Slow start and dreadful finish suggest crisis of confidence for Tottenham

In the 85th minute, Tottenham were in the control of this game and heading for a much-needed – and just about deserved – victory.

Within seven minutes, they had collapsed to suffer a third consecutive defeat for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino – suggesting something is truly rotten at the heart of this Spurs squad.

Clearly, confidence has hit rock-bottom and it is hard to believe that it is less than a month since the historic 3-0 win at Manchester United. It feels like an age ago. At the end of the game, Serge Aurier slumped on the pitch and had to be pulled to his feet by Eric Dier as Spurs tried to absorb the shock.

The way Spurs panicked and retreating into themselves after Mauro Icardi's wonderful equaliser will be of huge concern to Mauricio Pochettino but so too will be the way they started the game.

In the first half, the tactics were familiar – 4-2-3-1, press high, play out, move the ball quickly – but the execution was wretched, and Spurs lost possession over and over again. They were particularly sloppy in their third, where Ben Davies and Jan Vertonghen struggled with the yips, and only Inter's similarly erratic play spared the visitors.

There were positive signs before the interval – a chance for Harry Kane and a Serge Aurier cross – but it took half-time for Spurs to remember what they are capable of.

Within ten minutes of the restart, they had the lead through Christian Eriksen's fortuitous strike and they should have been out of sight before Icardi's goal and Matías Vecino's sucker-punch, which was yet another header conceded.

Pochettino slammed his players' first-half performance in the 3-0 at United last month and said they played the opening 45 minutes in the subsequent defeat at Watford like a testimonial. All the focus will be on how Spurs' finished this game but the way they started it will be of equal concern to the manager.

Lamela and Son wasteful

Pochettino made five changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Liverpool on Saturday but Lucas Moura's omission was the only surprise. The Brazilian has been Spurs' best player this season but he dropped to the bench, with Lamela and Son making their first starts of the campaign.

Lamela has impressed in two substitute appearances, scoring against Liverpool, while Son is back from a gruelling month of internationals with South Korea. In a Spurs squad that is often said to be thin, there is plenty of competition for places behind Kane, with the injured Dele Alli expected to be back soon.

Son was relatively tidy but struggled to make any sort of impact in the final third before being replaced by Luas on the hour. Lamela, meanwhile, constantly ran into traffic in the first half but improved after the break, running the channels well.

The Argentinian was, however, hugely wasteful in front of goal, twice forcing Handanovic into saves. He should have really put Spurs out of sight. It remains to be seen if either has done enough to keep their place but, on balance, Pochettino will likely turn to Lucas and Alli (if he recovers from a hamstring strain) against Brighton at the weekend.

Kane fluffs lines again

Another few days, another few queries about Harry Kane. The most repetitive talking-point of the fledgling season is relevant again, after another mildly concerning performance from the Spurs captain.

It was not that Kane did anything particularly wrong – in fact, he was probably Spurs' best passer in the first half – but he did not look as menacing as he did in last season's Champions League and he fluffed his only chance, skipping away from Handanovic but losing his footing.

Pochettino has said he would be "crazy" to rest Kane but a miss of that magnitude will only add to the belief that he could do with a period on the sidelines.

He simply appears to be both physically and mentally fatigue. Pochettino did eventually replace him in the 88th-minute with Danny Rose – an odd decision that contributed to Spurs retreating into themselves.

New-look Inter look disjointed but show resilience

If Spurs have benefitted from continuity after they became the first ever Premier League club not to make a summer signing since the introduction of the transfer windows in 2003, then Inter appeared to struggling for rhythm for long periods.

The Nerazzurri revamped their squad this summer with a flurry of new signings, among them the impressive Radja Nainggolan, and four started against Spurs. For all the individual quality of Radja, Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic, who was replaced on the hour after failing to really trouble Serge Aurier, Inter still look like a collection of strangers.

The repeatedly gave the ball back to Spurs in the final third to the frustration of manager Luciano Spalletti, who plainly has work to do to decide on a formation, a best XI and a style of play to suit his squad.

Whatever their deficiencies, Spalletti's side clearly have tremendous resilience and they should be commended for turning the screw once Icardi had equalised. Roared on the magnificent Curva Nord, they sensed blood and capitalised on Spurs' weak core with Vecino's late close range header.