More than a decade ago, the Portuguese captain had criticized teams that used such negative tactics. In 2020, Mourinho’s Tottenham is pursuing that kind of football. At times, this thumb works well. However, on another day, it becomes obsolete.
Tottenham opened the score very early by Tanguy Ndombele in the first minute of the match. Before that, the visitors had 1 shot on target. And that is also the most exciting development that Mourinho’s Tottenham brings to viewers.
Playing defensively on away field is not a bad approach to the game. Hours before the Wolves – Tottenham match, fans saw West Bromwich Albion produce positive results.
At Anfield, Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion uses a 6-4-0 pattern and finds a precious point. This is the match Liverpool led first, but dropped the victory at the last minute.
However, Tottenham is not West Bromwich. The London representative owns the excellent attacking players that West Bromwich only dreamed of. Looking at Spurs’ starting line-up against Wolves, the best Premier League duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are still present.
Spurs do the opposite, only to pay the price. Wolves found a 1-1 equalizer in the 86th minute of the match. According to Eurosport, Mourinho’s team dropped 9 points for goals in the last 10 minutes of the match.
When they could have an early goal, Spurs had to continue to push up the pace of their attack to look for more goals. They do not do that and choose to defend steadily, waiting for the opponent to open up to strike back. Mourinho also made big mistakes in staff adjustment.
He pulled Ndombele, Spurs’ best-playing creative detonator, off the pitch in the 70th minute. His replacement was Moussa Sissoko, a defensive-oriented player.
The withdrawal of Ndombele from the pitch became one of the turning points for Tottenham. They no longer have players rotating the ball between midfielders and strikers.