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."
