Wolves pulled off an incredible comeback as they surged back in stoppage time to score twice and beat Tottenham 2-1 at a raucous Molineux on Saturday.
WATCH WOLVES v TOTTENHAM REPLAY
Injury-hit Tottenham led 1-0 thanks to Brennan Johnson’s early strike but Ange Postecoglou’s side never got going and were finally punished for their tepid display as the clock ticked beyond the 90th minute.
ANALYSIS - POSTECOGLOU TRIES TO EXPLAIN TOTTENHAM DISPLAY
Substitute Pablo Sarabia turned the game on its head as his stunning finish made it 1-1, then he set up Mario Lemina to win it in the 97th minute and send Gary O’Neil, and every single Wolves fan, absolutely wild.
With the victory Wolves now move on to 15 points for the season, while Spurs have lost back-to-back games and remain on 26 points as Postecoglou has lost consecutive league games for the first time in British football.
Tottenham punished for being anti-Ange
Missing Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and James Maddison from the starting lineup against Chelsea a few days ago, this was always going to be very tough for Tottenham. But they started the game so well, scored early and then stopped playing. They didn’t really have any attacking rhythm whatsoever and were content to sit deeper and deeper and try to soak up Wolves’ pressure. That is anti Ange-ball to the extreme and the Australian coach look dejected on the sideline for most of this game as he probably understood why his team played the way they did but he didn’t like it. Eric Dier, Emerson Royal, Ben Davies and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg all struggled as the four players called in showed the reason why they have been left out of Postecoglou’s brave new era at Tottenham. Dier and Davies did their best to hold things together at center back and it was more about the lack of poise in front of them and lack of adventure from Spurs’ full backs to push them higher up the pitch.
Let us make this clear: Wolves were excellent and deserved to win this match as Sarabia’s quality was the difference. Tottenham deserved to lose but the way they lost was cruel and put a bow on what has been a terrible week. Injuries and back-to-back defeats were compounded by the crushing reality that their squad is a lot weaker than it looks on paper if you’re going to revert to negative tactics instead of sticking with the bravery of Postecoglou’s tactics which saw them top the Premier League table heading into Matchweek 10. All is not lost but Spurs need to play the high-line, put in players who are better suited to it as youngster Ashley Phillips may get the nod after the international break and stick to their new plan. Postecoglou has to show that this performance was a one-off from a Tottenham side which reverted to their previous, default playing style due to the personnel at their disposal. If Spurs are truly going to challenge for a top four spot, they have to stay true to Ange-ball.
Wolves vs Tottenham player ratings
Via our friends at FotMob.com, you can see how influential Mario Lemina was in midfield. Wolves were so solid across the pitch, while basically all of Spurs’ team aside from Vicario underperformed.
What’s next?
Wolves head to Fulham on Monday, Nov. 27, while Tottenham host Aston Villa on Sunday, Nov. 26.
How to watch Wolves vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time
Kickoff: 7:30am ET Saturday
TV Channel: USA Network
Stream: Watch live on NBC.com
FULL TIME: Wolves 2-1 Tottenham
That’s it. Wolves have done it. They were trailing 1-0 heading into the 90th minute but after 97 minutes they’ve won 2-1. Sarabia and Lemina with the goals and injury-hit Spurs look absolutely devastated.
GOALLLL! Wolves 2-1 Tottenham - Mario Lemina
Mario Lemina wins it in the 97th minute. Sarabia finds him and he flicks it home after a perfectly-timed run. Molineux goes wild! Wolves score twice in stoppage time to beat Tottenham. Unbelievable.
GOALLLL! Wolves 1-1 Tottenham - Pablo Sarabia
Wolves equalize in the 90th minute against Tottenham and they deserve it. Substitute Pablo Sarabia smashes home a beautiful finish after an incredible first touch from Cunha’s ball over the top. Tottenham finally punished for sitting back so deep for the entire game. Wolves think they can win this. We are into the six minutes of stoppage time...
SAVE! Tottenham should have wrapped it up
Rodrigo Bentancur steals the ball on the break and feeds Son, but his shot is blocked and Kulusevski then sets up Lo Celso for the shot and Jose Sa tips it over. That is Tottenham’s first shot on target since they took the lead inside the first three minutes. It is the 89th minute. Remarkable.
MISS! It should be 1-1
A cross into the box from Joao Gomes finds substitute Sasa Kalajdzic and he is unmarked, six yards out but heads it horribly wide. That is a big chance for Wolves to level it late on.
CLOSE! Wolves so close to an equalizer
Lemina bursts into the box and tries to cross for Doherty to tap home but Ben Davies is there to clear from inside his own six yard box as Spurs survive a huge scare. Wolves continue to do all the pressing.
Wave after wave of Wolves attack in the second half
It has been all Wolves so far in the second half. Both Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan have missed big chances as Tottenham are dropping deeper and deeper.
HALF TIME - Wolves 0-1 Tottenham
Spurs took the early lead and then were happy enough to keep possession and stay solid but Wolves caused them a few problems the longer the half went on. Given all of the chances in their team, Tottenham look a little shaky but so far, so good for Ange Postecoglou’s boys.
SAVE! Vicario denies Lemina down low
Wolves are growing into this game as we approach half time and Lemina’s low drive across goal is pushed wide by Vicario. The home crowd are really getting into this now. Can Spurs hang on to their lead until the half?
GOALLL! Wolves 0-1 Tottenham - Brennan Johnson opens the scoring
Less than three minutes on the clock and injury-ravaged Tottenham are ahead at Wolves. Johnson with a tidy finish and the Spurs fans in the away end go wild. Perfect start for Tottenham in the west Midlands sunshine as Johnson then hits the darts celebration in a nod to James Maddison, who is out injured until early 2024.
Wolves lineup
Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Dawson, Toti Gomes; Hwang, Lemina, Gomes, Ait Nouri; Bellegarde; Cunha
Tottenham lineup
Vicario; Porro, Dier, Davies, Royal; Hojbjerg, Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson
Focus on Wolves
Hee-chan Hwang and Matheus Cunha will have to carry the attacking water with Pedro Neto out for weeks. Max Kilman has been very good at the back for Wolves.
OUT: Pedro Neto (thigh), Hugo Bueno (hamstring), Joseph Hodge (shoulder)
Focus on Tottenham
Spurs have a laundry list of absences but it definitely matters that one of those names is not Heung-min Son. The South Korean has helped Spurs win without Harry Kane and certainly would be needed even more if James Maddison is out for any period of time.
OUT: James Maddison (ankle - out until new year), Micky van de Ven (hamstring - out until new year), Cristian Romero (suspension), Destiny Udogie (suspension), Richarlison (groin), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee), Alfie Whiteman (ankle)
