Tottenham 0-2 Wolves - Report

The visitors made the perfect start after six minutes when Raul Jimenez volleyed home his first goal in a month in front of a packed away end.

From that moment, Wolves survived one or two scares before Leander Dendoncker slid in from close range to give them a deserved 2-0 lead only half-way through the first 45 minutes.

Spurs threw everything at it in the second half and piled on the pressure as Wolves sat deeper defending their lead.

Despite some close calls the visitors hung on for a clean sheet and an important three points that put them one point above Spurs and into seventh in the league, albeit having played a game more than the London club.

Bruno Lage made two changes to the side that lost to Arsenal on Thursday as he switched back to the 3-5-2 formation.

Francisco Trincao and Fernando Marcal dropped to the bench as Rayan Ait-Nouri and academy graduate Luke Cundle came into the side – the latter making his first Premier League start for the club after three substitute appearances for the senior side this season.

The 19-year-old had the difficult task of filling in the gap voided by experienced professional Joao Moutinho, who missed out with a calf injury after also missing the Arsenal fixture.

Wolves were given a boost, however, as Hwang Hee-chan was deemed fit enough for the bench following his back spasm issue. The forward returned to the squad on Thursday, marking his comeback from a hamstring injury he sustained in mid-December, but his bizarre back issue occurred as he arrived at Molineux and he was unable to warm up or play.

The game also marked Ruben Neves’ 200th game in a Wolves shirt.

Antonio Conte made three changes to his Spurs side after their midweek loss to Southampton and they started in a 3-4-3 formation.

Former Wolves man Matt Doherty came into the side alongside Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Bentancur as Emerson Royal, Sergio Reguilon and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg all dropped to the bench.

For January signing Bentancur it was his first start for the London club.

In a fairly quiet start to the game Cundle showed a mature and positive opening few minutes as he consistently showed for the ball and found space on the left flank, linking up with Ait-Nouri on the left.

After a nice turn in midfield Jimenez then had the chance to feed Daniel Podence and put him through on goal, but the forward delayed his pass and the chance was lost.

But after just six minutes Wolves found a superb opening goal. A free-kick on the edge of the box was initially cleared to Neves who had his shot saved by Hugo Lloris. It landed for Leander Dendoncker who also had his shot parried but it fell into the path of Jimenez from close range and the striker neatly chested the ball down before smashing a volley into the top corner to send the travelling supporters wild.

In the moments that followed the opening goal Wolves had to withstand a mini storm as Spurs pressed for an instant equaliser. Ait-Nouri and Jose Sa both made crucial clearances to keep them at bay as the visitors withstood the pressure.

Spurs should have equalised, however, in the 17th minute. Wolves’ defence was too easily split open as Bentancur played a ball through the heart of their defence for Son Hueng-Min, but after he cut inside his shot was tame and straight at Sa.

Wolves then went straight up the other end and doubled their lead, but it was all Spurs’ own doing. The hosts looked to play out from the back but made a mess of it after a poor Lloris pass. Wolves swiftly won the ball back and Nelson Semedo fed Podence in the box and his effort was saved. However, the ball ricocheted off a Spurs defender, struck the post and with Lloris stranded on the floor Dendoncker slid in for his first Premier League goal of the season.

With Wolves pressing the action and causing Spurs all sorts of problems, Jimenez then had a strong shot from the edge of the box saved by Lloris.

Jimenez had been rightly criticised for some poor performances of late but after 25 minutes the striker looked back to his old self. Every attack was coming through him as he seamlessly held the ball up, found space and linked every Wolves attack.

Spurs almost found a way through with a long through ball but Sa came out to clear it and Wolves eventually mopped up the danger through Max Kilman.

In order to get back in control of the game Conte made a substitution after just 28 minutes when Sessegnon was taken off for Dejan Kulusevski. That also meant a change in formation as they switched to 4-2-3-1, with Kulusevski playing in the number 10 role.

Spurs did have a spell of possession and forced Wolves back into their own half, but the visitors always looked dangerous on the counter-attack. One swift move saw Semedo feed Podence once again, but his shot from the edge of the box was too central and saved by Lloris.

The hosts also had their moments and Son was their most influential forward. He, again, found space on the left but his low shot was held by Sa.

Harry Kane then had a free sight of goal but as he was about to pull the trigger Romain Saiss made an excellent tackle to deny him.

The last action of the first half saw Kane direct a header straight at Sa but Wolves held on to their two-goal advantage until half-time, ending an impressive first 45 minutes from the visitors.

A few slack and sloppy passes from Spurs in the opening minutes of the second half drew groans from the home fans and Wolves looked to punish them on the break. A counter-attack spurred on by Neves handed a chance to Jimenez, but his deflected shot trickled wide and the resulting corner came to nothing.

Son then raced forward on the counter and despite Neves seemingly winning the ball with his tackle, referee Kevin Friend awarded a free-kick. Fortunately for Wolves it was struck by Kane straight into Sa’s hands.

Wolves then had a golden chance when a mistake from Davinson Sanchez handed Cundle the ball. His clever pass put Jimenez through on goal but after initially delaying his shot to shrug off a defender, his eventual effort was saved.

Spurs were still probing and a tidy ball put Son through before Kilman stepped across him and stole the ball. Moments later Kane was then sent through but Sa made a huge save with his legs.

There was an argument to be made that Bentancur deserved a straight red card when he swung an elbow at Saiss’ face, but the referee chose not to even book him.

After 65 minutes Spurs were still pushing for a goal and a deflected strike from Harry Winks came closest as it smashed the post.

Wolves were creeping deeper and sitting in their defensive shape, but they were making the grave error of handing Spurs too many free-kicks and corners, which Wolves were just about dealing with.

The chances were coming thick and fast for the hosts and the home supporters thought they had a goal back after 77 minutes when Kulusevski picked the ball up on the edge of the box, but his effort flew narrowly wide of the post.

Several substitutions gave Wolves a chance to run the clock down in the dying minutes but Spurs still had their chances. Kane, first, had a header blocked by Kilman before Cristian Romero had his header tipped over the bar by Sa.

Into five minutes of added time and Wolves were able to push further forward and relieve some pressure, but a huge mistake from Sa almost cost them. He chested the ball down in the box in an effort to waste time but allowed Kane to get too close to him and he lost the ball. Wolves’ defenders bailed the goalkeeper out by denying Steven Bergwijn the chance to tap into an empty net.

Despite that moment of madness Wolves hung on for an impressive and important three points in the capital.

Wolves: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Semedo, Dendoncker, Neves, Cundle (Trincao, 84), Ait-Nouri, Podence (Hwang, 81), Jimenez (Silva, 86).

Subs not used: Ruddy, Gomes, Hoever, Marcal, Jonny, Chiquinho.

Spurs: Lloris, Sanchez, Romero, Davies, Doherty (Emerson, 82), Winks, Bentancur, Sessegnon (Kulusevski, 28), Lucas (Bergwijn, 71), Kane, Son.

Subs not used: Gollini, Rodon, Reguilon, White, Hojbjerg, Scarlett.