Tottenham Hotspur threw away a two-goal lead in embarrassing fashion as they were beaten by Manchester City in Thursday night's Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Antonio Conte's side looked to be on their way to recording a stunning result, continuing their good run of form against the defending champions, but it all came crashing down in the second half as the Citizens bagged three goals inside a rampant 12 minutes before netting a fourth late on for good measure.

Weirdly, the Italian seemed to have blamed the defeat on a lack of experience but in reality, his veteran players were the worst of the lot - Hugo Lloris made another blunder that gifted the opposition their first goal, Heung-min Son was way off it again, Harry Kane looked lost, and Ivan Perisic, well...

The Croatian was arguably the worst player on the pitch as, time and time again, he was skinned by undoubted 'Man of the Match' Riyad Mahrez.

Indeed, it was the 33-year-old wing-back who was on the receiving end of some pretty rough criticism as football.london reporter Alasdair Gold graded him as Spurs' lowest-rated player on the night, writing:

'Given a torrid time by Mahrez all night as the City man beat him easily down the left for all three of the hosts' goals after the break. At the other end, he had a big chance to score but his low show was deflected onto the left-hand post. He was taken off not long after City's third.'

Perisic had an absolute "nightmare match" - in the words of journalist Rob Guest - as he managed just 14 successful passes from 20 attempts in the 69 minutes he was on the pitch, whilst also registering only 42 touches - the fourth-lowest of any starter - which is poor when you consider the influence he should have on a game.

Also via Sofascore, the Croatian lost 56% of his duels, blundered possession 12 times (once every 3.5 touches) and failed to provide a shot on target, create a key chance or deliver an accurate cross, despite three attempts.

Football writer Andrew Gaffney would go on to suggest that the vastly-experienced Perisic plays "like an over-exuberant teenager at times," with Sky Sports broadcaster Nubaid Haroon rubbing salt in the wounds, claiming that his defending was "laughable" throughout the game.

In what was also lambasted as a "concerning" display by Independent journalist Miguel Delaney, it's evident that Perisic had an absolutely torrid time up against the two-goal Mahrez and if there's anyone that let the manager and the fans down, it's got to be him.

The former Inter Milan title-winner was given the run around as if he were in the school playground and that has to be a major cause of concern heading into games against Fulham, City again and AC Milan in the coming weeks.

AND in other news, "A wise move..." - Journalist backs out-of-work 50 y/o as "perfect" Conte replacement at Spurs...