Tottenham Hotspur lost for the third game in succession as their woes without the injured Harry Kane and Son Heung-min continued.
The hosts twice took the lead but were unable to keep free-scoring opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers at bay, as the away side fought back on multiple occasions to snatch victory. Jose Mourinho’s squad let their manager down again with yet more poor defending, and one of their brightest young performers of late had a day to forget.
Japhet Tanganga, valued at £7.2m (Transfermarkt) has made five Premier League appearances for Tottenham and been praised by his manager for his commanding displays early on in his Spurs career. Still, in the crunch game against Wolves, he was off the pace, and the opposition made him pay the price. The 20-year-old English centre back was at fault for Matt Doherty’s equaliser to put the scores at 1-1, after he failed to clear the ball and left it on a plate for the Wolves wing-back in his six-yard box. Furthermore, for Raul Jimenez’s winner, the defender can be seen flashing across the striker sliding in to attempt a block, only for the Mexican to evade the challenge and fire Wolves in front.
Aside from the two mistakes, Tanganga was defensively solid, making the most interceptions of any player in white, two, along with three tackles and five clearances, as per WhoScored. What could have been an incredible defensive effort was ultimately let down by the fact that Tanganga was culpable for at least one, if not two, of Wolves’ goals. Mourinho evidently thought so too and removed the Englishman just a couple of minutes after Jimenez’s winner.
With the ball at his feet, Tanganga also made the fewest passes of any Tottenham Hotspur defender, 34, with an 88.2 per cent accuracy, as per WhoScored. The fact the centre back played so few passes highlights how Nuno Espirito Santo’s side pressurised the ball and gave Spurs’ defence little to no time in possession at the back. Both Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier, also playing centre back, racked up at least double the number of Tanganga’s passes, 89 and 68 respectively, which shows how much sharper the pair are with the ball, as per WhoScored.
Overall it has been a breakthrough campaign for the young Spurs prospect; however, this was a thoroughly disappointing afternoon for the young Englishman as his side slipped to seventh in the table.
