Without Maddison And Van Der Ven Tottenham Lost Dramatic 1-2 To Wolves

Mario Lemina, scored Wolves' winning goal which made Molineux hysterical. (photo: Twitter @Squawka)

JAKARTA - Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou appears to have succeeded in building Harry Kane's post-departure team. But the absence of James Maddison and Micky van der Ven is considered a major blow to the 'Big Ange' revolution. Especially after the defeat against Chelsea on Monday 6 November.

Although Postecoglou has almost managed to show its ability to win in any way, Wolves substitutes Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina have finally managed to destroy Tottenham's resilience in extra time. The hosts' goal at the Molinex Stadium on Saturday, November 11 sparked a wild celebration.

Tougher challenges await Tottenham going forward, with two of their best players so far, Maddison and Van Der Ven, injured and unlikely to return until early next year.

Without their playmaker, Maddison, Tottenham are very lacking in creativity and are often under pressure over a long period. Although they managed to take the lead throughola Johnson's goal, nearly half of the Postecoglou team were absent, including defenders serving their sentences, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, keeping this match away from exciting entertainment like their previous performances.

Even so, centre-back Eric Dier performed outstanding in his first performance under the leadership of the new manager. Unfortunately, Spurs didn't manage to finish the job. Instead Wolves extended their home record with dramatic responses in extra time. This also brings to Postecoglou's second defeat in a week.

This match is very different from the 'Ange-Ball' style that Tottenham usually displays. Now Postecoglou will use the international break to find solutions to the challenges his team faces.

Although Tottenham started so promising, they only need three minutes to lead 1-0. Without Maddison, additional pressure fell on Johnson, who managed to score after a good attack involving Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro.

Wolves have impressed at Molineux this season and have recovered. They continued to press on Tottenham and tried to expose the high defensive line that has become a hallmark of Postecoglou. Even without Van Der Ven, Romero, and Udogie, Tottenham remains loyal to a bold and risky defensive approach.

Wolves desperately needed a new center-forward in January. They are still very lacking in players who can score in the penalty box, and their only chance in the first half came from Lemina, whose low shot was saved by Guglielmo Vicario.

Their weaknesses continued into the second half, where Matheus Cunha and Hee Chan Hwang both missed the chance, while Tottenham were getting luckyer.

Sarabia finally scored the opener in the first minute of extra time, receiving a pass from Cunha before firing a hard shot into the corner of the net.Lemina then scored a winning goal after making a clever move, making Molineux Stadium hysterical.

"The game is always difficult here. Wolves always look strong and we run out of power in the end. This is understandable; many of them don't play. They scored some good goals; it's hard to accept," said Ange Postecoglou as quoted by TNT Sports.

"Wolves were hard to beat and they attacked us. We could have been more positive in the first half. We scored fast goals and played conservatively. We have chances we can take advantage of," he said.

He also did not regret the absence of James Maddison. "The match is the same, 11 against 11. We must continue to play our football and opportunities will come from there," he said.