Roberto De Zerbi had said he wanted no crying in his camp, after Brighton scored their late equaliser last week. It was just as the Wolves fans had started chanting: “You’re going to cry in a minute,” that the substitute João Palhinha struck the goal that, briefly helping Tottenham climb out of the relegation zone, at least keeps them in the hunt for Premier League survival.
West Ham’s late victory over Everton dropped Spurs back into 18th place but, in claiming his first win as Spurs manager, and the club’s first of 2026 in the league, De Zerbi has continued the team’s improvement. This fraught and low-quality victory means they avoided equalling the club record of 16 consecutive league games without a win, set in 1934-35.
