3-2 v Wolverhampton Wanderers - 3 November 2018 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 3

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers

2

  • Neves
    68' (PEN)
  • Jiménez
    79' (PEN)
Details
Match Number

7321

Opposition
Wolverhampton wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Season

2018/19

Date

3rd November 2018

Kick Off

19:45

Venue

Molineux

Attendance

31,185

Referee

Mike Dean

League Position

4th

Opposition League Position

11th

Opposition Form

LDWLWL

Weather at Kick Off

10.9° - Overcast

Facts & Milestones
  • 7285th overall match (3484 wins, 1601 draws, 2187 losses)

  • 5693rd competitive match (2572 wins, 1333 draws, 1788 losses)

  • team

    98th match vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (47 wins, 21 draws, 30 losses)

  • competition

    1011th Premier League match (431 wins, 255 draws, 325 losses)

  • 6652nd match in England (3137 wins, 1491 draws, 2011 losses)

  • 50th match at Molineux (17 wins, 9 draws, 24 losses)

  • There were 9 changes to the starting lineup from the last match.

Against STATS For
14 Attempts 10
5 Attempts on Target 8
2.7 xG 1.4
49% Possession 51%
615 Touches 650
408 Passes Completed 443
519 Passes Attempted 541
78.6% Pass Completion 81.9%
25 Crosses 7
27 Throw-ins 23
5 Corners 1
12 Tackles 12
7 Blocks 11
9 Interceptions 7
11 Fouls 8
1 Yellow Cards 2
5 Offsides 3
Report

Tottenham defender Juan Foyth produced a "very good" performance despite conceding two penalties on his Premier League debut against Wolves, said manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Spurs were coasting after establishing a 3-0 lead, before Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez scored from the spot after two fouls by 20-year-old Foyth.

It made for an uncomfortable finish for Pochettino's side at Molineux, but they hung on to climb above north London rivals Arsenal into fourth place.

Pochettino refused to blame Foyth, who started in place of Davinson Sanchez.

Colombia defender Sanchez was rested before Tuesday's must-win Champions League Group B game with PSV Eindhoven at Wembley, but was sent on in the closing stages.

"These things happen," Pochettino told BBC Sport, when asked about Argentina Under-20 international Foyth's performance.

"He is so young, it's his first game in the Premier League. I think he played well. He always tried to play and was relaxed and calm. I think his performance was very good and I am happy with him."

This was Tottenham's fifth fixture in 15 days, and for over an hour there appeared to be little sign of fatigue from Pochettino's side as they overcame the early loss of Mousa Dembele to injury to sail into a commanding lead.

Belgium midfielder Dembele's 250th Spurs appearance lasted a little over one minute before he suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury after Helder Costa fell into him following a challenge by Ben Davies.

Spurs were already without Dele Alli - one of several players rested before PSV Eindhoven's visit.

However, there was a real menace about the visitors as Harry Kane forced a decent save from Rui Patricio before unmarked Argentine midfielder Erik Lamela opened the scoring after finding space inside the penalty area and firing through the legs of the Wolves keeper.

Two minutes and 54 seconds later it was 2-0, Lucas Moura left unmarked to head home Kieran Trippier's delicious cross before Kane struck from inside the six-yard area for his first league goal in five weeks.

But Foyth's late mistakes made for an unnecessarily nervy finish.

First he clearly fouled Jimenez before pushing Wolves defender Jonny 10 minutes later, becoming the first player to give away two penalties in the same Premier League game since Phil Jagielka in 2016.

Hugo Lloris dived the wrong way for both penalties but Tottenham held on to secure a sixth top-flight win in seven attempts away from Wembley.

Wolves have settled quickly into life in the Premier League following promotion. But having gone on a six-match unbeaten run, they have now lost to Watford, Brighton and Tottenham.

It does not get any easier for Nuno Espirito Santo's side, with a visit to Arsenal - unbeaten in 14 league and cup games - up next.

Despite a second successive Molineux defeat, there were positives.

Wolves showed in their battling second-half performance that they have character, and they have every right to feel aggrieved at the officials after Jimenez's celebrations in the 37th minute was wrongly cut short by an offside flag.

"It could have made a big difference. It's hard not to feel a little bit unfairly done by," said Wolves' Portuguese boss.

Jimenez, Willy Boly and Neves all went close in a three-minute spell at the start of the second-half - Lloris producing a stunning stop to keep out the latter.

However, Wolves' marking - particularly for the first two Spurs goals - was naive and it will have to improve if they are to stay away from the relegation zone.

They have already proved they can hold their own against the heavyweights of the division by holding both Manchester City and Manchester United to 1-1 draws.

With matches against Arsenal (away), Chelsea (home) and Liverpool (home) coming up in the next few weeks, Wolves cannot afford to gift the opposition three-goal starts.

"It was a disappointing result, but a fantastic reaction in the second half. Tottenham counter-attacked twice and that defined the game," added Nuno.

"We had the character to go back in the game when everybody thought the game was lost. The boys gave everything, took risks. We had chances. Maybe we would have deserved a draw."

Timeline
Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester city
10 8 2 0 27 3 24 26
2
Liverpool
10 8 2 0 20 4 16 26
3
Chelsea
10 7 3 0 24 7 17 24
4
Arsenal
10 7 1 2 24 13 11 22
5
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
10 7 0 3 16 8 8 21
6
Afc bournemouth
10 6 2 2 19 12 7 20
7
Watford
10 6 1 3 16 12 4 19
8
Manchester united
10 5 2 3 17 17 0 17
9
Everton
10 4 3 3 16 14 2 15
10
Wolverhampton wanderers
10 4 3 3 9 9 0 15
11
Brighton hove albion
10 4 2 4 11 13 -2 14
12
Leicester city
10 4 1 5 16 16 0 13
13
West ham united
10 2 2 6 9 15 -6 8
14
Crystal palace
10 2 2 6 7 13 -6 8
15
Burnley
10 2 2 6 10 21 -11 8
16
Southampton
10 1 4 5 6 14 -8 7
17
Cardiff city
10 1 2 7 9 23 -14 5
18
Fulham
10 1 2 7 11 28 -17 5
19
Newcastle united
10 0 3 7 6 14 -8 3
20
Huddersfield town
10 0 3 7 4 21 -17 3
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester city
11 9 2 0 33 4 29 29
2
Chelsea
11 8 3 0 27 8 19 27
3
Liverpool
11 8 3 0 21 5 16 27
4
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
11 8 0 3 19 10 9 24
5
Arsenal
11 7 2 2 25 14 11 23
6
Afc bournemouth
11 6 2 3 20 14 6 20
7
Manchester united
11 6 2 3 19 18 1 20
8
Watford
11 6 1 4 16 13 3 19
9
Everton
11 5 3 3 19 15 4 18
10
Leicester city
11 5 1 5 17 16 1 16
11
Wolverhampton wanderers
11 4 3 4 11 12 -1 15
12
Brighton hove albion
11 4 2 5 12 16 -4 14
13
West ham united
11 3 2 6 13 17 -4 11
14
Crystal palace
11 2 2 7 8 16 -8 8
15
Burnley
11 2 2 7 12 25 -13 8
16
Southampton
11 1 4 6 7 20 -13 7
17
Newcastle united
11 1 3 7 7 14 -7 6
18
Cardiff city
11 1 2 8 9 24 -15 5
19
Fulham
10 1 2 7 11 28 -17 5
20
Huddersfield town
10 0 3 7 4 21 -17 3
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