Wolves score twice late to inflict back-to-back defeats on Spurs
Despite losing 4-1 to Chelsea on home soil last time out, Ange Postecoglou’s outfit somehow emerged with more credit than their opponents.
The high-octane match took its toll on the North London outfit, however - red cards for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie ruled them out of the trip to Wolverhampton, while Micky van de Ven and James Maddison joined an ever-growing injury list and will both be out until the new year.
The defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the first real setback for Postecoglou - who was this week named PL Manager of the Month for the third successive time - and Co. in the PL this term, so there was plenty of interest to see how they would react in the Midlands.
It took them a matter of minutes to show they are made of sterner stuff than other Spurs outfits in recent years as they moved in front with less than 180 seconds on the clock when Brennan Johnson tapped Pedro Porro’s low cross into the net.
Still, Wolves were unbeaten in their last three home games before kick-off, all against teams competing in European competition this term, and are not to be underestimated. The hosts responded well, reducing the visitors’ threat while looking to push forward themselves, although clear-cut chances were hard to come by.
In fact, Guglielmo Vicario’s save from Mario Lemina’s low shot from an angle was their only real opening prior to the interval.
Before the break, Wolves' problem had been producing the required end product, and they continued to trouble in that respect after the restart.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde had two good options when 25 yards out, but instead fired well over the bar himself, while Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan both failed to find the target from promising positions.
The Lilywhites had few forays forward throughout the second period, but it seemed as though Johnson’s strike would be all they would need to pick up the three points.
However, in injury time, Wolves finally found the little bit of quality they had been looking for as substitute Pablo Sarabia brilliantly controlled Cunha’s strongly-hit pass before volleying past Vicario and into the corner.
Incredibly, there was still time for a winner, and Lemina was the goalscorer, deftly touching Sarabia’s clever ball into the bottom corner. As such, Spurs missed the chance to return to the top of the PL table, while the share of the spoils puts the home team nine points clear of the relegation zone.
For Postecoglou, the international break could probably not come at a better time, as he and his players try and recover from what has been a crushing six days.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pablo Sarabia (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
