Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo and Conor Coady celebrate after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Wily striker Raul Jimenez struck a superb 73rd-minute winner as Wolverhampton Wanderers twice came back from a goal down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 and leap-frog them into sixth place in the Premier League table on Sunday.
Steven Bergwijn gave Jose Mourinho's Spurs, who lost 2-1 to Chelsea last week, the lead in the 13th minute by slamming home a rebound to spare the blushes of Dele Ali, whose weak shot with the goal at his mercy was parried by Rui Patricio.
The visitors struck back 14 minutes later through Irish international Matt Doherty, who took advantage of some poor defending to score after Spurs failed to clear Ruben Vinagre's cross.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Romain Saiss celebrates after the match REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
Serge Aurier restored the lead just before halftime, collecting the ball just inside the box before curling a sublime left-foot shot inside the far post, but again Wolves came back as Diogo Jota scored from close range in the 57th minute.
With Spurs striker Ali spurning several decent chances, Jota then set up Jimenez for the winner, sliding the ball into his path in the 73rd minute for Jimenez to cut swiftly inside before curling a sweet left-foot strike into the net.
The win lifts Wolves into sixth spot with 42 points after 28 games, just behind Manchester United on goal difference, while Spurs slip to seventh, two points behind Wolves.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo celebrates with Ruben Neves and teammates after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
With Manchester City set to be banned from the Champions League for breaching UEFA's financial rules, Wolves striker Jimenez said he and his team mates were setting their sights on a spot in Europe's premier club competition.
"This is our spirit, it's what characterises us. We fight to the end in every game, keep going and keep winning. We're proud of this game and we have to keep going to achieve more goals, we are looking at top five" he said.
For Mourinho, the defeat makes the task of qualifying for the Champions League that little bit more difficult but he did not see his side as being second-best against Wolves.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo celebrates with Leander Dendoncker, Romain Saiss and teammates after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
"They are so powerful on the counter-attack," he told a news conference. "We tried different solutions, it worked in a way because we scored two goals.
"I think it's unfair, the result, totally unfair," Mourinho added, before calling for more fight from his players.
"We don't have that aggression. We are too good, too nice. That was maybe the only difference between the teams."
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Winks looks dejected as Wolverhampton Wanderers players celebrate after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matt Doherty with Tottenham Hotspur's Troy Parrott after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho reacts REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Daniel Podence comes on as a substitute to replace Raul Jimenez REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur's Dele Alli reacts Action Images via Reuters/Andrew CouldridgeSoccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 1, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur's Ben Davies is shown a yellow card by referee Stuart Attwell REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
