Wolves stun Tottenham with stoppage-time goals

Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina clinch 2-1 victory as Ange Postecoglou loses chance to overtake Manchester City at the top

Wolverhampton Wanderers stunned Tottenham Hotspur with stoppage-time goals from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina to clinch a 2-1 win on Saturday, denying the visitors a chance to return to the top of the Premier League table.

Even though they had a makeshift back four, Spurs took the lead in the third minute when Pedro Porro found Brennan Johnson for a tap-in. Spurs then held on to their slender lead for 90 minutes and looked set for victory.

As Wolves' Hwang Hee-Chan and Sasa Kalajdzic saw their shots go just wide, defeat seemed inevitable. But substitute Sarabia gave the home side an equaliser in the 91st minute when he expertly controlled a cross and volleyed home from an angle.

With a draw on the cards, Lemina then timed his run in the 97th minute perfectly to get on the end of a Sarabia pass to stroke the ball into the bottom corner for all three points in a stunning finish.

Spurs have now suffered back-to-back defeats after losing for the first time in the league under Ange Postecoglou on Monday when Chelsea emerged from north London 4-1 victors after an action-packed encounter.

There were also longer lasting consequences for Spurs from defeat to Chelsea as influential summer signings Micky van de Ven and James Maddison were ruled out with injury until the new year.

However, there were no signs of immediate trouble on as Postecoglou's team made a perfect start.

Porro's low cross picked out Johnson at the near post and the Welshman prodded in his first goal since a £47.5 million move from Nottingham Forest.

That was as good as it got for the Tottenham attack all game as the visitors were eventually made to pay for relying on a makeshift defence.

Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were also suspended after being sent-off against Chelsea, leaving Porro as the only regular starter in the Spurs back four.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was again one of Tottenham's top performers. After the break, Wolves were guilty of failing to even make the Spurs' stopper work in their search for an equaliser.

Hee-Chan had scored in all five previous home league games this season but was also wasteful with a weak effort into the side-netting.

Johnson had Tottenham's one major chance to extend their lead on the counter-attack, but an attempted chip sailed wide.

Most of the action was coming at the other end as Matt Doherty was denied a goal against his former club by Ben Davies' clearance before Kalajdzic headed well over with just Vicario to beat.

Wolves finally produced the moment of quality required in the final third when Sarabia connected sweetly on the volley to meet Cunha's cross.

Sarabia then turned provider for the winner with 97 minutes on the clock as Lemina slid in to turn the Spanish international's pass beyond the despairing dive of Vicario.

Updated: November 11, 2023, 3:14 PM