 25 words Thomas Frank said to his Tottenham players in the dressing room after Chelsea debacle

After the defeat for Spurs, Bissouma took to social media afterwards to apologise to both team-mates and supporters for his reckless challenge that ignited the turnaround. He wrote: "I'm so sad for that mistake it's burning me because we lost the game today from this mistake.

"I feel sorry for my team-mates, staff and fans. I take all the responsibility for that one. I'll learn from this one, it's time now to show the real me. Thanks for all the support."

Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher was among numerous pundits to condemn Bissouma's rash error inside the penalty area, controversially suggesting the midfielder was "brain dead" for attempting the tackle.

Speaking on Sky Sports at the time, the former Red said: "I've said all day that some of the things Tottenham players do is absolutely ridiculous. It's a certain penalty, and it was his (Bissouma's) mistake initially on the far side, losing the ball to [Pedro] Neto.

"And he maybe comes flying across thinking, 'I've got to try and rectify this in some way'. He was really poor on the first challenge on Neto. That is absolutely brain dead. I mean, who'd be a manager?"

Postecoglou expressed his frustration with the error, describing it as "unnecessary." The former Spurs boss said: "In the second half they came out and put us under pressure.

"I felt we were handling it not too badly and then when they scored we had a big moment at 2-2 to go 3-2 up and in these kind of games, those moments are important. We don't take it and then both penalties were poor on our behalf.

"They're self-inflicted and unnecessary challenges. We've given them two goals away for no reason and given ourselves a mountain to climb which proved too hard."

Bissouma will be absent from Saturday evening's fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to an ankle problem as the two teams clash once more.

Supporters will be anticipating another thrilling encounter similar to last season's meeting. With both sides having netted 17 goals across nine matches, an entertaining spectacle looks likely.