Tottenham's lack of second half energy is a worrying sign for their title ambitions
When Tottenham Hotspur entered the halftime break on Saturday leading Wolves 1-0, few anticipated Spurs to throw away the three points in shambolic fashion.
Tottenham’s 3-1 home defeat to Wolves revealed a worrying lack of energy in the side, raising serious concerns over their title ambitions.
After a sumptuous 5-0 Boxing Day win over Bournemouth catapulted the north London side to second, many supporters and pundits alike started to view Spurs as genuine title contenders.
In fairness, Mauricio Pochettino didn’t jump on the bandwagon and was quick to downplay the sense that Tottenham could win the league.
Unfortunately for Tottenham, their manager’s pragmatic comments rang true on Saturday.
While they went ahead through a Harry Kane wonder-strike, Spurs appeared to run out of energy in the second half and failed to seriously threaten Rui Patricio’s goal after the 45th minute.
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
Wolves suddenly surged with confidence, striking three times after the 75th minute en route to a swashbuckling victory courtesy of their superior counterattack.
The result was even more shocking considering Wolves’ disappointing Boxing Day draw with relegation-threatened Fulham, where the Midlands side appeared second-best for large stretches.
Tottenham’s low-energy second half performance gifted Wolves the three points on Saturday, illustrating a worrying feature of Spurs’ play that seems set to derail their title challenge just as it was kicking off.
