Three things we learned from Tottenham win as Roberto De Zerbi reaction sends message | OneFootball

One ‘final’ down, with four to go on rollercoaster afternoon

Tottenham secured their first league win of the calendar year with a 1-0 victory away to bottom-of-the-table Wolves.

Spurs remain in the bottom three after West Ham’s stoppage-time victory over Everton at the London Stadium.

However, Joao Palhina’s 82nd-minute winner comes as a massive psychological boost for the north London club, who avoided matching a club-record 16-game winless run at Molineux.

With Tottenham and West Ham both kicking off at the same time today, it felt like this was always going to prove a pivotal couple of hours in the relegation race.

Nottingham Forest, who moved eight points clear of the bottom three with a 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland on Friday night, and Leeds have put daylight between themselves and the drop, leaving Spurs and West Ham to seemingly battle it out for 18th place.

Spurs badly needed three points at Molineux, not only to prevent matching a club record 16-game winless run, but to give themselves a fighting chance of staying up.

Spurs started brightly and dominated the ball, but soon the nerves set in, and their play became increasingly erratic, with Kevin Danso and Randal Kolo Muani both guilty of giving away the ball under little pressure.

News of West Ham opening the scoring at home to Everton early in the second half only added to the sense of anxiety, and once Xavi Simons was stretchered off, Spurs lost all their spark as Wolves grew into the game.

This relegation race has been anything but straightforward, though, and within five minutes of each other, Joao Palhinha had stabbed Spurs into the lead with Everton equalising at the London Stadium.

Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time winner means it is as we were at the bottom of the table, but Spurs will take great encouragement after a stirring victory.

Roberto De Zerbi jumping for joy

Getty

De Zerbi reaction speaks volumes

Everyone knew the ramifications heading into today’s game. Spurs realistically had to win to keep alive their hopes of survival.

Unwanted history beckons for this Spurs side, and it is clear the pressure has been weighing on everyone at the club from the top down.

The tension inside Molineux was palpable, with everything on the line for Spurs, and there was no one more visibly nervous than Roberto De Zerbi.

Usually a bundle of energy, he stood tetchy and agitated on the touchline for much of the game, pacing up and down as Spurs laboured in possession.

De Zerbi was adamant pre-match that Spurs deserved to end their winless run, so when Palhinha stole in to put the visitors into the lead, he could not help but contain his joy in the dugout.

Burnt before by Georginio Rutter’s late equaliser last week, De Zerbi returned to being a bag of nerves as we entered stoppage time before streaming onto the pitch in celebration once Anthony Taylor had blown for full-time.

De Zerbi has done an excellent job so far to get his players to buy into what he wants. This win was as much for him as it was for anyone else.

Xavi Simons was in clear pain

AFP via Getty Images

Simons and Solanke injuries mar vital win

When Xavi Simons left the pitch on a stretcher just past the hour mark, Spurs’ afternoon looked to be going from bad to worse.

They had already lost Dominic Solanke to injury before half-time, and having struggled for long periods to trouble Wolves’ backline, the last thing they needed was to lose their one creative spark.

Ultimately, Palhinha’s goal ensured Spurs got over the line, but looking ahead to the final four games of the season, Simons and Solanke’s withdrawals paint a worrying picture.

Solanke was able to walk freely off the pitch, but after a season beset by injury, the sight of him going down off the ball will be of great concern.

Simons, meanwhile, looks as if he has played his last game for Spurs this season.

The Dutch midfielder, whose World Cup hopes have been thrown into jeopardy, tried to carry on before collapsing back to the turf and eventually being carried off on a stretcher.

It is unclear what the prognosis is for either player right now, but so close to the end of the season, the early signs do not look promising.