Tottenham 1 Wolves 3: Wolves deal huge blow to Spurs title race

Wolves produced a stunning second-half display to beat Tottenham 3-1 at Wembley.

Published : Dec 29, 2018 23:26 IST

Wolves produced a stunning second-half revival at Tottenham, with Raul Jimenez (in picture) and Helder Costa finding the net after Willy Boly had equalised with the visitor's first shot on target.
Wolves produced a stunning second-half revival at Tottenham, with Raul Jimenez (in picture) and Helder Costa finding the net after Willy Boly had equalised with the visitor's first shot on target.
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Wolves produced a stunning second-half revival at Tottenham, with Raul Jimenez (in picture) and Helder Costa finding the net after Willy Boly had equalised with the visitor's first shot on target.

Tottenham's title aspirations may have taken a huge hit as it lost 3-1 at home to Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.

A 5-0 Boxing Day win over Bournemouth lifted Spurs above Manchester City into second but it was their failure to put this match to bed while they were on top that ultimately cost them at Wembley.

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Harry Kane gave the home side the lead with a wonderful strike midway through the first half and Spurs - after scoring 11 goals in their last two matches - might have expected to kick on and subject Wolves to another hammering.

But the home side could not add to their tally despite dominating possession and Wolves produced a stunning second-half revival, with Raul Jimenez and Helder Costa finding the net after Willy Boly had equalised with the visitor's first shot on target, ending Spurs' five-match winning run in the league.

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Pochettino's side has looked capable of scoring with every attack of late and, after Dele Alli sent an effort harmlessly over from the edge of the area, it drew a superb save from Patricio with a bending Christian Eriksen strike from 20 yards.

The opener arrived in the 22nd minute, when Kane curled a wonderful left-footed effort beyond the Portuguese keeper from outside the box, although Wolves will feel aggrieved that play was not stopped for a potential foul on Ivan Cavaleiro in the build-up.

Goalscoring opportunities were a rarity early in the second half but the match started to threaten an unlikely twist 20 minutes in, when Cavaleiro was sent clean through on goal only to be chased down and dispossessed by the backtracking Davinson Sanchez.

That opening came during a period of Wolves pressure, causing the nerves to jangle for Spurs.

Those nerves proved well-founded when Boly headed home from a Joao Moutinho corner in the 72nd minute and Jimenez then squeezed a finish inside Lloris’ right-hand post to leave Pochettino's men stunned.

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And things got worse for Spurs before the final whistle, with Costa curling a neat finish around Lloris three minutes from time to complete a memorable triumph for Wolves, which climbs to seventh in the Premier League table.

What does it mean? Damaging defeat for Spurs

Spurs has been touted as realistic title challengers in recent weeks and its thumping victories over Everton and Bournemouth only enhanced that view. But a home defeat to Wolves undoes some of the hard work that put the side in the mix and this could be a result it rues at the end of the season.

Moutinho masterstroke

The introduction of Moutinho in place of Leander Dendoncker in the 68th minute coincided almost perfectly with the start of Wolves’ second-half upturn. The Portugal international provided the assist for Boly’s equaliser and gave Wolves a much-needed calm head in the middle of the park, with the visitor having been exposed on the counter-attack on a number of occasions prior to his arrival.

What's next?

Spurs will want to get its campaign back on track at Cardiff City on New Year's Day, while Wolves begins 2019 at home to Crystal Palace.

 

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