Wolves 1 Spurs 0 - Report

In a first half where the visitors dominated and Wolves struggled to get into the game, a Pedro Perro free-kick crashing off the crossbar was the closest the London side came from their several chances.

Son Heung-Min then hit the crossbar in the early stages of the second half, which offered Wolves another warning.

However, Wolves rallied and were much better in a second half where they had a handful of big chances.

The decisive kick came in the 82nd minute when Adama smashed home a half volley off the crossbar to secure an incredibly important three points in the relegation race.

Analysis

Julen Lopetegui made three changes from the midweek loss to Liverpool, and started in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Pedro Neto made his first appearance since recovering from a serious ankle injury that he sustained back in October, while Jonny Castro Otto and Diego Costa also started.

Neto’s involvement was unexpected as he had only made two 45-minute under-21 appearances and been an unused substitute for the first team twice, before coming in from the start against Spurs, after such a long spell on the sidelines.

Hugo Bueno missed out with an injury, while Joao Moutinho and Raul Jimenez dropped to the bench.

Matheus Cunha recovered from his ankle injury to make the bench, but Daniel Podence was surprisingly left out.

Toti Gomes was named among the substitutes for the first time since Craig Dawson was signed by the club, but youngsters Dexter Lembikisa and Joe Hodge both missed out.

Spurs assistant manager Cristian Stellini, who has been taking charge while Antonio Conte recovers from surgery, made five changes from their midweek FA Cup loss to Sheffield United.

Star striker Harry Kane came back into the team, after struggling with illness last time out.

The first chance came for Spurs after Dejan Kulusevski had a shot blocked and the ball fell for Perro, but his shot was well wide from inside the box.

The visitors looked dangerous going forward and saw another chance come through Son. He cut in from the right and curled a good effort towards goal, but Jose Sa was equal to it.

Once Wolves settled, they began to see more of the ball in forward areas. Neto did well to keep the ball alive and find Matheus Nunes. He whipped in a cross to the near post and Costa, sliding in, was not far from reaching it.

However, as time progressed Wolves slipped into old habits as Spurs began to dominate. Kulusevski came close with a curling effort off the right flank, which Sa turned around the post.

After 25 minutes, Costa went down with a knee injury, and after receiving treatment on the pitch he was stretchered off. Jimenez took his place.

During the game, Wolves were making an interesting tactical change as Mario Lemina was dropping deep, into a back five at times, to man mark Kane.

After Costa’s injury, the game was soon stopped again for several minutes when Max Kilman took a bash to the nose and was bleeding. He had also broken it weeks prior at Southampton. After receiving treatment on the pitch, and changing his shirt, he was back on.

Spurs kept probing and came close again when a Son free-kick found Ivan Perisic. He beat Lemina to the ball and forced Sa into a save at his near post with a diving header.

They came even closer towards the end of the half, when Pedro Porro hit the crossbar with a free-kick from the edge of the box. Kulusevski then had a shot blocked as he followd up.

Wolves were not at the races at all but survived eight minutes of added time to take a 0-0 draw into the break.

As the teams emerged for the second half, Lopetegui made two changes. Nathan Collins came on for Lemina, making his first appearance since January 22, as Wolves switched to a 5-2-3 formation. Adama also came on for Neto.

Despite making a change that should have made Wolves more defensively secure, Spurs almost scored instantly. Wolves were calling for a foul on Nelson Semedo but nothing was given as Son was played through, but he smashed his effort off the crossbar.

Wolves finally put together a good attacking move and almost scored. A nice pass from Jonny found Jimenez, who crossed along the face of goal, and Semedo was inches away from meeting it unmarked at the back post.

The hosts were enjoying their best spell and had the crowd on their side, as Jimenez went close. Adama swung in a good cross and the striker did well to get across his man and head towards goal, but Fraser Forster made a good save.

In the 67th minute, with the game finely poised, Wolves made their final changes Moutinho and Cunha replaced Nunes and Pablo Sarabia.

But the next chances both came from Ruben Neves, who forced Forster into two good saves with a pair of brilliant shots from distance. From the resulting corner of the second effort, Neves then fired a good effort just over the bar.

With no substitutes left, Wolves had a score when Kilman went down injured again, but he was fortunately able to continue.

Wolves keep pushing and had another huge chance through Cunha. He was found by a brilliant Jimenez pass and was through, albeit with a slightly tight angle, and fired into the side netting when he should have done better.

Spurs got back into the game around the 80th minute when Kane and Perisic both saw efforts fly wide.

In the 82nd minute Wolves finally got their reward for a good second half display, when Adama fired them ahead. Jimenez was the mastermind behind it as he dropped into space and called for a pass. He received it, turned and forced Forster into a save with a strong shot, allowing Adama to follow up and half volley the ball off the underside of the crossbar and in.

With Spurs desperate for a way back into the game, Richarlison came on for Ben Davies straight after the goal.

But it was Wolves that almost got a second. Jimenez latched onto a loose Semedo shot and finished beyond Forster, but he was rightly flagged offside.

Late on, Adama also hit the post with what was meant to be a cross.

With four minutes of added time on the clock, Wolves managed the game perfectly to see out the win.

The result also means Wolves have gone a full calendar year without a recognised striker scoring a Premier League goal. This fixture was the last chance to change that statistic, with Jimenez’s goal against Watford on March 10, 2022, the last time that happened. The upcoming game with Newcastle is on March 12, meaning Wolves cannot avoid that unfortunate fact.

Key Moments

GOAL 82 Adama wins it for Wolves

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Jonny, Lemina (Collins, 45), Neves, Nunes (Moutinho, 67), Neto (Adama, 45), Costa (Jimenez, 28), Sarabia (Cunha, 67).

Subs not used: Bentley, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Gomes.

Spurs: Forster, Romero, Lenglet, Davies (Richarlison, 84), Porro (Royal, 81), Skipp, Hojbjerg, Perisic, Kulusevski (Lucas, 77), Kane, Son.

Subs not used: Austin, Danjuma, Tanganga, Sanchez, Dier, Sarr.