Cristian Stellini explains why Tottenham Hotspur didn’t make early substitutions in Wolves loss
Tottenham Hotspur made their first change against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 77th minute. By that time, Wolves had made four changes.
Spurs were very bad in the first half. We perhaps should have switched things around earlier and brought on Richarlison or someone else to add an attacking edge up front.
He only came on the field in the 85th minute but we were destined to lose by that point. The former Everton forward should have come on by the start of the second half or at least by the hour mark.
Not just Richy, but we could have made more changes. By the end of the game, we had made just three subs in total.
Spurs were passive vs Wolves
Lucas Moura came on for Dejan Kulusevski in the 77th minute while Pedro Porro exited the field five minutes later for Emerson Royal. Explaining his decision after the game, Stellini said (h/t Football.London):
“No, the team needed only five minutes to adapt. We were playing well, and the pace and we controlled the game. There wasn’t reason to change.
“After we change because there was a reason to change because we needed more energy and to interrupt their pace in the game, but only one detail changed the story of the game.”
Antonio Conte will be back for the game against AC Milan in the coming week. Stellini has been great for us in the former Chelsea manager’s absence but Conte’s return will certainly be a massive boost.
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Perhaps he could have managed this game differently, and been more ruthless with substitutions and tactics, but it is now futile to think in hindsight. We must learn from the setback and march on. We are still fourth.
