What Happened to Tottenham Hotspur During Their Defeat Against Wolves
Tottenham Hotspur’s title challenge in the Premier League was dented, and their winning streak was ended, after they managed to throw away a half-time lead to be defeated 3-1 by the Wolves during their match at Wembley earlier this week. Tottenham managed to win their last 4 games in all competitions, claiming a 5-0 and 6-2 victory.
It seemed like things were heading in the same direction when Harry Kane managed to score a sensational goal during the 22nd minute against the Wolves. However, Tottenham were unable to hold onto their advantage during the second half as Helder Costa, Raul Jimenez, and Willy Boly managed to score in the final 20 minutes of the match.
Positives
Harry Kane’s strike on goal was absolutely incredible. However, other than the goal during the first half, there was much else to cheer about.
Negatives
With Liverpool facing Manchester City and Arsenal in the following two weeks, it provided the perfect opportunity for Tottenham Hotspur to add extra pressure on the leaders. However, after their defeat against Wolves, the opportunity was missed. Pochettino has selected Moussa Sissoko, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-Min, and Harry Kane during the festive period, and they looked like they were running out of energy towards the end which also caused the team to perform more poorly in recent matches.
Manager Rating: 6 out of 10
Pochettino has encountered several injuries of late, especially when you look at central midfield. Most wouldn’t have complained about the squad selection once it was announced and they also wouldn’t have said anything about Kane’s goal. However, the warning signs were quite clear before Wolves managed to equalise. The Tottenham Hotspur manager looked powerless to avoid what followed during the second half and only managed to make one substitution during the match.
Player Ratings
Hugo Lloris – Wolves only had a total of 4 shots on goal and 3 of them managed to pass the French international.
Kieran Trippier – He managed to win two vital headers, but didn’t offer much going forward and frequently gave the ball away to help with the Wolves comeback. A simply loose pass assisted Wolves to score their third goal.
Davinson Sanchez – He was quite remarkable on the field after making his return due to an injury against Everton and managed to win a crucial tackle. He actually cannot be blamed for the goals scored by Wolves.
Toby Alderweireld – He was unable to keep the Wolves from applying pressure and missed the ball when the Wolves scored their second goal of the match.
Ben Davies – He had a horrible start, getting booked for a very late tackle and surviving a handball. His lack of pace was also a huge issue and never tried to beat Doherty.
Harry Winks – Phenomenal play during the first half of the match. However, he seemed to lose his influence during the second half of the game. Costa managed to get behind him to score the third goal for Wolves.