Three winners and three losers from Tottenham's late 1-0 win over Wolves - Opinion
Tottenham Hotspur finally secured their first Premier League win of 2026 with a narrow 1-0 victory away to Wolves.
It was a tense affair at the Mollineux this afternoon as Spurs held the lion’s share of the possession but nonetheless struggled to create any meaningful threat to the Wolves goal for the majority of the game.
Things got especially bleak when Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons both had to be substituted with what seems like serious injuries, all the while West Ham were leading Everton and extended Spurs’ distance to safety to four points.
But Joao Palhniha’s late heroics secured a 1-0 win for Spurs and offered the club a glimmer of hope in their uphill battle against relegation.
Although West Ham’s late winner against Everton keeps the gap between Tottenham and the Hammers at two points, Spurs nonetheless took a decisive step in the direction of Premier League survival.
Here are our three biggest winners and losers from Spurs’ melee in the West Midlands.
Joao Palhinha was Tottenham’s late hero
Palhinha’s entry to the field couldn’t have been in more unfortunate circumstances as he was forced to come on for what looked like a severely injured Xavi Simons. But his substitution turned out to be fortuitous after all.
After an 83rd-minute corner fell to Richarlison, who put his shot wide, Palhinha showcased his attacking instincts and managed to redirect the ball into the Wolves net, thus scoring his 4th goal for Spurs this season.
Although West Ham’s late winner against Everton kept the gap between Tottenham and the Hammers at two points, the Portuguese midfielder’s effort pulled Tottenham out of the relegation zone for a blissful few minutes, hopefully giving the players a big emotional boost. If Spurs manage to stay up now, his will be the goal that started it all.
Antonin Kinsky shows his true colours
But Palhinha’s goal could have been all four naught if not for the incredible late save from Antonin Kinsky. Joao Gomes’ dagger of a freekick was heading right for the top corner and into the hearts of the Spurs fans watching, before Kinsky pulled out a stunning save that kept the scoreline at 1-0 to Spurs.
The Czech goalkeeper actually enjoyed a very impressive afternoon and showed he’s a genuine contender for the number one shirt over the currently injured Guglielmo Vicario.
His brilliant intervention spared Kevin Danso his blushes when the Austrian defender nearly let through a Wolves attacker on goal. Perhaps most importantly for Roberto De Zerbi, he was incredibly comfortable in possession, showing off a few really impressive passes that helped relieve the pressure on the Spurs backline.
Mathys Tel earns his spot in the Tottenham team
Mathys Tel’s performance is all the more impressive as contrast to the rather meek effort showed by his compatriot Randal Kolo Muani. Tel came on for Muani at half time and immediately showed his best qualities.
His tenacity, positivity and never-say-die attitude was a welcome addition to the team and he also won the corner that actually led to the Spurs goal. Tel definitely staked his claim for the starting right winger for this Spurs team.
But what about the three losers on the day?
Xavi Simons forced off with a serious injury
Xavi Simon’s day quickly went from bad to worse. He struggled to make a genuine impact during the first half and seemed to have seriously injured his knee in the second half. He was allowed back on the pitch by the medical team but then quickly collapsed again and had to be stretchered off.
We are yet to know the extent of the injury, but Xavi Simons was the creative spark for Spurs in the last few games and, if long term, his absence will be keenly felt around Hotspur Way.
Dominic Solanke’s positive start ends in disappointment
Dominic Solanke is yet another name added to the injury list at the club that just can’t catch a break…
His cameo against Wolves showed a lot of promise as the English striker was his usual energetic self, chasing down loose balls, holding up play, putting in defensive contributions and pressing the opposing backline. It’s hard to tell how his afternoon would have turned out otherwise but, after pulling out of a challenge, unfortunately Solanke had to be substituted off for Richarlison
Another massive name that will be missing for Spurs.
Randal Kolo Muani does not cover himself in glory for Tottenham
Kolo Muani didn’t cover himself in glory and was hooked at half-time by De Zerbi. Despite a relatively bright first quarter of an hour when the Frenchman got on the end of a few long balls from Pedro Porro and managed to cause some trouble for the Wolves defence, he afterwards failed to impose himself on the game in any meaningful way. He was at fault for Spurs losing possession a few times and we’ll be surprised to see him start next week.
The post Three winners and three losers from Tottenham's late 1-0 win over Wolves - Opinion appeared first on Spurs Web.