Palhinha’s 90+4 stunner rescues Spurs and denies Wolves a first win

Joao Palhinha snatched a 1-1 draw for Tottenham with a ferocious finish four minutes into stoppage time, denying Wolves a first Premier League win of the season and sending the home crowd into pandemonium. Collecting Pape Sarr’s lay-off, the midfielder drove a raking effort beyond Sam Johnstone, a late twist that spared Spurs after a laborious second half.

By then Wolves had led since the 54th minute, when Santiago Bueno capitalised on chaos from a Jhon Arias corner. Guglielmo Vicario saved Ladislav Krejci’s effort, the rebound ricocheted off Palhinha and fell kindly for the Uruguayan centre-back to tap in, leaving Vitor Pereira’s side on the cusp of a cathartic breakthrough after five straight league defeats.

Pereira’s overhaul pays off—until the last touch

Fresh from a 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Everton, Pereira ripped up his usual blueprint in north London, making nine changes from the Leeds defeat and starting with a back four for the first time in the league under his tenure. The reset fostered control and calm; notably, Wolves reached half-time level for the first time since April, a small but telling marker of progress.

At the interval, the Wolves manager adjusted again, reverting to a back three/five and introducing Jackson Tchatchoua to smother Tottenham’s threats down the right. It worked: the visitors clogged midfield lanes and closed off the flanks, limiting Destiny Udogie’s surges and blunting Mohammed Kudus’s runs. “It changed our positions a bit... we gave simple passes away,” Thomas Frank admitted.

Johnstone’s command and Wolves’ growing threat

Between the posts Johnstone, selected ahead of José Sá as he was in the cup, produced an excellent display. He twice denied Kudus and most spectacularly tipped the forward’s close-range header on to the crossbar, while confidently attacking a barrage of Spurs crosses.

Wolves carried menace of their own. In first-half stoppage time Matt Doherty, already booked for halting an Udogie overlap, crashed the bar from a corner Spurs failed to manage. After taking the lead the visitors did not sit back: Hugo Bueno forced Vicario into a save, Jorgen Strand Larsen held the ball up intelligently, and Arias and Andre stitched together important passages to ease pressure.

Spurs’ patterns, then a bolt from Palhinha

Spurs had been “clearly on top” in the opening 45, as Frank noted, yet their approach often looked predictable as cross after cross was repelled. Kudus had the clearest first-half chance and Lucas Bergvall should at least have tested Johnstone when presented with a clean sight of goal. Once behind, the hosts grew sloppy in possession and lost their structure, with Xavi Simons withdrawn as Frank searched for a spark.

It finally came at the death. Sarr slipped a pass Palhinha’s way and the Portuguese midfielder, on loan from Bayern Munich, arrowed a ruthless drive into the far corner at 90+4, unstoppable and unanswerable. “We needed something special and we got that,” Frank said, relief palpable.

Reaction and significance

Palhinha called it “a draw that feels like a loss,” a reflection of how much a home win was craved and how Tottenham had the chance to move second with a victory. In a heavy week that includes a Champions League trip to Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday, the point felt more like rescue than reward.

Pereira, who signed a new three-year contract last week, insisted his team “deserved the three points” and were “the best team in the second half,” sentiments underpinned by a tireless display that yielded Wolves’ first Premier League point of the season. Johnstone added: “We have to be proud of today. That is our baseline performance now.”