Spurs leave it late to rescue a point against Wolves | OneFootball

Joao Palhinha left it late to equalise to rescue a point for Tottenham at home against Wolves.

Santiago Bueno’s second half goal looked to be enough for the visiting side to get all three points but the Portuguese international fired home in the 94th minute to earn Spurs a point.

Mohammed Kudus had a goal ruled out for offside while Lucas Bergvall and Richarlison missed big chances early on to open the scoring but it would eventually be their defensive midfielder that would save Tottenham’s blushes late on.

Both sides had reason to be apprehensive going into the game with Wolves yet to win a game so far this campaign and Tottenham, who have been known to gift struggling teams results in the past, having not beaten Vitor Pereira’s side since 2022.

Despite their poor form it was Wolves who started the game strongest, Hugo Bueno and Marshall Munetsi both flashed crosses across the area in the first five minutes which the Spurs defence found it hard to deal with.

Eventually, however, Tottenham would come into the ascendancy as Xavi Simons grew into the match. The Dutch international missed Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Brighton last week but he started out wide on the left for Frank today.

And he was at the centre of the biggest chance of the opening stages. 14 minutes in, Simons’ cross evaded all the Wolves defenders to find Mohammed Kudus at the back post but his header was tipped onto the bar by Sam Johnstone.

Lucas Bergvall also failed to take a huge chance to put his Spurs ahead in the 21st minute as they piled on the pressure. Udogie’s pass into the centre of the box was deflected directly into Bergvall’s path but the Swede missed the ball allowing Andre to chest the ball back to his goalkeeper.

Tottenham continued to mount pressure on the Wolves defence and 27 minutes in they had hit the back of the net. A Kudus and Bergvall one-two left the Ghanaian one on one with Johnstone and he fired home only for VAR to rule out the effort for offside.

Wolves still showed promise throughout the first half with Jhon Arias and Hwang Hee-Chan both firing from range just over Guglielmo Vicario’s goal but they struggled to get in behind Tottenham’s defence.

After being second best for much of the half Wolves had two massive chances just before the break as Arias was denied by a last-ditch challenge from Djed Spence as he raced through on goal. Former Tottenham man Matt Doherty also had an effort come off the crossbar seconds before the half-time whistle was blown.

Despite all Spurs’ good work in the first half it was Wolves who took the lead in the 54th minute. Jorgen Strand Larsen’s header from a corner was saved by Guglielmo Vicario but only as far as Santiago Bueno who prodded the ball into the empty net.

Wolves’ opener seemed to stunt Tottenham going forward as Pereira’s men defended resolutely, limiting the Europa League Champions to limited chances, a big change from a first half that Spurs dominated.

Thomas Frank brought on Brennan Johnson and Pedro Porro for Djed Spence and Rodrigo Bentancur 60 minutes in an effort to provide more quality going forward, but it in fact was Wolves who created the biggest chances shortly after the goal. Substitute Jean-Ricner Bellegarde drove in behind Bergvall before the Swede got back just in time to block the shot and later Hugo Bueno had an effort saved by Vicario in the 72nd minute.

Cristian Romero’s 81st minute effort from 30 yards which blazed over the crossbar summed up Spurs’ second half performance, it was made even more telling when Joao Palhinha did the exact same thing just a minute later as Spurs looked to equalise late on.

Spurs tempers flared as the game entered its final stages with Micky Van de Ven squaring up to a number of Wolves players after he believed he should have had a free kick 87 minutes into the match.

Despite Tottenham’s lack of creativity throughout the half, they would get back into the game through an unlikely source. The ball fell to Palhinha 94 minutes into the match and the midfielder passed the ball into the bottom corner to earn his side a point.

Frank’s side will have wanted all three points before the match but after being behind for most of the second half they will be relieved to have earned a point from the match.