Tottenham return to the top four teams in the Premier League after beating Brentford 3-2 in a fiery London derby with two goals early in the second half.
Neal Maupay put the Bees in front after a quarter of an hour and the Frenchman’s celebration goal, which saw him taunt Spurs star James Maddison, was the catalyst for a fierce clash.
Destiny Udogie equalised for Spurs three minutes after half-time, Brennan Johnson put the hosts in front a minute later and Richarlison added a third for the hosts shortly afterwards.
Ivan Toney reduced the arrears in the 67th minute, but Postecoglou’s team held on to take the three points and overtake Aston Villa in the standings.
Asked if Maupay’s celebration spurred his players into a physical confrontation, Postecoglou was not impressed.
“I’m not a fan of that. I don’t like all this bravura, pushing people around,” he said.
“If you’re so brave about things, let my players and their players get in the UFC cage and I’ll see how brave they are.
“We’re there to play football, and that’s what I want our guys to do, to focus on playing football.
“They shouldn’t get motivated by things that aren’t really that important to us.”
At Anfield, youngster Conor Bradley scored his first goal for Liverpool and had two assists as the Premier League leaders beat Chelsea 4-1 to climb to a five-point lead at the top.
The 20-year-old right-back fired into the bottom corner in the 39th minute to double the Reds’ lead after he had delivered the cross that Diogo Jota opened the scoring midway through the first half.
After Darwin Nunez sent a penalty kick towards goal in stoppage time in the first half – one of the four shots he scored – Dominik Szoboszlai increased the advantage in the 65th minute when he headed against the post after Bradley’s cross.
Christopher Nkunku replied and then Luis Diaz closed out the scoring for Jurgen Klopp’s men, who remained unbeaten in 15 games in their first league game since the German coach announced his retirement at the end of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea ended a run of three wins with a disappointing evening, as they remained in 10th place.
Manchester City, who played a game fewer than Liverpool, returned to second place with their fourth league win, beating Burnley 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Julian Alvarez scored twice on his 24th birthday, Rodri was also on the scoresheet and top scorer Erling Haaland returned from injury as a 71st-minute substitute.
Ameen Al-Dakhil scored a consolation goal in stoppage time for second-placed Burnley as Pep Guardiola’s three-time winners climbed above Arsenal on goal difference.