Joao Palhinha to the rescue as save shot-shy strikers

Joao Palhinha scored an 82nd-minute winner as Tottenham secured their first league win of the calendar year with a 1-0 win away to Wolves .

Sam Tabuteau rated the Tottenham players at Molineux…
Put in some inviting early deliveries and defended well up against the exciting Mateus Mane.

Showed plenty of attacking initiative.

A mix-up between him and Van de Ven nearly gifted Wolves the lead in the second-half.

Struggled to inject tempo into Spurs’ game with his passing.

Recovered well after a difficult week.

Had a lot of success against Brighton when taking the ball on the front foot and driving forward, but lacked that aggressiveness even as Spurs dominated possession against Wolves.

Marshalled the defence well as Spurs held on amidst some late Wolves pressure.

Coming in for the injured Destiny Udogie, he made some encouraging runs down the left flank but was unable to really influence the game with the ball at his feet.

A solid performance from the Englishman.

On the end of a heavy tackle from Andre at the end of the first-half, he was composed under pressure and was eager to turn the ball over and get Spurs playing forward.

Replaced by Joao Palhinha just past the hour mark.

Another scrappy performance, that, while not lacking in effort, needed more quality.

De Zerbi admitted pre-match that Kolo Muani’s best position was not on the right wing, and while he made a promising start, the French forward drifted badly as Spurs became lax in possession.

Replaced at half-time after another frustrating performance.

Could not get into the game and was guilty of giving away a number of cheap fouls.

Replaced in the 38th minute after going down off the ball, clutching his leg.

The Dutchman’s season looks at risk of being over after he was stretchered off just past the hour mark with what looks like a serious knee injury.

Had struggled to stamp his mark on the game before that.

Fired over wildly at the start of the second-half before coming agonisingly close to reaching Porro’s cross.

Scrapped away well as his blocked shot fell kindly for Palhinha to score.

Injected some energy and incisiveness early in the second-half.

His intensity forced the corner from which Spurs took the lead.

Relieved some late Wolves pressure by drawing a foul from Andre as Spurs dug in to secure three points.

Made an important interception on the edge of the area to stop a late Wolves attack.

Unused subs: Austin, Souza, Gray, Maddison