Tottenham Hotspur again struggled against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham) was completely excluded from the roster, while Hwang Hee-chan (29, Wolverhampton) came on as a substitute and played for about 7 minutes.

Tottenham Hotspur faced Wolverhampton in the away match of Round 32 of the Premier League 2024-2025 season at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, on the 13th (Korea time), losing 2-4.

With this failure to earn points, Tottenham maintained 37 points (11 wins, 4 draws, 17 losses) and placed 15th in the league. Wolverhampton produced 35 points (10 wins, 5 draws, 17 losses) and temporarily rose to 16th. Additionally, they boosted their momentum by achieving four consecutive league wins.

Tottenham lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. Mathis Tel, Dominic Solanke, and Brennan Johnson were positioned at the forefront, while James Maddison, Pape Sarr, and Yves Bissouma filled the midfield. Jed Spence, Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, and Archie Gray formed the back four, with Guglielmo Vicario defending the goal. Son Heung-min was excluded from the roster due to a foot injury.

Wolverhampton adopted a 3-4-3 formation. Jørgen Stran Larsen was positioned at the forefront, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi supported the attack. Rayan Aït-Nouri, André, João Gomes, and Nelson Semedo managed the midfield, and Toti Gomes, Emmanuel Agbadou, and Matt Doherty made up the three-man backline. The goalkeeper's gloves were donned by Taxes.

Shortly after the match started, Wolverhampton took the lead. In the 2nd minute of the first half, a free kick from the left side flew into the box, and although Vicario punched it away, it spilled to Aït-Nouri, who finished with a left-foot shot.

Afterward, Tottenham faced consecutive crises. In the 6th minute of the first half, Vicario's build-up pass connected with Munetsi, who passed to Larsen. Larsen shot while falling, but it did not lead to a goal.

Tottenham also launched a counterattack. In the 22nd minute of the first half, Bissouma fired a long-range shot, which was saved by Taxes. Six minutes later, Tel's left cross was skillfully connected by Solanke, but it went wide of the goal.

In the 38th minute of the first half, Tottenham conceded again. Aït-Nouri sent a cross from the left side, and after Vicario parried Munetsi's header, the ball hit Spence and was pulled into the goal. It was an own goal.

In the 42nd minute of the first half, Wolverhampton faced an injury issue. Bellegarde complained of pain and was substituted by Pablo Sarabia. The first half ended with Wolverhampton leading 2-0.

In the second half, Tottenham made substitutions. In the 10th minute, they replaced Bissouma and Sarr with Lucas Beriwald and Rodrigo Bentancur.

In the 14th minute of the second half, Tottenham pulled one goal back. Beriwald passed to the right side, and Johnson sent a low cross. The ball, which Semedo failed to clear, went to Tel, who pushed it in.

Unable to maintain the momentum, Tottenham conceded again five minutes later. Aït-Nouri crossed after bypassing Romero, and Larsen calmly connected it to the goal, making the score 1-3.

Wolverhampton immediately played their substitution cards. They replaced Larsen and Aït-Nouri with Matheus Cunha and Rodrigo Gomes. In the 38th minute of the second half, they substituted Gomes for Hwang Hee-chan.

Tottenham added another goal in the 40th minute of the second half. In a corner kick situation, Beriwald's kick hit Davies and spilled to Romero, who had a header deflected by Taxes, but Richarlison pushed it again, igniting the spark of a comeback.

Soon after, a critical mistake occurred. In the 41st minute of the second half, Beriwald lost the ball to Cunha, who recorded a decisive goal after dribbling past defenders.

Although 4 minutes of stoppage time was given, the match did not flip. Tottenham lost 2-4, and Wolverhampton extended their four-match league winning streak.

The British local media 'Football London' reported after the match against Wolverhampton that "Tottenham lost yet another victory at Molineux due to continuous defensive errors," while revealing player ratings.

The score was devastating. Goalkeeper Vicario noted, "I struggled from the start of the match. Weak punching was the cause of the conceded goal, and in the subsequent build-up, I made a mistake that led to a crisis. At the end of the first half, I mishandled an aerial ball, hitting Spence and allowing an own goal. The third and fourth conceded goals were unavoidable, but my overall performance did not meet expectations," and received a rating of 2.

Romero and Davies, responsible for central defense, recorded low scores of 3 and 4, respectively. The media pointed out that "Romero failed to position himself along with Davies in the second conceded goal. The subsequent third conceded goal was due to a direct mistake that allowed Aït-Nouri an opportunity due to poor ball handling. Although he indirectly participated in Richarlison's goal, he did not fulfill his role as the backbone of the defense," and regarding Davies, it stated, "He missed an opponent in the second conceded goal and later created another crisis with an unstable pass."

The attacking triangle deployed without Son Heung-min also performed poorly. Solanke received a score of 3, Johnson scored 4, and Tel, who scored a goal, received 5.

In contrast, the players who were substituted in from the bench received relatively better evaluations. Bentancur and Richarlison both received scores of 6, which was the highest among Tottenham players that day.

Meanwhile, Tottenham will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League 2024-2025 season on the 18th. The first leg held at home ended in a 1-1 draw, and Tottenham must embark on a challenging away trip to Frankfurt. Considering the performance displayed in the match against Wolverhampton, optimism seems unlikely.

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