Match report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Wolves
“Tottenham remain undefeated and remain underwhelming, but here Harry Kane’s second-half goal gave them all three points and a win that in tone and toughness felt like a comeback,” writes Jonathan Liew from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Antonio Conte speaks ...
"The performacne at the end was good because I had to consider everything,” he tells BT Sport. “First of all the importance of the opponent because Wolverhampton, in the last week, I think they signed three important players. If you see their starting 11 today I think you have to be a bit scared because Wolverhampton with Nunes and Neves and Moutinho has one of the best midfields for this league. And also the three players in front … I think it’s a really good team.
“In the first half we struggled a bit against players with good quality but in the second half we had to suffer to win and not give them any chance to score. In the second half I can’t remember any great chances for Wolverhampton or any great save from Hugo but we crerated many chances to improve the final result.”
Matheus Nunes speaks: “I had good sensations and it was good to play my first game but the result wasn’t the best,” he tells the BBC. “In the first half, we had good chances to score and even in the second half it was balanced. They had more chances but that’s because we were more up the field trying to take a risk to score. The result is what it is.
On his first impressions of Wolves’ Portuguese enclave. “They have made me feel very welcome,” he says. “It’s just like being in Portugal because I have a lot of Portuguese team-mates. It feels very good but there’s still a lot of the championship to go. It’s only the third game and we have a lot to work on.”
Harry Kane speaks ...
“Credit to Wolves, they made it difficult for us,” he tells BT Sport. “In the second half we came out with intensity. We created chances and pressed better. We deserved the goal. We didn’t create too many chances after that but neither did they.”
On his 250th Tottenham goal, which also means he has scored more Premier League goals for one club than any other player: “It’s been a fantastic nine or 10 years in the Premier League,” he says. “Hopefully there’s many more years to go. I always love scoring but the most important thing is winning games. Credit to the boys, they dug deep. We need to start games better and we need to improve. But the sign of a good team is winning when you don’t play at your best.”
Spurs go top of the table. They have seven points from three games. Wolves, who have scored just six goals in their past 10 Premier League games, have taken just one point from the first nine available. They desperately need a goalscoring centre-forward and have a little over a week to find one.
A quick recap: Tottenham were poor in the first half; lethargic, lacking in ideas and unable to get control of midfield. However, they did go close to opening the scoring courtesy of a Harry Kane header just before the break. In the second half, they were unrecognisable, roaring out of the traps, getting Kulusevski, Kane and Son into the game, and after his side had hit the woodwork twice, it was the Englishman who broke the deadlock with a headed tap-in from a corner.
Wolves played some excellent football at times and dominated the first half, but their lack of a cutting edge has cost them at least a share of the points today. Daniel Podence and Matheus Nunes both snatched at first half chances, while Nunes also went close with a glancing header that bounced inches wide. It was a good debut for the club’s record signing and Bruno Lage will be able to take plenty of positives from this defeat.
Full time: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Wolves
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over at White Hart Lane, where a Tottenham Hotspur side of two halves have taken all three points. Desperate in the first 45 minutes, they ran out worthy winners courtesy of a Harry Kane goal that came in a much improved second half team performance.
90+3 min: Richarlison toe-pokes narrowly wide of the left upright after receiving the ball in the penalty area and being allowed to turn.
90+2 min: Matheus Nunes tries to pick out Jimenez with a ball from deep to the far post. “KEEPER!” roars Hugo Lloris, as he comes off his line to claim the ball.
90+1 min: Hwang tries a shot from distance but it’s blocked by Rodrigo Bentancur.
90 min: Wolves corner. Ruben Neves tries to pick out Max Kilman but his delivery is too high.
89 min: Emerson Royal goes to ground with a bloodcurdling scream after shipping an attempted Hwang cross in the swingers from point-blank range. Oof! That’s a sore one. #thoughtsandprayers
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88 min: There’s a break in play as Hojbjerg receives treatment for an injury.
86 min: Tottenham substitution: Dejan Kulusevski, who has been outstanding in this second half after a dreadful first 45 minutes, makes way for Yves Bissouma.
85 min: Ruben Neves’ inswinger is headed clear by Eric Dier.
84 min: Jonny sends a cross to the far post, where Leander Dendoncker wins a corner off Emerson Royal.
83 min: Richarlison nutmegs Nathan Collins to cut in from the left, advances into the Wolves penalty area and tries to shift the ball on to his right foot before shooting. Ruben Neves slides in with a decisive, beautifully timed tackle.
82 min: Hwang sends a cross from the left into the Spurs penalty area. Eric Dier stoops to head clear.
81 min: Wolves substitution: Hwang Hee-chan on for Goncalo Guedes.
79 min: Excellent play from Raul Jiminez, who bamboozles Eric Dier, dribbles inside the Spurs penalty area and tries to tee up Leandro Dendoncker. The Belgian is too slow to react and a good chance goes begging.
78 min: Kulusevski sends an excellent cross towards Harry Kane at the far post but Jonny gets tight on the striker and beats him to the header. Good defending.
76 min: Sessegnon is tasked with getting to grips with Adama Traore, whose muscular arms are baby-oiled up in the customary style and glistening in the afternoon sun.
74 min: Tottenham Hotspur double-substitution: Richarlison and Ryan Sessegnon on for Son and Perisic.
73 min: Neves tries to get the ball around the outside of the wall and inside the upright but sends it fizzing inches wide.
72 min: Semedo has a shot from long range blocked, then Son is penalised for a foul on Ruben Neves. Free-kick for Wolves in a dangerous position just outside the Tottenham penalty area.
71 min: Wolves double-substitution: Adama Traore and Nelson Semedo for Pedro Neto and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
69 min: Tottenham corner. Son sends the ball deep and Jose Sa punches clear on the edge of his six-yard box.
69 min: Collins was booked, along with Kane.
67 min: Ruben Neves fouls Kane, who has a little go back. Neves throws himself to the floor theatrically and in the ensuing hoopla I think Nathan Collins gets booked. SImon Hooper had his yellow card in his hand but I’m not sure if he actually brandished it.
65 min: Spurs had a corner. The delivery to the near post wasn’t great but Ivan Perisic flicked the ball across the face of goal from the near post. Having given his marker the slip, Kane’s task couldn’t have been simpler.
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Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Wolves (Kane 64)
Spurs lead! Harry Kane heads home his 250th goal for Tottenham.
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62 min: Son hits the outside of the post with a shot from a tight angle.
61 min: Kulsevski tees up Kane, who is up in support on a counter-attack. His shot is blocked by the impressive Nathan Collins.
59 min: Tottenham corner, a Royal cross going out of play off Ait-Nouri. They take is short, work the ball into the Wolves penalty area and there’s an unsuccessful appeal for a Nathan Collins handball. Wolves scorch upfield on the break with Jonny on the ball but Spurs get enough bodies back to defend.
56 min: Wolves double-substitution: Raul Jiminez and Leander Dendoncker on for Joao Moutinho and Daniel Podence. For the first time this season, if I am not mistaken, Wolves have an out and out centre-forward on the pitch.
54 min: A quickly taken free-kick from Harry Kane almost puts Son in behind but Nathan Collins is on hand to dig his team out of trouble. Rayan Ait-Nouri was booked for a foul on Kulusevski that led to the free-kick.
53 min: Wolves finally get on the ball, perhaps shell-shocked by Tottenham’s intensity at the startr of this half. Ait-Nouri cuts inside the Spurs penalty area but indecision costs him and he ends up gifting a cross-cum-shot to Lloris.
52 min: That couldn’t have been closer. Kane got in front of his man in the Wolves penalty area to get on the end of a cross but steered his powerful header against the woodwork.
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51 min: Harry Kane smashes the ball against the bar!
50 min: A Kane cross into the Wolves penalty area is headed wide of the far corner by Son, who got too much purchase on the ball as he tried to glance it home. This is much better from Spurs, who have started the second half in the ascendency.
48 min: Ivan Perisic sends in another inswinger. Completely unmarked in the Wolves penalty area, Davinson Sanchez somehow doesn’t get his head to the ball with the goal gaping. It was on a plate for him!
47 min: An excellent Perisic cross, dug out from the byline, is put out for another corner by Ait-Nouri.
47 min: Perisic sends the ball into the mixer, where Nathan Collins heads clear for Wolves.
46 min: Max Kilmnan blocks an attempted Son cross and Spurs have a corner.
Second half: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Wolves
46 min: Play resumes with Wolves on the ball and no changes in personnel on either side. Yet.
That first half performance by Wolves was basically an advert to any striker thinking of joining them next week. Excellent play all over the pitch except the minor detail - deadly finish. They’re one striker away from being an excellent side. #thfc 0-0 #wwfc #TOTWOL
— Jacqui Oatley (@JacquiOatley) August 20, 2022
Half-time: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Wolves
Peep! The players walk off with the deadlock unbroken but there’s no doubt which manager will be happiest. Spurs have been weirdly lethargic and uninspired, while Wolves have dominated in most areas. Both sides have had a good chance or two, with new boy Nunes going close for Wolves. Almost anonymous in this first half, Harry Kane popped up with an excellent header towards the end but was denied by Jose Sa.
45+3 min: Nunes connects with a pull-back from the byline to win a corner for his side after a mistake at the back by Davinson Sanchez. Nothing comes from the set-piece and it’s half-time.
45+2 min: Spurs continue to apply pressure but an Emerson Royal cross into the Wolves penalty area is headed clear by Jonny.
45 min: Perhaps mindful of the ferocious bollocking they are about to get from Antonio Conte in the dressing room, Spurs seem to have sparked briefly into life. It’s about time.
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44 min: Hojbjerg is fouled by Ruben Neves near the centre-circle. Spurs get forward and Jose Sa is forced to claw a Harry Kane header out for a corner. Perisic was the provider from the left wing.
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42 min: Ruben Neves picks out Matheus Nunes with a wonderful dink from the edge of the penalty area. WIth Lloris beaten, the record signing’s glancing header bounces agonisingly wide of the far post.
41 min: Now Harry Kane is disposssessed by Ait-Nouri, allowing Wolves to gallop upfield again. There are appeals for a foul but it looked a fine challenge to me. Kane, Son and Kulusevski are having a collective shocker in this first half.
40 min: Not having one of his better games, it was Son who gifted Wolves possession in the build-up to that last chance. Richarlison will be watching with interest from the bench.
39 min: Gonzalo Guedes hits a feeble shot straight at Lloris after being played in behind by Daniel Podence. Davinson Sanchez was on the striker’s case, forcing him to rush his effort.
37 min: Son’s delivery gets an unwitting near post flick on from Max Kilman but the ball doesn’t bounce kindly for Kane, who was lurking at the near post. Wolves are awarded a goal kick, when it should have been another corner for Spurs.
35 min: Spurs advance upfield at pace with Son on the ball. He picks out Ivan Perisic who wins a corner off Nunes.
34 min: Daniel Podence snatches at a shot after the ball breaks his way in the penalty area after a shot ricocheted off Emerson Royal. His rushed effort goes wide and an excellent chance goes to waste.
33 min: Much like in their game against Chelsea, Tottenham don’t seem quite “on it” today. Their front three can’t get into the game at all.
32 min: ANother free-kick for Wolves about 35 yards from the Tottenham goal. The ball’s clipped into the penalty area, where Matheus Nunes sends a weak header harmlessly wide.
28 min: More keep-ball from Wolves, who are frustrating their hosts. You can hear the home fans getting restless. Wolves win a free-kick off the back of a Kulusevski shove on Guedes on the left flank, close to his own penalty area. The dead ball is fired straight into the arms of Hugo Lloris.
26 min: A spell of sustained possession for Wolves ends with Ait-Nouri being dispossessed by Emerson Royal and Dejan Kulusevski on the left side of the Tottenham penalty area. He couldn’t find room to swing a cross in, so tried to wriggle between the two Spurs players instead.
24 min: Royal is passed fit to continue and play resumes with Spurs on the ball halfway inside their own half.
22 min: There’s something of a lull, during which both sides surrender possession cheaply on more than one occasion. Now Emerson Royal goes down injured and needs treatment. Cue: an impromptu drinks break.
19 min: Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri sends a cross into the Tottenham penalty area but it’s cleared. The ball drops to Ruben Neves, whose shot from distance fizzes wide.
19 min: Spurs win their first corner of the game but Wolves clear the inswinger.
17 min: Kulusevski and Royal link up down the right-wing for Spurs, with the former pulling the ball back towards Rodrigo Bentancur on the edge of the Wolves penalty area. It’s hacked clear unceremoniously.
16 min: There hasn’t been much in the way of chances for either side but this has been a very absorbing, entertaining game so far. The two sides look quite evenly matched.
13 min: The referee stops play so Pedro Neto can get treatment for a bang on the head sustained in his own penalty area after a collision with Ben Davies. Neto is fine and Tottenham’s supporters are not happy at seeing what they believed to be a promising attack shut down by concussion protocol.
12 min: Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg is booked for a tug on Guedes near the halfway line. The Wolves man was threatening to run in behind the Spurs defence, on to a good ball around the corner from Daniel Podence.
11 min: Spurs give the ball away in midfield, allowing Goncalo Guedes to scurry upfield and unleash a shot. His effort is wide but Lloris had it covered.
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10 min: Son takes the free-kick and it’s unspeakably terrible. He sends the ball wide of the near post and into the side-netting.
9 min: Needlessly and clumsily, Collins fouls Son down by the corner flag. Free-kick for Spurs.
9 min: Wolves newbie Matheus Nunes goes down injured but is quickly back on his feet.
7 min: From the corner, the ball breaks to Ruben Neves. His dipping shot fails to trouble Hugo Lloris, who saves comfortably.
6 min: Goncalo Guedes is picked out by Moutinho in the Spurs penalty area but his shot towards goal is put out for a corner by Davinson Sanchez.
5 min: Jose Sa hits a goal-kick long and Eric Dier sends it back upfield with a meaty header. No chances for either side so far.
3 min: Spurs play the ball out from the back with the Wolves for4rwards standing off them. Davies plays a long pass toweards Harry Kane, whose first touch from the edge of the penalty area sends the ball rolling wide, with the Spurs striker’s sprint to the byline being tracked by Collins.
2 min: Wolves go forward. Jonny plays the ball wide to Pedro Neto on the right touchline. His cross is cleared by Ben Davies at the near post.
1 min: Heung-min Son tries to wriggle through the centre with the ball at his feet but is disposssessed. Nathan Collins cleans up at the back for Wolves.
Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves is go ...
1 min: Tottenham Hotspur get the ball rolling in perfect conditions for a game of football.
Not long now: Referee Simon Hooper and his match officials lead out the two sets of players on a sunny afternoon at White Hart Lane. Kick-off is just a few pre-match handshakes, a coin-toss and a shrill blast of the whistle away.
Antonio Conte: Despite being shown a red card for his post-match set-to with Thomas Tuchel last Sunday, the Tottenham manager will be allowed to take his place in the dug-out today. He was handed a £15,000 fine for his part in the kerfuffle, while Tuchel was given a one-match ban and a £35,000 fine.
“These sanctions are subject to appeal, and Thomas Tuchel’s one-match touchline ban has been suspended temporarily pending the independent regulatory commission’s written reasons for its decision that will be made available in due course,” droned a statement from on high.
Pre-match prediction: While I can’t quite figure out how exactly they’re going to line-up, I fancy Wolves to take something from, or possibly even win this game. There, I’ve said it. Expect a 4-0 win for Spurs.
Those teams: With two appearances in the Portuguese league behind him already this season, Matheus Nunes is drafted straight into the Wolves starting line-up, while Goncalo Guedes makes his first start for the club. Joao Moutinho returns from injury to a side whose front six are all Portugal internationals.
As expected, Ivan Perisic comes in to play left wing-back in place of Ryan Sessegnon, a position he played for Inter throughout the last Serie A season. With Cristian Romero sidelined, Davinson Sanchez gets the nod ahead of Clement Lenglet and Japhet Tanganga in the back three.
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Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves line-ups
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic, Kulusevski, Son, Kane.
Subs: Doherty, Richarlison, Gil Salvatierra, Sessegnon, Forster, Tanganga, Lucas Moura, Lenglet, Bissouma.
Wolves: Jose Sa, Jonny, Collins, Kilman, Ait Nouri, Neves, Matheus Luiz, Daniel Podence, Joao Moutinho, Pedro Neto, Goncalo Guedes.
Subs: Jimenez, Hwang, Sarkic, Boly, Nelson Semedo, Gomes, Dendoncker, Traore, Cundle.
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Here's how we line-up against @Wolves! 👇 pic.twitter.com/MhM5VpPhih
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 20, 2022
✍️ A Nunes debut.
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 20, 2022
☝️ Guedes' first start.
🍷 Moutinho back in the team.
How we line-up to take on @SpursOfficial 📋 pic.twitter.com/CmDbgxhZYq
Today’s match officials
Referee: Simon Hooper.
Assistants: Adrian Holmes and Mark Scholes.
Fourth official: Robert Jones.
VAR: Lee Mason.
Early team news
Wolves fans are understandably beside themselves with excitement after seeing their club pull off quite the coup by signing the outstanding midfielder Matheus Nunes from Portuguese side Sporting and the 23-year-old could start today despite having spent just two days training with his new teammates. Having come off the bench last weekend, Gonçalo Guedes could make his full debut in place of Hwang Hee-chan. Chiquinho and Raul Jimenez are both sidelined, while Adama Traore is reported to be available for selection after a spell out.
Tottenham Hotspur have lost central defender Cristian Romero to ainjury, so one of Clement Lenglet, Davinson Sanchez or Japhet Tanganga will be drafted in to partner Ben Davies and Eric Dier in their back three. Following his impressive run-out against Chelsea, Ivan Perisic is likely to start in place of Ryan Sessegnon but Richarlison may have to settle for a place on the bench once again.
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the venue for the first of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, with Spurs hosting a Wolves side looking for their first win of the season. Despite not performing anywhere near their best, Spurs showed resilience in rescuing a point against Chelsea last weekend, while Wolves were held at home by Fulham to make it nine consecutive Premier League games without a win for Bruno Lage’s side. Kick-off in north London is at 12.30pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
