Tottenham Hotspur salvaged a late 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, prompting comments from Spurs head coach Thomas Frank regarding his team's resilience. Despite dominating the game, Tottenham conceded a second-half goal to trail Wolves, who were fighting to get their first points of the season. However, a late goal from Palhinha secured a point for Tottenham.
Frank acknowledged that his team lost some structure and composure after Wolves scored, which made it difficult to string passes together. He felt that the change in momentum following the Wolves goal impacted his players. Before the goal, Frank felt Tottenham's first-half performance was quite good, creating enough opportunities. He also mentioned that Wolves' change to a 5-3-2 formation at halftime made it more difficult for Tottenham.
Despite these challenges, Tottenham's persistence paid off with Palhinha's late equalizer. In the 94th minute, Tel sent a cross into the box, where Sarr headed the ball to Palhinha, who scored with a shot from mid-range. This late goal prevented Wolves from securing their first win of the season and ensured that Tottenham climbed to third in the league standings.
Frank had been focusing on injury prevention since the start of the summer. He emphasized a holistic approach involving the coaching, performance, and medical departments, with constant communication between them. While acknowledging that some injuries are unavoidable, he aimed to minimize muscle injuries through careful planning of training workload, gym sessions, and recovery. Frank believes Tottenham has made progress with their injury record this season, considering the issues they have suffered as relatively unlucky.
Looking back at the game, Frank reflected on his midfield selection, admitting that he would always analyze his decisions. He noted that Xavi had some good moments but also struggled to find his rhythm. Frank attributed this to adapting to a new team and league, which can be difficult. He also mentioned that while the first half was positive offensively, the team needs to keep working on achieving a free-flowing attacking style.
The match saw chances for both sides, with Kudus hitting the crossbar for Tottenham in the first half. Wolves took the lead in the 54th minute when Santiago Bueno scored after Vicario saved a header from Krejci. Despite Tottenham's dominance in possession, Wolves defended resolutely and threatened on the counter-attack. Ultimately, Tottenham's never-say-die attitude, as evidenced by Palhinha's late goal, earned them a valuable point.
