With every tiny glimmer of hope, be it progress in one of the cups or someone returning from injury there comes a result in the Premier League to deepen the gloom for Tottenham.
Last week, defeat at Everton against a team who had forgotten how to score. Now this. Defeat against a team who had forgotten how to win. Or even draw.
Leicester arrived in N17 on a run of seven successive defeats, one from a club record in the Premier League. And they won, fighting back from a goal down to score twice in five minutes at the start of the second half.
They clung on from here. It was not pretty, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team wasted time terribly, but thy resisted all that Spurs could throw at them and they won for the first time since the start of December.
From Ange Postecoglou’s angle there is no way to sugar coat it. This result was simply awful despite all the injuries and unavailable players and the home crowd made their feelings known.
Strong jeers came the final whistle, and the defeat unfolded before a back drop of protest songs aimed at chairman Daniel Levy and a banner, calling for ‘Time for Change’ was held aloft as the stadium emptied at the end.
It is now the fourth defeat in a row for Ange Postecoglou’s side
Postecoglou’s team may be in all cup competition but have taken five points from 11. They have lost at home to relegation threatened Ipswich and been held at home by Wolves.
Now this. And it had promised to be different when Richarlison opened the scoring in an error-strewn first half, drifting behind Wout Faes and holding James Justin at bay as he twisted to head in a cross from Pedro Porro.
It was his second goal in two Premier League games having missed most of the season to date through injury.
Before then, Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk had kept Tottenham at bay. First with a strong save to beat away a fierce strike by Porro and then an exceptional save to deny Heung-min Son, who thought he had found the bottom corner.
Son, after scoring twice at Hoffenheim on Thursday, carried a little of his old menace, and drew another fine save from Stolarczyk with a curling left footer tipped onto the bar, just before Richarlison’s opener.
Once behind, Leicester summoned something of a response. Pushing forward with purpose to force corners, with two efforts from distance deflected wide.
The one from Bilal El Khannouss had Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky worried as it looped up over him and caught the roof of the net.
But Tottenham crumbled after the interval.
Richarlison opened the scoring with a sublime header from Pedro Porro’s exquisite cross
Vardy levelled inside a minute after a series of defensive mistakes featuring Rodrigo Bentancur who missed a tackle, Porro who had vacated his post and Ben Davies and Kinsky who both dived to intercept a low cross by Bobby de Cordova-Reid and both failed.
Jubilant Vardy converted from centimetres, his 10th goal in 18 Premier League games against Tottenham.
The goal rocked the home team, and they conceded again very quickly.
Again, the defending left much to be desired in the same areas of the pitch.
Bentancur was muscled off the ball by De Cordova Reid who rolled a short pass to El Khannouss.
Tottenham’s defenders sat back and invited the Morocco international to take aim from distance, which he did and found the bottom corner, beyond the dive of Kinsky.
Jamie Vardy cancelled out the Brazilian’s goal in the first minute of the second half
Bilal El Khannous gave the visitors the lead in the 50th minute
The mood soured. Some Spurs fans returned late to their seats from the half time interval to find the game on its head and the hardcore in the South Stand revving up another chorus of protest songs against chairman Daniel Levy.
They booed the decision to replace Richarlison, although Postecoglou has been nursing him back to full fitness, conscious he has been out for months, has a poor injury record and is his only fit centre forward.
Tottenham were better going forward after the changes while remaining vulnerable at the back.
Dejan Kulusevski found himself clean through onto a long ball from Kinsky only to be denied by keeper Stolarczyk and Porro, so awful defensively, made an impression in attack.
First striking the bar from a free kick deflected off Vardy, then wriggling through a crowd of blue shirts and slicing wide when teammates were better placed and then crossing for Radu Dragusin to head over.
Nerves frayed around the stadium as the minutes ticked down and frustrations heightened as Leicester blatantly played for time. Seven minutes added time did not seem to compensate but the visitors hung on.