Tottenham 1 Wolves 3: Spurs slip up in title chase

Tottenham 1 Wolves 3

Posted Sunday, December 30, 2018 by Goal.com

Tottenham 1 Wolves 3: Spurs slip up in title chase
Wolves produced a stunning second-half display to beat Tottenham 3-1 at Wembley.

Wolves dealt a huge blow to Tottenham’s title aspirations with a shock 3-1 Premier League victory on Saturday.

A 5-0 Boxing Day win over Bournemouth lifted Spurs above Manchester City into second but it was their failure to put this match to bed while they were on top that ultimately cost them at Wembley.

Harry Kane gave the home side the lead with a wonderful strike midway through the first half and Spurs - after scoring 11 goals in their last two matches - might have expected to kick on and subject Wolves to another hammering.

But the home side could not add to their tally despite dominating possession and Wolves produced a stunning second-half revival, with Raul Jimenez and Helder Costa finding the net after Willy Boly had equalised with the visitors’ first shot on target, ending Spurs' five-match winning run in the league.

Pochettino's side have looked capable of scoring with every attack of late and, after Dele Alli sent an effort harmlessly over from the edge of the area, they drew a superb save from Patricio with a bending Christian Eriksen strike from 20 yards.

The opener arrived in the 22nd minute, when Kane curled a wonderful left-footed effort beyond the Portuguese keeper from outside the box, although Wolves will feel aggrieved that play was not stopped for a potential foul on Ivan Cavaleiro in the build-up.

Goalscoring opportunities were a rarity early in the second half but the match started to threaten an unlikely twist 20 minutes in, when Cavaleiro was sent clean through on goal only to be chased down and dispossessed by the backtracking Davinson Sanchez.

That opening came during a period of Wolves pressure, causing the nerves to jangle for Spurs.

Those nerves proved well-founded when Boly headed home from a Joao Moutinho corner in the 72nd minute and Jimenez then squeezed a finish inside Lloris’ right-hand post to leave Pochettino's men stunned.

And things got worse for Spurs before the final whistle, with Costa curling a neat finish around Lloris three minute from time to complete a memorable triumph for Wolves, who climb to seventh in the Premier League.