OPINION
Tottenham Hotspur nearly threw away a three-goal lead against Wolves on Saturday night as they scraped through with a 3-2 win at Molineux.
When Harry Kane smashed home their third goal on the hour mark it looked to be game over, with Tottenham looking the more likely team to go on and score again.
Wolves however mounted a brilliant comeback to cut the deficit twice from the penalty spot, making for a seriously uncomfortable last ten minutes or so for Tottenham.
While Mauricio Pochettino’s side did end up holding on, there are some pretty obvious issues which need addressing if they are to maintain their challenge in the Premier League and progress this season.
The most glaring of those issues is at full-back, where Spurs look a totally different side since the departure of Kyle Walker and the injury problems suffered by Danny Rose.
Focusing on right-back, and Kieran Trippier in particular, that is now a position in which Tottenham look hugely susceptible defensively.
While it was Juan Foyth who gave away the two penalties for Wolves, on both occasions it was Trippier who put him in the position where he made the two fouls.
The first one in particular was unforgivable, with Trippier inexplicably attempting to nutmeg Leo Bonatini, who fed Helder Costa to beat Foyth and draw the foul.
While it is well known that the 5ft 8in ace [Transfermarkt] brings a lot to the table going forward for Tottenham, with his pinpoint crosses bringing four assists so far this season, his consistently poor defending must now bring his position in the team into question.
Counterpart Serge Aurier has his defensive shortcomings as well but his extra pace helps him recover more often than not, and he has shown considerable improvement since he first arrived in terms of his temperament.
Surely the £80,000-a-week Ivory Coast international [Spotrac] is worth a go against PSV in the Champions League in midweek, and then a run in the side after that.
Trippier is a good option for Tottenham if he is playing wing-back as part of a back three or five, but as part of a flat back four his defensive work is simply not good enough.
Pochettino must now unleash the rarely-seen Aurier on the first-team in the coming weeks and give him a real chance to show what he can do.