Liam Keen comment: Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui flexes his tactical muscle

After a midweek loss to Liverpool, many were looking at future fixtures as an opportunity to pick up points.

With the position Wolves are in, they need points now and cannot afford to keep letting games slip them by, meaning the win over Spurs was huge for a number of reasons.

Tactical prowess

Julen Lopetegui has flexed his muscles tactically on a few occasions already, and on Saturday he played the right cards once again.

Firstly, it is important to point out that with Wolves putting in a poor performance in the first half, that Lopetegui got his selection wrong.

However, elite managers react quickly and decisively to change their fortunes, and he certainly did that.

Raul Jimenez’s entrance came by chance when Diego Costa got injured, but ended up being a blessing in disguise.

Nathan Collins and Adama Traore coming on at half-time, and moving to a back five, was inspired as Wolves began to sustain possession.

Matheus Cunha looked sharp when he was introduced too, while Joao Moutinho’s contribution was superb as he controlled the game and helped Wolves manage the final minutes as they preserved their lead.

It is not the first time Moutinho has done this recently, adding further proof that his role should probably be from the bench, where his class shines through.

Goals make games

By this Friday, Wolves will officially have gone a whole calendar year without a recognised striker scoring a Premier League goal.

It is a damning statistic that highlights all of Wolves’ problems for the last year, and beyond.

However, it was somewhat fitting that the striker who scored that last league goal a year ago, Jimenez, looked back to his best against Spurs.

A goal would have capped off his performance, and of course he did have a finish rightly flagged for offside, but his display renewed some hope that Wolves strikers will not record a blank for the next year, too.

The Mexican held the ball up wonderfully, looked sharp in possession and with his movement and carried a goal threat. He was desperately unlucky with one headed attempt.

It sounds simple, but he also tested the goalkeeper. Wolves have been guilty of trying to score the perfect goal and rarely taking shots, but Jimenez shot on sight and that approach led to Adama’s goal.

League buffer

Lopetegui consistently calls for ‘balance’. He does not want his players to get too high or too low after results.

It is not the most exciting approach and does not make soundbites or quotes, but it makes sense, above all because Wolves still have plenty to do.

After beating Liverpool and Southampton, the general feeling was that Wolves would survive with ease – before complacency saw them lose at home to Bournemouth.

Wolves now have a similar buffer to the bottom three once again, and they cannot afford to be complacent.

The team will drop points, but consistency is king and to achieve survival this season, they must be balanced. Build on this win in upcoming games against Newcastle, Leeds and Nottingham Forest, and Wolves will make even greater strides towards safety.