Wolves Spoil Tottenham Top Four Dream
Raul Jimenez says Wolverhampton Wanderers are “dreaming big” after beating Tottenham Hotspur to move above them in the table and inflict a third successive Premier League defeat on Antonio Conte’s side.
Tottenham gifted the visitors’ two goals in the opening 20 minutes thanks to a mixture of calamitous defending and poor goalkeeping by Hugo Lloris in north London.
Jimenez capitalised on a weak Lloris punch to volley in the opener before Spurs gave away possession to allow Leander Dendoncker to double Wolves’ lead.
Bruno Lage’s side were good value for their win and they managed the game well after taking the lead while also testing Lloris on a number of further occasions.
It is the first time Conte has lost three league games in a row since his days managing Atalanta in November 2009.
Wolves climb to seventh and sit just four points behind fourth-placed West Ham United in the final Champions League spot with two games in hand.
“We are always confident,” said Jimenez. “We know what we can do.
“We are in a good period and we can keep improving and go higher in the table. We are dreaming big.”
Despite their solid form Wolves have struggled for goals this season and arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with only Burnley and Norwich having scored fewer times in the league.
They have one of the division’s best defensive records but that lack of ruthlessness has cost them points – as it did in the 1-0 defeat by 10-man Arsenal on Thursday – so Lage’s side will have welcomed the hosts’ early generosity.
It was from Wolves’ first attack that Lloris palmed out a fizzing Ruben Neves effort, but he then weakly jabbed Dendoncker’s follow-up into Jimenez’s path and the Mexico striker coolly finished.
The visitors soon added a second when loose passes from Lloris and Ben Davies in quick succession turned over possession and Dendoncker pounced after the ball ricocheted off a number of defenders and the post and fell into the Belgium midfielder’s path.
Spurs captain Lloris made partial amends for his earlier errors with a good stop from the dangerous Daniel Podence from distance and was out quickly to deny Jimenez early in the second half to prevent Wolves extending their lead.