The Wolverhampton Wanderers were ready for the return of former coach Nuno Espirito Santo and Tottenham Hotspur, yet the Spurs hung on and took all three points 0-1.
We wondered aloud if the intensity and effort Tottenham Hotspur showed in the first match of the season against Manchester City could continue. The Spurs were not as relentless as they were the week before against Manchester City but the Lilywhites did enough to limit the big chances and take all three points to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2018-19.
Wolves set the tone against Spurs
It was obvious from the off that Wolverhampton wanted to attack Tottenham with speed. For the second match in a row Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez on the right side of the Lilywhite’s defense was the target. As the Wolves hit the ball again and again out to Adama Traore to work on the Spurs defense.
Whereas last week Tanganga was able to get physical with Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling, it was Traore getting physical with Tanganga and the Spurs. The Spanish attacker was able to find space early and often. The Wolves are a much more expansive team than Manchester City and use that width and space to create one-on-one opportunities.
Wolverhampton dominated the first seven minutes until Tottenham finally had one little piece of possession. Steven Bergwijn picked up the ball in the defensive half and did as he did much of the day, tried to push and drive the ball with the dribble.
However, as was also the case most of the day for Tottenham, Bergwijn’s pass to Lucas Moura was thwarted by a strong challenge and an alert Wolves defense. Then almost out of nothing, Dele Alli and the Spurs made something happen.
Tottenham score early against the flow
It was really only the second time Tottenham had the ball with any real possession and it came from an unexpected Wolves mistake.
The Wolves had won the ball back from Tottenham off a throw-in and had gotten the ball to Ruben Neves. The Portuguese midfielder was ever-present for the Wanderers on the day and had a few shots just not quite find the mark.
In this instance, however, it was Neves making possibly his only poor pass of the match as he tried to thread the ball up-pitch between Tottenham lines, only to be intercepted by Sergio Reguilón. The Spurs fullback took possession of the ball, and immediately played it up to Bergwijn, and ran forward to collect the one-two pass off the Dutch.
From here Reguilón showed a real eye for the pass as he pushed a nice through ball into the box toward a diagonally darting Dele Alli. As Alli got a touch on the ball – just as we had told in our pre-match reporting – Wolves keeper Jose Sa came off his line to try and win possession.
Dele dangled his back leg just enough to ensure Sa took him out and Stuart Atwell blew for the penalty. Despite the complaints from the Wolves players and a VAR check, the call stood and Dele then converted the penalty sending Sa the wrong way for the 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur lead.
Less than 10 minutes into the match, Tottenham had the lead, the question was could they keep it. Unfortunately for Spurs faithful, much like we saw last season, Tottenham tended to drop deep far too quickly and was forced into a lot of defending.
Lloris leads defense on a big day
The Spurs held more possession against Wolves than they did against Manchester City – although it did not feel like it – yet conceded even more shots against the Wanderers. The Sky Blues had almost 66% possession and peppered 18 shots toward Lloris. The Wolves managed 22 shots on nearly 58% possession but time and again the Tottenham defense held strong.
Hugo Lloris was huge for Tottenham
It was a major day for Hugo Lloris as a Tottenham player as he passed Darren Anderton for the most appearances in the Premier League for the club at 300. And whether it was Hugo darting off his line to claim a long ball or making the huge save on Traore the club captain wanted that clean sheet on his big day.
Whereas Sa had the big foul on the other end of the pitch against Dele, Lloris showed he is still top class with a tremendous save on Adama Traore.
Eric Dier who had seemingly made a great play stepping up to win the ball right near midfield then lost possession to Neves. The Wolves midfielder took a touch, looked up the pitch, and then played the kind of through ball they will show 500 times from Kevin De Bruyne. It was inch-perfect past the retreating Tottenham defense and into the path of Traore.
Traore had a similar situation in week one against Leicester but missed the target against Schmeichel. Surely, Traore was not going to miss a second time on the breakaway. The truth is Traore did not miss, he struck a decent effort heading for the corner of the goal. Hugo was again quick off his line and managed to stick a boot out and make the big save.
Again, outside the penalty, this was the moment of the match. If Fabio Paratici is wondering about giving Hugo a few more years with the club, moments like that should help him make his decision, as the Spurs skipper came good.
Lloris was not alone in the stout defending as Tottenham managed to block nine shots. Whether it was Tanganga, Dele, Sanchez, or Oliver Skipp, the Spurs were putting their bodies on the line to keep the ball out of the net.
Tottenham could not find a second
Although the defense did the job and Spurs left with the three points, one can’t help but think it could have been a bit easier had any one of several opportunities been converted. Sa made a double save on Bergwijn and then Heung-Min Son. Sa made a critical save on Harry Kane one-on-one – after Spurs talisman came off the bench for Son with 20 minutes to play.
It was not a case of Tottenham not hitting the target, the shots and chances were there, it was Sa keeping the Lilywhites at bay, which prevented more breathing room.
Ultimately, neither team was quite good enough in the final third to find that open play goal and the game ended with Tottenham hanging on for all three points. The Spurs were not as intense or as impressive as they were against City in the opener but they did enough and a win is a win in the Premier League. Now for Tottenham, it is on to Paços on Thursday followed by Watford a week from today.