Spurs win 1-0 away at Wolves & carry on undefeated PL form

Sunday’s action brought about another fantastic victory for Tottenham Hotspur. Nuno Espírito Santo led Spurs to a 1-0 win against his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers away at Molineux. 

In a nutshell:

  • Dele Ali converted an early penalty very nicely to secure the only goal of the game
  • Harry Kane came on for the last 18 minutes of the game
  • Wolves, characteristically, could not convert a flurry of chances that they created.

As the summer transfer window draws to a close, Spurs fans were eager for their starting XI notifications come 1pm Sunday to see if their main man, Harry Kane, was featured in the squad. Nuno left the starting XI unchanged from the team that impressed against Man City, but Kane did come on during the 72nd minute of the game. He was clapped and cheered by the away fans as he took in his first moments of action in the 2021/2022 Premier League season. Kane’s future still hangs in the balance. City have 9 days left to table a bid that will get Daniel Levy talking.

Dele Alli’s Penalty

It was Dele Alli’s penalty that split the difference early on at Molineux. Alli was hacked down as he put the ball past Wolves keeper Jose Sa in a penalty decision that had to go to VAR in order to confirm its legitimacy. Dele took his finish nicely and slotted it past Sa with aplomb.

Wolves missed their chances

Although a solid performance from Spurs, it was by no means a dominant one. Wolves looked threatening for large spells of the game and had a penalty shout of their own when Olivier Skipp collided with Nelson Semedo in the penalty area.

The stand out player for Wolves was Adama Traore. The winger was the source and product of a few dangerous attacks for Wolves. However the West Midlands side found themselves in a  similar predicament that plagued their last Premier League season: they could not score. Both Traore and Raul Jimenez missed glorious opportunities to equalise the score line.

Wolves could have conceded a second as Steven Bergwijn and Heung-Min Son forced a fine double save from the opposing keeper. Bergwijn found a yard of space and released a fine shot from range first and Son forced another with a low driven shot.

A quiet Kane

Kane was quiet during his 18 minutes of play. However, he also had an opportunity to double the score line but the Wolves keeper was quick to deny his effort as well.

Both teams had created a good amount of chances but it was Wolves’s lack finishing ability that finally allowed Nuno to claim all three points off his former club. 

You cannot take anything away from Tottenham Hotspur for another very positive performance. Captain Hugo Lloris made his 300th Premier League appearance for Spurs and marked the milestone with another clean cheat. It’s two in two for Spurs without a single goal conceded. Life under Nuno is looking good so far.

Could the man of the match be playing for Spurs soon?

Wolves winger Adama Traore picked up the man of the match award after an impressive display of creativity in attack. Despite having four shots, he created four chances, won four fouls and was involved in 22 duels during the 90 mins.

The rumour mill is in full operation with only 9 days of the window left and the previous connection between Nuno and Traore are leading pundits and sports journalists to believe that Spurs will make a final week swoop for the speedy winger. The reported figure at the moment seems to be in the ballpark of £40m. 

Another stunning rumour to come out of the mill this week is the links between Tottenham and Cristiano Ronaldo! The superstar is clearly unsettled at Juventus and frustratingly took his seat on the Juve bench this weekend against Udiense. Tottenham has been one of the many clubs linked to this next destination. It was Fabio Paratici, now Sporting Director at Spurs, who was influential in getting Ronaldo to Juventus. Why can’t we dream?

The manager’s thoughts

In a post-match interview, Nuno claimed that,

“We were relentless, compact, solid, a unit, everybody helping each other. It was tough, from minute one until the last minute, but we defended very well. In terms of attitude, I’m very proud. When you are not able to do a lot of things, you throw yourself in front of the ball and do what you have to do and do what we came here for. We’ve had two tough matches against two tough opponents, very demanding opponents, so we are growing”

The Starting XI

GK

Lloris

DEF

Tanganga

Sanchez

Dier

Reguilion

MDF

Hojbjerg

Skipp

Alli

ATT

Lucas Moura

Son Heung-Min

Bergwijn

What’s next for Spurs?

Spurs welcome Pacos de Ferreira to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday the 26th August for the return leg of their Europa Conference League clash. They lost 1-0 in the first game, so will have to dig deep to claim the overall victory.

Tottenham are at home again in the Premier League on Sunday 29th August. Tottenham welcome Watford to North London as they look to get their third consecutive win of the season. Watford have won one and lost one. This will be a great game for all Spurs fans. You can watch the game in style with Spurs hospitality, prices starting from £149.