Tottenham Hotspur’s December form didn’t improve much today against Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but at least they didn’t lose. Spurs took a 2-1 lead early in the game and looked set to claim their first win since a 5-0 defeat to Southampton on December 15. But Wolves substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen scored an equalizer against the run of play and held on for a 2-2 draw that will do little to change the mood among Spurs supporters.

The injury situation has not changed since three days ago, but there was a surprise when Radu Dragusin was considered fit to start in the back line alongside Archie Gray, despite being substituted with an ankle injury. Elsewhere, Yves Bissouma was preferred over Pape Sarr, while Pedro Porro came back into the team in place of the suspended Djed Spence. Ange Postecoglou preferred a forward line of Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-Min and Dominic Solanke, playing in front of Dejan Kulusevski. James Maddison started the game again on the bench.

Wolves took an early lead after a free-kick routine when Hwang Hee-Chan hit the post and past Fraser Forster in the seventh minute, but Rodrigo Bentancur equalized five minutes later with a powerful header from a corner. Brennan Johnson gave Spurs the lead in first-half extra time by converting a cutback pass from Dejan Kulusevski in the penalty area and Spurs got a first-half penalty from Son Heung-Min, which was saved by Wolves keeper Jose Sa became. Nevertheless, Spurs appeared to have a good lead until Strand Larsen scored late on for the visitors.

The result was further complicated by another injury, this time to Destiny Udogie, who appeared to have pulled a hamstring and was substituted for Sergio Reguilon. The result will ensure Spurs remain in the bottom half of the table with 24 points from 19 games.

Match reactions

• We didn’t lose. There is, but once again it felt like Spurs would have won another game if not for a few balls flying the wrong way.
• To be honest, I think Spurs played pretty well overall – they had a couple of good performances in the second half – apart from Son’s missed penalty. But you have to take advantage of these chances and Spurs, again, didn’t do it. Spurs certainly played a lot worse in December and it just feels unfortunate again to only take a point here.
• Final xG: TOT 0.99 – 0.51 WOL.
• Wolves’ early goal was simply a well-worked set piece and a great shot. Johnson was fouled, but it’s not like he ran to defend the shot and it went past the post.
• Spurs have been pretty bad at corners this season (when Sonny doesn’t score for the Olimpicos), so it was particularly nice to see Bentancur head one into the goal from a free kick. Every now and then we get one of these as a reward.
• The Wolves played a very physical game and it seemed to unnerve Spurs at times, particularly in midfield, where Bellegarde and others appeared to be specifically targeting Kulusevski. I thought Wolves should have gotten a few more yellow cards than they actually did.
• Spurs again had no real passes in the team in the first half and without Maddison it was pretty obvious how little technical ability there is in this squad as currently constructed.
• The Johnson penalty was soft, but one of those that once given will never be overturned by the video referee. But as the saying goes: “Ball doesn’t lie,” because Son was able to save his penalty.
• Fantastic goal from Johnson, but this goal was all Dejan Kulusevski. Incredible work in the box to create half a step space and play the cutback pass. Deki was really good in this match.
• Another hamstring injury, this time to Destiny Udogie. Man, that sucks. It feels like one of those negative spirals: the more injuries occur, the more minutes everyone else has to play and the more vulnerable they are to further injuries. I am NOT sold on the “Ange’s tactics lead to injuries” opinion that I’m seeing right now. It feels more like a consequence of the Spurs being thin and injured, a feedback loop of crap.
• Interesting decision for Ange to sub Yves Bissouma instead of Rodrigo Bentancur. Bissouma had a poor game but Lolo looked exhausted just before Sarr was substituted. In my opinion, Lolo played quite well overall, although he faded towards the end of the second half.
• Strand Larsen’s goal was simply absurd, especially from this perspective. It’s hard to be too upset about this, although it’s annoying that it came against the flow of the game. I have to wonder why Forster didn’t do better there as he was covering that near post.
• The yellow card for Bentancur means he is now suspended for the Newcastle game due to the accumulation of yellow cards. He was probably lucky not to see any red. Great stuff (not great stuff).
• Spurs are clearly a tired and injury-ravaged team and when that happens there’s only so much you can do. Son gave us next to nothing for the third game in a row and it’s hard not to point out how many minutes he played in a very short space of time. Brennan Johnson also did nothing until he took the penalty and scored his goal (the Lionel Messi of Nacer Chadlis). Yves Bissouma was not a factor. These guys need a break every three weeks in a bacta tank, but instead we’ll continue to play two games a week until the end of January.
• I’ll just say it here: Firing Ange does NOT help alleviate the problems on this force. The only way out is through. Stick with it, overcome the hurdles and improve the squad so we don’t have to go through this again next season.