Tottenham 1-2 Wolves – Spurs lack spark as Maddison is shackled

Ange Postecoglou’s sluggish Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After recent comeback wins over Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion, Spurs failed to repeat the trick against Wolves, twice falling behind to goals from Brazilian midfielder Joao Gomes.

The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Jack Pitt-Brooke assess the key talking points…

Spurs need Maddison back at it, and soon

When James Maddison ticks, so do Spurs. But the opposite is also true. 

This was a game when Maddison saw plenty of the ball but struggled to find a way past Gary O’Neil’s well-organised side. He made two key passes, which on another day could have led to Spurs’ goals, but generally, Wolves did well to keep him at a safe distance from their goal. He registered just one shot, which was off-target. 

Maddison’s return to the Spurs line-up was a huge boost, but he’s been feeling his way back in. He has just one assist and no goals in his five games since coming back, which is way off his superb early-season numbers. 

Now with a couple of weeks to rest, the hope is that Maddison can rediscover that form from the late summer and autumn when he turbocharged Spurs’ rise to the top of the table. 

Because when teams do find a way to stop him, Spurs struggle to break teams down.

Charlie Eccleshare

Can Spurs afford to keep starting so slowly?

For Tottenham, it is becoming a familiar pattern. Even at home, in a game when Spurs are the pre-match favourites, they struggle to function in the first half. We saw it here against Brentford when Spurs were 1-0 down at half-time. We saw it here against Brighton when Spurs were 1-0 down at half-time. And we saw it here today when Spurs were, yet again, 1-0 down at the break.

Wolves came playing a disciplined organised 5-3-2 system, narrow and compact, leaving very little room for Spurs to play through. And yet Tottenham looked determined to find spaces that simply did not exist, playing a ponderous, narrow game, failing to create anything other than occasional half-chances on the break. Their sloppiness was not only when they had the ball either, as Gomes was left completely free to head Wolves into the lead from a Pablo Sarabia corner. Yet again, Spurs needed a big improvement after the break, and although Kulusevski did equalise shortly after the restart, they very quickly slipped back into their bad habits.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Royal struggles to fill void left by Porro

Just as Spurs looked to be getting all their key players back, another couple dropped out. There was a big disappointment on Friday when manager Postecoglou revealed that Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie would miss the Wolves game with injuries, and that apprehension was well-founded. 

Ben Davies put in a decent shift but Emerson Royal, with the best will in the world, struggled badly. When stepping into central midfield, Royal lost the ball in dangerous areas a couple of times in the first half. Shortly before Wolves’ opener, he wafted a crossfield pass straight out of play. 

Royal improved in the second half and made an excellent block to prevent Jean-Ricner Bellegarde from putting Wolves 3-1 up, but will not want to relive the moment when Pedro Neto raced past him to set up the visitors’ second. 

On Friday, Postecoglou reaffirmed his commitment to playing the same way irrespective of the personnel. For him, and most observers, the positives of this approach outweigh the negatives. But while he’s still only a couple of transfer windows into his time at Spurs, there are going to be players who look uncomfortable with what they’re being asked to do. 

That was very much the case for Royal on Saturday.

Charlie Eccleshare

What did Ange Postecoglou say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for Spurs?

Saturday, March 2: Crystal Palace (H), Premier League, 3pm GMT, 10am ET

Crystal Palace have failed to beat Tottenham away from home in the Premier League since 1997. Postecoglou will be hoping his side can continue the run in their quest for a top-four finish.

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(Top image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)