Jesse Marsch says Leeds United's 4-3 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur summed up their season as good is undermined by defensive mistakes

The Whites led three times at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and went behind for the first time in the 83rd minute.

Marsch put the defeat down to lapses in tactical discipline but there was it was not as if his tactics were gung-ho, adding an extra midfielder at half-time and another defender shortly before Rodrigo Bentancur scored the decisive final two goals.

"I'd say we've encapsulated our 16-game season in one match, moments that were really good and really on top of things and in control, and then moments where we're vulnerable and make easy mistakes that at this level you can't make because you get punished," complained the American.

"I always try to look at the positives and I really like a lot of the things we were able to accomplish but it's just a lot of moments when we're in control we can't seem to stay on top of the match.

"At 2-2 we were really good and the reason we got the lead to go 3-2 was because we were on top of the match.

"Right now we give leads up so quickly, whether it's Bournemouth, Liverpool or every time we got the lead today. We've got to find a way to be more stable defensively.

Marsch withdrew Marc Roca to change formation once Rodrigo's second goal of the game and ninth of the season put Leeds 3-2 up but soon after Bentancur found the net from the part of the pitch the Spaniard normally occupies. But Marsch put the goal down to failed fundamentals, not tactics.

"We make a mistake almost right away," he argued.

"We know they're going to push and spread the backline out and put more numbers across the (Leeds) backline so we decided to go 5-4-1 which we've done a lot and we've been stable in those moments but a ball comes in the box and we head it down right to Bentancur at the top of the box and we're not closing down from the other side.

"For me that's not about tactics, that's about giving it to the opponent at the wrong moment

"That was hard to swallow."

Marsch was unhappy with Tottenham's first goal, when Clement Lenglet appeared to impede Illan Meslier as he tried to keep Harry Kane's volley out of the net.

"That's a foul," said Marsch. "The fourth official says he thinks it's foul and I think, 'Okay, good, it's going to VAR,' and they don't even look at it.

"What am I going to do, freak out like I did at Brentford (when he was sent to the stands for his reaction)?

"Then they're going to throw me out and I'm going to be the guy in the wrong, which is incredible. What's in the wrong is it's not a foul."

Given how long it took to restart the game and that video assistant referees are routinely supposed to check goals, it seems unlikely Paul Tierney did not look at it, but if he did and still did not think it was a clear and obvious error by referee Michael Salisbury, that would be disappointing too.

The match was both sides’ last before the Premier League goes on hold for the Qatar World Cup.

Leeds's next game will be at Manchester City on December 28, a match World Cup-bound USA midfielder Tyler Adams will miss through suspension after picking up his second yellow card of the afternoon.