Palhinha Strikes Late to Rescue Spurs Against Wolves

João Palhinha scored deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for Tottenham Hotspur in a 1-1 draw with struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

Bottom-of-the-table Wolves looked set for their first league victory of the season after Santiago Bueno struck in the 54th minute, but Palhinha’s curling finish four minutes into added time salvaged a draw for the hosts. The result lifted Spurs to third in the Premier League despite having won only once in their past four matches.

Spurs manager Thomas Frank admitted his side must improve going forward. “Of course, we’d have preferred three points, but taking one is important. It’s a reminder that this league is relentless,” he said. “The foundations are solid – we’re defending well and working hard – but we must add more layers in attack. I’d have liked us to create more today.”

Tottenham had started brightly, with Sam Johnstone tipping Mohammed Kudus’ close-range header onto the bar. Kudus later found the net with a superb strike after combining with Lucas Bergvall, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Wolves grew into the match and nearly took the lead before half-time when Matt Doherty, facing his former club, struck the woodwork. Their pressure told shortly after the restart as Ladislav Krejci’s header forced a save from Guglielmo Vicario, leaving Bueno to finish into an empty net from the rebound.

The visitors, buoyed by the breakthrough, dominated much of the second half and should have doubled their lead when Hugo Bueno was played through but shot straight at Vicario. Wolves manager Vítor Pereira rued the late setback: “It’s hard to accept. We controlled the second half and showed great spirit, but the final minute cost us.”

Tottenham had failed to register a shot on target in the second half until substitute Mathys Tel teed up Palhinha, who swept the ball into the far corner from outside the box.

Although Wolves remain bottom, the point narrows the gap to safety to three points, while Spurs continue to keep pace near the summit.