Tottenham 2-2 Wolves: Larsen leveller adds to pressure on Postecoglou

Jorgen Strand Larsen’s late equaliser further increased the mounting pressure on Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham were held to a 2-2 draw by Wolves on Sunday.

Postecoglou may have been fearing the worst when Hwang Hee-chan’s seventh-minute opener fired Wolves ahead, only for Rodrigo Bentancur to level with a header from Pedro Porro’s corner five minutes later.

Son Heung-min then saw a 43rd-minute penalty saved by Jose Sa, though Brennan Johnson – who won the spot-kick after a foul by Andre – edged the hosts into the lead in a chaotic ending to the first half.

Johnson linked up well with Dejan Kulusevski for his close-range finish, though the Sweden winger’s late miss proved costly as Santiago Bueno cleared on the line at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Larsen – introduced at half-time for in-form Matheus Cunha, who seemed to have suffered a knee injury – then latched onto Rayan Ait-Nouri’s pass before firing past Fraser Forster to snatch a point with just three minutes remaining.

A third straight league outing without victory left Tottenham 11th in the table, while 17th-placed Wolves are two points clear of Leicester City and the bottom three.

It ends level. pic.twitter.com/sBSVc0TpMw

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 29, 2024

Data Debrief: Familiar struggles for both sides

Hwang’s opener saw Tottenham fall 1-0 behind in a 15th Premier League home game in 2024, the most ever by a side in a single calendar year in the competition.

However, Bentancur’s header was the 10th goal that Wolves have conceded from corners in the Premier League this season, the most of any side in an area that Vitor Pereira needs to improve.

Johnson then continued his fine season with his 11th goal for Tottenham this term, his most for a Premier League side in all competitions in a campaign after going past his 10 for Nottingham Forest in the 2022-23 season.

Yet Johnson’s finish was not enough for Spurs, who have now failed to win in five successive home Premier League games for the first time since October 2008 (a run of eight).

That eight-game winless streak proved to be Juande Ramos’ final matches in charge, in what could be an ominous omen for under-fire Postecoglou.