Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
MolineuxAttendance31,585.
Match report and free highlights as substitute Adama Traore scored a valuable late winner to move Wolves away from relegation trouble; Pedro Porro and Heung-Min Son had both hit the crossbar for Spurs earlier in the game
Sunday 5 March 2023 06:50, UK
Adama Traore came off the bench to score a vital late goal for Wolves in a 1-0 win over Tottenham at Molineux.
Spurs had hit the crossbar either side of the interval through Pedro Porro and Heung-Min Son but it was Traore who won it for Julen Lopetegui's side with an enterprising finish.
Cristian Stellini, taking charge of Spurs for what is expected to be the final time with Antonio Conte having recovered from surgery to remove his gallbladder last month, will feel hard done by given that the away side had dominated the first half of the match.
But it was a tactical change of shape from Lopetegui that helped swing the game his side's way. Wolves move six points clear of the relegation zone. Tottenham remain fourth but will feel they have wasted a big opportunity to cement their position in the Champions League places.
Wolves kicked off just three points above the relegation zone having taken only one point from their previous three matches and there was a lack of confidence about their play at the start, ceding possession to Spurs and appearing content to play on the counter-attack.
It encouraged the visitors, who dominated the early stages, their momentum only stifled by the stop-start nature of the first half. Diego Costa was forced off midway through it following what looked to be a nasty injury and little happened thereafter until Porro's fine free-kick.
The wing-back has had a difficult start to life in the Premier League but justified the decision to get the nod for the set-piece when he curled the ball over the bar and beyond Jose Sa only for the frame of the goal to rescue Wolves. It would have been a deserved lead for Tottenham.
Lopetegui had to change things after failing to register a single shot before the break - Spurs had 11 - and he sent for Nathan Collins and Traore, changing to three at the back. They could have fallen behind soon after had Son not seen his shot strike the underside of the crossbar.
But Wolves were much improved thereafter and began to have opportunities with Nelson Semedo almost scoring from close range, Ruben Neves forcing two saves inside a minute and Matheus Cunha missing the target at the near post when he might have done better on the angle.
And they finally found the breakthrough in the 82nd minute when Raul Jimenez's shot was parried by Forster back in the direction of Traore and the Spain international manoeuvred his body to come up with a clever finish, firing the bouncing ball in off the underside of the crossbar.
Wolves certainly had the luck with that bar. But they will feel they earned it with their second-half response and Tottenham could not fashion a final chance of their own in reply. Spurs, knocked out of the FA Cup in midweek, will be bruised. Wolves, up to 13th, are buoyant.
"I think the performance was good, particularly in the first half when we controlled the game in every aspect, and we had some chances to score. We were not so nasty in the way to score. When you have a chance like this you have to kill the game.
"In the second half, we struggled a bit and then we adapted to the situation and had another chance with Sonny hitting the bar. After that they had more intensity in the game winning some duels. We struggled a bit and the game changed. They found a way to score and we did not."
Asked about the decision to wait until the 77th minute before making a substitution, with Wolves having made all five at that stage, Stellini explained: "We were playing well and controlling the game. There was not a reason to change. Only one detail changed the story of the game."
Spurs at least welcome Conte back now. "Antonio will be a massive boost for us from tomorrow until the end of the season. It is important we have him back. We wanted to have him back with a better result, but the team showed Antonio that it is alive. This is important."
"First of all, we are happy for the three points, of course, but, to be honest, the match has two halves. The first half they played with fantastic rhythm, second half we improved a lot, we showed another face. I am happy but I have to recognise that Tottenham had chances in the first half. In the second half, the match changed."
It changed because of a double substitution as Lopetegui introduced the match-winner Traore and, just as significantly, brought on Collins for midfielder Mario Lemina and went to a back three.
"It was tactical, we tried to do different things," he explained. "The change is about the players. In the last match against Liverpool, I made changes thinking we would be better and we were worse. Football is about the players.
"Adama has clear qualities. We try to take advantage of his skills. Sometimes he plays and sometimes he does not. Goals are not the best of his skills but he scored a fantastic goal.
"But I want to mention Nathan Collins, who does not play the last matches, but he was ready when I looked to him. Jonny has not played a lot of matches, he was ready. Joao [Moutinho] was ready.
"Raul [Jimenez] played a fantastic match. He was very important in a lot of phases of the play. Sometimes we analyse forwards only on goals, but they have a lot of things to offer."
The only sour note for Wolves was the injury to Costa, which appeared to be serious. "He showed pain in his knee," said Lopetegui. "We will have to wait."
Wolves travel to Newcastle in the Premier League next Sunday at 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports, before hosting Leeds on March 18 at 3pm.
Up next for Tottenham is the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against AC Milan on Wednesday at 8pm. Spurs lost the first leg 1-0 in Italy.
Antonio Conte's side then return to Premier League action with a home match against Nottingham Forest next Saturday at 3pm.
