Postecoglou’s angry two-word message and things spotted in Wolves vs Tottenham
Phillips made to wait
Ashley Phillips was left out of Ange Postecoglou’s starting lineup for the Tottenham Hotspur match against Wolves, thus he will have to wait a little longer to make his debut in its entirety. With Micky van de Ven hurt and Cristian Romero suspended following Monday’s 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, the Australian would undoubtedly have to choose a new defense duo for the match in the West Midlands.
After making a strong impression during his playing time against Chelsea, Ben Davies, making his injury comeback, was set to start alongside the veteran Tottenham defender Eric Dier.Phillips was named on the bench even though many predicted he would make his debut, even though he was behind Dier in the center-back pecking order and seemed like the ideal match because there were no other senior center-backs available.
After a stellar season leading Spurs’ youth group, academy standout Alfie Dorrington made his senior matchday squad debut. The former Blackburn Rovers player was joined in the dugout by Dorrington.
That Kulusevski and Porro combo
With four key players out for Saturday’s match against Wolves, there were concerns about how Tottenham would respond. However, Postecoglou’s team got off to the ideal start.Brennan Johnson’s first goal for the team gave them the lead, and the summer signing capped off an incredible move.
Pedro Porro completely confused his opponent with a great deception after Pape Matar Sarr moved the ball out to the right wing, resulting in Dejan Kulusevski winning possession of the ball. Subsequently, the Swede executed an exquisite drag-back and flick to find Porro, who placed the ball on a plate for Johnson to score from close range.
Although Johnson will be credited for the goal and Kulusevski for his brilliant flick, Porro should also receive a lot of praise for his dummy and link-up play with the Swede, which were crucial to the outcome. The Spanish player and Kulusevski seem to be developing a decent rapport as they occasionally play well together down the right flank against Wolves.
Angry Ange
After Johnson’s strike in the third minute put Spurs ahead 1-0, the hosts grabbed control of the game and made it difficult for the visitors to trouble Wolves. The loss of four important players, most notably James Maddison, who keeps Tottenham going in the last third, disrupted their game at times and made them appear somewhat passive at times.
Postecoglou was not pleased with what he saw in front of him after several passes around the back without trying to move the ball forward. The 58-year-old was yelling at his men to “get up” in the 38th minute of the match as they were fumbling with the ball at the back.
Getting his point across to his team, they did exactly what he asked as they started to getting it forward a bit more.
Bissouma booking
Following his fifth yellow card of the year, Yves Bissouma will now miss Tottenham’s match against Aston Villa following the international break. The Mali international, who has been walking a narrow balance when it comes to discipline, received a warning for a foul on Mario Lemina toward the conclusion of the first half.
Although it was a very minor yellow card, referee Tim Robinson nonetheless marked it as an infraction and waved his card accordingly. Given that he will now miss a crucial match for Tottenham, some supporters might be relieved that he received his fifth booking of the year at Molineux rather than the following time out, which would have prevented him from playing against Man City.
Halfway through the second half, there appeared to be a chance that Bissouma would be sent off for a challenge outside the box. Fortunately for Spurs, he did not receive his second yellow of the match, which would have been a replay of his red card against Luton Town one month prior. The substitution of Giovani Lo Celso for the former Brighton & Hove Albion in the final minutes did not come as a surprise.
Devastating defeat
Spurs finished the week with two losses despite having an outstanding start to the season going into Monday’s match against Chelsea. After Johnson’s early goal, Wolves looked excellent for all three points, and they won in the last seconds with to goals from Mario Lemina and Pablo Sarabia in stoppage time.
Despite having plenty of possession throughout the match, Wolves failed to really test Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario despite creating many opportunities. Before Sarabia’s incredible equalizer, Tottenham appeared to be on track to secure all three points at Molineux, something that other top-four opponents Man City and Newcastle United had not accomplished.
However, it was not to be following that cruel ending. Coping so well for the vast majority of the game without four of their key men, Postecoglou and Spurs will now break for the international fixtures and go again against Aston Villa later in the month.