Tottenham 1-0 Wolves (Kane 64′)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM — Tottenham maintained their unbeaten start to the season by grinding out a victory against Wolves with Harry Kane scoring the winner midway through the second half.
Spurs continued where they left off at Stamford Bridge by being outplayed by their opponents in a first half that drew boos from the home fans. The shot count read Spurs 1-12 Wolves at half-time and the only saving grace for the hosts was that no-one in an amber shirt was able to convert any of those chances.
They looked much livelier after the restart, though, and twice went close to going in front with Kane rattling the bar with a header and Son hitting the post before the England striker opened the scoring. For the second game running, Kane was on hand to head home from an Ivan Perisic corner.
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Kane’s goal was Tottenham’s 1,000th at home in the Premier League and his 250th in a Spurs shirt, edging him closer to Jimmy Greaves record. Kane needs 17 to surpass Greaves as Spurs’ greatest goalscorer of all-time.
Here’s how the players rated:
Tottenham player ratings
Hugo Lloris –As much as his goal was peppered, the Frenchman didn’t have too many big saves to make but dealt comfortably with Wolves’ efforts on target 6/10
Davinson Sanchez – Recalled for the injured Romero. Made a good block to deny Guedes but looked a little nervy on the ball at times. Proving to be a useful squad player 6/10
Eric Dier – Made some important headers late on as Wolves sought a late equaliser 7/10
Ben Davies – Clipped a couple of nice balls over the top and made a few adventurous off the ball runs into the final third. Swept up well in his own third 7/10
Emerson Royal – Was expected to be on his way out following the signing of Djed Spence but has started the season in good form. The right wing-back position is his to lose 7/10
Rodrigo Bentancur – Guilty of losing possession on a couple of occasions, leading to plenty of fans calling for Yves Bissouma’s introduction at half-time. Improved after the restart 6/10
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – Booked early on for a cynical foul on Guedes. He and Bentancur lost the midfield battle in the first half, but the Dane grew into the game in the second by making a couple of surging runs 7/10
Ivan Perisic – Made his full debut for the club and had Conte barking instructions in his ear for much of it. Created Spurs’ first clear chance with a cross from the byline. Registered his second assist for Kane from a corner in as many games 7/10
HARRY KANE!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 20, 2022
His 2⃣5⃣0⃣th goal for Tottenham puts them ahead against Wolvespic.twitter.com/Q8LYRj1CC9
Dejan Kulusevski – Quiet initially but set up Spurs’ first big chance with a sumptuous cross to Kane who headed against the bar and then teed up Son who smacked the base of the post 8/10
Son Heung-min – Seems to have assumed Kane’s mantle of starting the season slowly as he was a long way short of his best. Replaced 15 minutes from time by Richarlison after a subdued showing 5/10
Harry Kane – Had Tottenham’s first shot of the opening 45 minutes in the 44th minute with a looping header and rattled the bar shortly after the restart with another headed effort. Finally, with his third effort he got on the scoresheet, moving above Sergio Aguero and into fourth place in the Premier League’s all-time top scorer charts 8/10
Subs:
Richarlison – Another energetic cameo from the bench. Toe-poked a shot wide and offered more than Son during his time on the pitch. Is making a strong case for a start against Nottingham Forest 7/10
Ryan Sessegnon – Having started the opening two games, he will be concerned at Perisic’s impact. Helped see out the win 6/10
Yves Bissouma – Brought on too late to make an impact N/A
Wolves player ratings
Jose Sa – Was a spectator for virtually the entire first half until being forced into a finger-tip stop by Kane just before break. Could do nothing to stop Kane’s goal and his handling was solid 7/10
Jonny Otto – Struggled to contain Perisic during the second half and is perhaps better suited to the wing-back role he has generally played in during his time in England 6/10
Nathan Collins – Made a vital last-ditch intervention to nick the ball off Son’s toes as he set himself for a volley on goal and then a block to divert the South Korean’s shot onto the post. Looks an astute purchase 7/10
Max Kilman – Followed up a lovely bit of skill by shanking the ball straight out of play, cue ironic cheers from the stands. Otherwise perforned well and offers a presence in both boxes 7/10
Rayan Ait-Nouri – Was too eager to get touch tight to his man and was booked for needlessly hauling Kulusevski to the ground. Much better going forward than he is at the defensive side of the game 6/10
Ruben Neves – Connected beautifully with a volley from a corner but shot straight at Lloris before bending another long-range effort wide. Curled a free-kick wide in the second half. Excellent otherwise and some rival Premier League clubs might have watched on with interest 8/10
Matheus Nunes – Offered a glimpse of his qualities early on with some neat touches and came inches away from scoring a debut goal with a clever header from a Neves pass. Got crunched a couple of time sbut overall it was an encouraging first outing for the new record signing 7/10
Joao Moutinho – Replaced just before the hour mark and that may become a feature of the veteran midfielder’s season given he turns 36 in a few weeks. Not as impactful as his compatriots Neves and Nunes on the day 6/10
Goncalo Guedes – Looked lively on his first start. Flashed an early shot just wide and caused Sanchez some problems with his movement. Faded a little as it wore on but that’s understandable given he is new to the league 7/10
Daniel Podence – Miscued a volley horribly from a promising position in the centre of the box and was ineffective in a False 9 position 5/10
Pedro Neto – Delved into his box of tricks to halt a promising Spurs move in its tracks by going to ground clutching his face, despite receiving a light touch to his back. Like Podence he failed to make the most of some promising counter-attacking opportunities and still looks a little short of confidence 5/10
Subs:
Raul Jimenez – Struggled to make an impact but will expect to be restored to Bruno Lage’s starting line-up soon given the profligacy shown by Wolves’ other forwards 6/10
Leander Dendoncker – Linked with a move away from the club in recent weeks. Didn’t make a huge impression 6/10
Adama Traore – Strongly linked with a move to Spurs in January before joining Barcelona on a short-term loan. Failed to make an impact here and was chastised by Neves for taking the safe option when there was green grass to run into 6/10
Nelson Semedo – Came on for Ait-Nouri and looked dangerous cutting in on his stronger right foot from the left flank 7/10
Hwang Hee-chan – Brought on late on but unable to make an impact N/A
Reaction
Antonio Conte on Ivan Perisic’s impact: “It was the same for the rest of the team. He struggled with the rest of the team in the first half. I have seen the Ivan Perisic I know for Inter.
“I was very pleased with the impact of Ryan Sessegnon. He is playing very well this season. It is very important for him to have a player in front of him someone like Ivan because he has his whole career in front of him.”
Harry Kane on his 10 year Premier League anniversary: “It’s been a fantastic nine or 10 years playing in the Premier League and hopefully I’ve got plenty more years to go. I always love to score but the most important thing is winning games and we’ve started the season well doing that.
“Credit to he boys, we dug deep and got a good clean sheet and yeah, let’s keep it going.”
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