Tottenham end 118-day wait for win but still end weekend as miserable losers | OneFootball

Things were finally looking up for Tottenham Hotspur…for 10 minutes.

That is how long Spurs were outside the relegation zone on Saturday afternoon, as Joao Palhinha netted late on against Wolverhampton Wanderers, around five minutes before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall equalised for Everton against West Ham.

Only goal difference separated the London rivals, bringing brief joy to an otherwise miserable day for Roberto De Zerbi’s side – something their supporters have become accustomed to, even in victory.

Spurs earned their first Premier League win of 2026 at Molineux, ending a 118-day wait for victory thanks to Palhinha’s 82nd-minute goal. Yet those precious three points did not close the gap on relegation rivals West Ham, who found an even later winner through Callum Wilson.

Winning is obviously a good thing and could be a springboard to securing safety, but Spurs are clearly not allowed to have nice things.

Dominic Solanke was forced off in the first half, and given his injury history, we may not see him again this season. Someone we strongly suspect will not feature again in 2025/26 is Xavi Simons – the only spark in that Spurs side capable of carrying them to safety.

Not only was West Ham’s injury-time winner a blow, but losing two more key players in a campaign ravaged by injuries was exactly what Spurs did not need with four gargantuan games around the corner.

When Simons went down, it looked fairly innocuous, but the look on the Dutchman’s face told you everything you needed to know, before a replay showed a very awkward landing and jolt of the knee.

It looks bad. Simons tried to run it off but immediately went down in agony, so it’s fair to assume the worst.

Simons had shown he could be Spurs’ saviour with a huge goal against Brighton & Hove Albion last week, and while he wasn’t particularly impressive against Wolves, he is someone De Zerbi was leaning on for inspiration in the relegation battle and his injury might be the final nail in the coffin.

It’s just typical, isn’t it?

Injuries have been a major contributing factor to a disastrous campaign for 18th-placed Spurs, and a day that was so close to being perfect has ended with them still in the bottom three and without two more key players.

Their luck has been rotten. In the Premier League, Richarlison has missed five games. Solanke has missed 19. Mohammed Kudus has been out since matchday 20; Ben Davies since matchday 22; Wilson Odobert since matchday 27. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski haven’t played this season. Lucas Bergvall has missed 10 games, Rodrigo Bentancur 11, Pedro Porro four, Djed Spence four, Destiny Udogie 14 across four separate absences, Radu Dragusin the first 16 games of the season; and Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario will miss the last six and seven games respectively.

That is quite ridiculous, isn’t it?

The players did at least show some much-needed togetherness and resilience to overcome Simons’ potential ACL injury and rally to a huge three points.

Palhinha’s second match-saving goal against Wolves this season was made possible by ex-Spurs defender Matt Doherty keeping him onside in a rare bit of luck.

That is all of their fortune used up, and those 10 minutes will go down as the best period of their entire season. West Ham are still two points ahead, meaning Spurs remain the favourites to go down with Burnley and Wolves.

What a truly remarkable story that still does not feel real. It’s a straight shootout between two old foes, and we are fully here for them playing at the same time every week until the end of the season.