Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou defended his side’s performance despite their 4-2 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, a result that marked their 17th Premier League loss of the season.
Spurs were undone by a series of unfortunate errors at Molineux, with Rayan Ait-Nouri giving Wolves the lead within two minutes. A further blunder from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who punched the ball off Djed Spence into his own net, saw Spurs fall 2-0 behind.
Although Tottenham responded with goals from Matys Tel and Richarlison to level the score, Wolves quickly regained their two-goal cushion through Jorgen Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha.
“Funny game because for the most part, it was decent considering the changes we made,” Postecoglou reflected. “I thought we controlled large parts and were a bit of a threat going forward, but we conceded some poor goals. We made some individual errors, which is unusual for us, but they all happened in one game. It’s not like they are doing it on purpose.”
With Spurs languishing in 15th place in the Premier League, their hopes of securing European football rest on their performance in the Europa League, where they will travel to Eintracht Frankfurt for the second leg of their quarter-final, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Wolves, on the other hand, secured their fourth consecutive top-flight victory, marking their first such run since January 1972. Their survival in the Premier League appears almost certain following a marked improvement under manager Vitor Pereira, who took over in December.
“If I start to speak about being safe, I don’t show my ambition,” Pereira said, as his side moved to within two points of Spurs and three behind Manchester United. “I didn’t come to England just to avoid relegation. I’m not that kind of coach. Mentally, we are strong, and we feel we can win and compete with the other teams.”
Pereira left top scorer Matheus Cunha on the bench for the match, despite the Brazilian returning from a four-match suspension. Cunha has reportedly hinted that his future lies away from Wolves, but Pereira insisted that the forward remains fully committed to the club.
“I feel that he went on the pitch not thinking about himself, but thinking about the team,” Pereira added. “He is part of our family.”
