An error-strewn performance by Tottenham Hotspur led to a 4-2 away defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, condemning them to their fourth loss in six Premier League games and deepening coach Ange Postecoglou’s crisis.
Wolves made the most of West Ham United’s 2-1 loss away to Liverpool to go 16th in the table on 35 points, ahead of the Hammers on goal difference and 14 points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich with six games to play.
While Wolves played with power and purpose throughout, Spurs were skittish and individual mistakes were at the root of all four goals as they slumped to a defeat that leaves them two points ahead of their hosts in 15th.
“I thought we were well in the game and controlled it really well, but we just kept conceding really poor goals,” Postecoglou said.
The afternoon started badly for Spurs when a poor punched clearance by their goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario led to Rayan Aït-Nouri sending a bouncing drive into the net for the opener for Wolves after 85 seconds.
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
Vicario’s afternoon went from bad to worse seven minutes before the break as he parried the ball onto Spurs defender Djed Spence, who watched in horror as the ball bounced off him and back into the net.
The visitors pulled a goal back through Mathys Tel in the 59th minute as he ghosted in at the far post with Nélson Semedo completely oblivious to his presence, and Tel fired a shot that took a deflection off the Portuguese defender before crossing the line.
Whatever hope Spurs had of a comeback was quickly extinguished when they conceded again five minutes later after an error by Cristian Romero saw Ait-Nouri snap up the loose ball and centre for Jorgen Strand Larsen to score into an empty net.
Substitute Richarlison pulled another goal back in the 85th minute with a close-range header but again Spurs engaged in an act of self-sabotage as Lucas Bergvall gave the ball away for Matheus Cunha to make it 4-2.
“Funny old game — the performance wasn’t too bad, but obviously the goals we conceded, they obviously made it really difficult for us in general,” Postecoglou said.
With the Wolves fans singing that he was getting sacked in the morning and the travelling Spurs fans leaving him in no doubt about their disappointment, the 59-year-old Australian was sanguine as he looked ahead to the second leg of his side’s Europa League quarterfinal in midweek.
“They’re clearly not happy, and they shouldn’t be, and we’re not happy either. I’m not happy, everyone’s not happy, but what we can do is recover now and get ready for Thursday,” he said.
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