Abject Tottenham make mountain out of Molineux molehill
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal. Photo: Jacob King/PA Wire.Â
Tottenham Hotspur’s mole has gone underground and head coach Ange Postecoglu and many of the team might want to disappear too after this performance.
Awful defending from Spurs gifted Wolves three of their four goals – worrying portents for the visitors’ Europa League second-leg tie at Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday – their only chance to salvage anything from this wretched season.
Wolves all but secured Premier League safety and clinched a fourth straight top-flight win for the first time in more than 53 years.
Much-changed Spurs looked like strangers to each other as Rayan Ait-Nouri gave Wolves the lead after 87 seconds.
The left wing back’s volley from the edge of the area into the ground flew past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
The Italian shotstopper protested furiously, complaining that he had been impeded by Marshall Monetsi when punching away Jean-Ricard Bellegarde’s free kick in the build-up.
There was a long delay as VAR checked not to see whether there was a foul – as replays showed there clearly wasn’t – but whether Monetsi was offside or not, and whether he impeded Vicario.
It took longer to decide than the time the game had been in progress – more than three minutes.
Vicario could have cost Spurs a second goal. Jorgen Strand Larsen should have made it 2-0 but he slid his shot the wrong side of the post after the goalkeeper bungled a pass.
Spurs’ first threat came after 21 minutes when Yves Bissouma let fly with a stinging shot that Jose Sa did well to palm away at full stretch.
After a quiet period the visitors created another chance when Brennan Johnson lifted a shot on the turn high over the bar.
But it was Wolves who drew second blood in the 38th minute with a farcical error from Spurs.
Vicario’s punch from Monetsi’s header from Ait-Nouri’s deflected cross hit Djed Spence and bounced into the unguarded net.
The goal left Postecoglu shaking his head looking at the iPad in the technical area.
Not surprisingly, Spurs fans booed their team off at half-time.
Things changed little for the visitors at the start of the second half, when a pass from captain Cristian Romero sailed harmlessly behind for a goal kick.
Strand Larsen forced Vicario to palm an angled shot behind as Wolves looked to add to their tally.
Spurs hauled themselves back in the game in the 59th minute.
Mathys Tel tapped home at the far post to punish his marker Nelson Semedo missing Johnson’s cross after a driving run by substitute Lucas Bergvall.
Romero was at fault as Strand Larsen restored Wolves’ two-goal cushion in the 64th minute.
The giant Norway international tapped home after Romero allowed Ait-Nouri to dispossess him chasing Toti’s long pass and the Algerian crossed.
Romero redeemed himself somewhat with a header against the bar which substitute Richarlison nodded home to make it 3-2.
But in typical Spurs fashion, they shot themselves in the foot almost immediately.
Bergvall gave the ball away in his own half and substitute Matheus Cunha – returning after his four-match ban –raced away and sidefooted past Vicario.
Sa 7; Doherty 6 (Bueno 46 minutes, 6), Agbadou 8, Toti 7; Semedo © 7, J Gomes 8 (Hee Chan Hwang 83 minutes, 6), Andre 7, Ait-Nouri 8 (Cunha 69 minutes, 6); Monetsi 6, Strand Larsen 8 (R Gomes 69 minutes, 6), Bellegarde 6 (Sarabia 42 minutes, 6).
Vicario 5; Gray 6, Romero 4, Davies 6, Spence 5; Bissouma 6 (Bentancur 54 minutes, 6), Maddison 4 (Kulusevski 75 minutes, 6), Sarr 5 (Bergvall 55 minutes, 6), Tel 5, Johnson 5, Solanke 5 (Richarlison 75 minutes, 6).
Referee: Anthony Taylor 7.
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