Match Report: Wolves 4-2 Tottenham – Guglielmo Vicario suffers a shocker

Tottenham Hotspur return to losing ways in the Premier League following a 4-2 defeat to Wolves, with individual defensive errors proving costly once again.

Well, to sum it all up for Tottenham: four errors, four goals conceded, and a performance that did little to inspire confidence ahead of a crucial trip to Frankfurt.

Ange Postecoglou made six changes to the side that started against the German outfit last week, with Bissouma, Sarr, Gray, Davies, Spence and Mathys Tel returning. While it wasn’t the strongest Spurs XI, it should have been enough against a Wolves side flirting with relegation – but evidently, it wasn’t.

First half: Wolves 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

It took less than 90 seconds for Tottenham to start unravelling. Guglielmo Vicario flapped at a Wolves free-kick, punching it straight into the path of Rayan Ait-Nouri, who volleyed it into the far corner.

And it could’ve been 2-0 just minutes later when Vicario played a hospital pass straight to Strand Larsen, only for the striker to go wide despite having the entire goal to himself.

Mathys Tel showed some promise with his control and volley attempts, but Spurs looked blunt in attack early on. It took 20 minutes before they managed a proper shot on target – a thunderbolt from Bissouma on the edge of the box, but Jose Sa pulled off a one-handed acrobatic save.

Solanke’s flicked effort went above the bar following a pass from Tel, but it wouldn’t have counted anyway as the Englishman was offside. Meanwhile, Romero’s direct passes forward were cut out well by the Wolves’ defence. Although Johnson came close to converting one of them, only to blaze over on his weaker foot.

Then came another unlucky defensive mishappening. Ait-Nouri’s deflected cross fell to Munetsi, whose header was saved by Vicario but the Italian palmed it straight onto Djed Spence, who bundled it into his own net. Vicario should have done better in claiming the ball and there was little the left-back could do to recover the situation.

There was a penalty shout just before the break as James Maddison appeared to be shoved in the box by Matt Doherty. However, referee Anthony Taylor wasn’t interested. Wolves could’ve added a third through Pablo Sarabia, who failed to connect cleanly with an excellent Ait-Nouri delivery.

The half ended with a Maddison free-kick headed over by Ben Davies, and Spurs trudged into the dressing room 2-0 down – booed by their own fans and rightfully so. The stats told the story: Wolves led with an xG of 0.9 to Spurs’ 0.75 (FotMob).

Second half: Wolves 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur

The second half didn’t bring much improvement. Johnson and Sarr tried to create something down the right, but Wolves’ pressing quickly shut the door. Sarabia tested Vicario after a quick one-two with Strand Larsen, but the keeper stood firm.

Then, out of nowhere, Spurs were back in it. A fine run from Bergvall saw the ball worked to Johnson on the right. His cross should’ve been cleared by Semedo, but the full-back made a mess of it, and Mathys Tel’s finish – via Semedo again – bounced into the net. 2-1.

Hope lasted all of five minutes. Cristian Romero, under no real pressure, misjudged the ball and allowed Ait-Nouri to steal in. The Algerian raced forward and squared it to Strand Larsen for the easiest of tap-ins. 3-1. “Architects of their own demise”

Maddison tried to respond with a free-kick attempt. But it flew miles over in what was an awful attempt to imitate Declan Rice’s heroics from Champion’s League midweek. Ange had seen enough cluelessness to bring on Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison, both of whom injected some much-needed life.

Wolves nearly made it four after a Cunha free-kick flashed wide, but then Spurs clawed back a second. Davies headed Bergvall’s corner to Romero whose header came back off the bar, and Richarlison pounced to bundle it home. 3-2, and a glimmer of belief returned.

But once again, Spurs found a way to ruin it. Lucas Bergvall took too long on the ball, Cunha stole it, skipped past Davies and fired beyond Vicario. 4-2.

From there, there was a team holding a high line for the sake of it, with no clue what to do in possession.

FT: WOLVES 4-2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

What’s next for Tottenham?

It’s back to the drawing board for Ange Postecoglou. Four goals conceded – all stemming from individual mistakes. As unlucky as some moments may have been, Spurs looked tactically clueless for long spells, particularly with the ball.

There were a few bright spots. Archie Gray once again impressed in an unnatural role, and Kulusevski’s return of course.

This result leaves Spurs just two points above Wolves and West Ham in 15th place. It also means that no other team has lost more away games than Spurs apart from Southampton (20th) and Leicester (19th).

Next up, a huge trip to Germany to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday. That game could very well determine whether Postecoglou remains in the dugout.

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