Tottenham: Yves Bissouma throws game away vs Wolves
Yves Bissouma throws game away for Tottenham in ‘Unbelievable’ moment v Wolves
Yves Bissouma undercut all his good work for Tottenham on his return to the starting line-up as Wolves scored their second in the 2-1 win on Saturday (17 February).
The midfielder missed eight games following his red card against Nottingham Forest on 15 December, as his second such suspension led into his call-up for Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.
He came off the bench against former side Brighton last week before Ange Postecoglou re-introduced him to the XI against Gary O’Neil’s side and ultimately left him on for too long.
According to SofaScore stats, the 27-year-old delivered a relatively decent performance on the whole, as he completed 61 of his 64 passes (94%) and his one dribble attempt (100%) on the ball.
Defensively he contributed as well with three interceptions and five tackles while winning seven of his 10 total duels (70%), maintaining levels which wouldn’t suggest he was key to three points missed.
Bissouma error lets Wolves seal win at Tottenham
Had Postecoglou brought him off after an hour Bissouma could likely have looked back on a reasonably solid afternoon based on those numbers.
Instead, one of the seven instances where he conceded possession came in the 63rd minute, as the ball came out to him on the edge of the box at a corner
With a poor touch, he failed to control it, and his dangled leg was a poor attempt to win it back.
Pedro Neto then burst away on the break, running the length of the pitch before cutting it back inside Emerson Royal for Joao Gomes to score his second on the day and the winner in a smash-and-grab.
Bissouma was also the closest man in the vicinity to Gomes on the edge of the Tottenham box at the other end of that move.
But again the midfielder wasn’t sharp enough to prevent the goal from being scored, in an error which doesn’t show up in the statistics.
Postecoglou leaves Spurs switch too late v Wolves
Michael Dawson reacted live on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, saying: “Unbelievable. Spurs have been on the attack.
In-swinging corner, Wolves defend it well.
Comes out to Bissouma and Bissouma gets the ball nicked off him.
“This from Wolves is what they have been wanting to do today.
‘Let’s sit deep.
Let’s defend. Let’s counterattack with pace’.
Pedro Neto, he just burns.
He lets go.
Gets down the right-hand side.
Emerson Royal comes across, thinks he’s done enough, lets him chop back in.
“Is he going to shoot? No.
Joao Gomes, he’s sprinted up the full length of the pitch.
Just inside the penalty box, comes to his right foot, great connection, it’s in the back of the net.”
Michael Dawson was stunned on Sky Sports News as Tottenham conceded the winner.
Postecoglou eventually reacted, too late, to substitute the Mali international, along with Pape Matar Sarr and Richarlison on 71 minutes, but by then the damage had been done.
Bissouma has at times been excellent this term but it wasn’t the first time he’s undercut that, and just as it threw away any previous good work he’d put in against Wolves two points ultimately went with it.
If the manager was minded to take him off he needed to do it 10 minutes earlier to avoid what proved to be a disappointing result at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
