Wolves win 2-0 at Tottenham to boost top-4 hopes in EPL

LONDON (AP) — Wolverhampton took advantage of dreadful defending by Tottenham to win 2-0 in the Premier League on Sunday and strengthen its hopes of a top-four finish.

Wolves scored both their goals in the opening 18 minutes, through Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker, to lay the foundations of the victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was at fault for both of the goals, flapping twice at shots before Jimenez drove home a finish in the sixth minute and then executing a poor pass out prior to Dendoncker eventually scoring a scrappy second following a deflection off the post.

Not many will have fancied Wolves’ chances of competing for the Champions League places this season but they have gone under the radar. With this result, they moved above Spurs and into seventh place.

It was not until the final 20 minutes that Spurs looked like they were going to add to the measly eight away goals Wolves have conceded this term.

Harry Kane was on a one-man mission to try to score while Harry Winks saw a deflected effort crash against the post, but this was another disappointing day for the hosts.

It was a third straight Premier League defeat for Antonio Conte’s team, which highlights that, despite having games in hand on the teams above them, the top four might not be a realistic aim especially if they keep defending so poorly.

“The problem is that you cannot buy the winning mentality,” Conte said. ”... there are players that are more open and they understand the process quickly, other players need more time to understand this.

“Winning mentality in my opinion means, when you play, (thinking), ‘I am ready to kill you and to live.’ This is the difference in every duel, every second ball, every set-piece. When you show better desire than your opponent, when you understand the defeats have to hurt you a lot, not a little... This is not simple.”

Conte said there was “a long path in front of us.”

“It’s important for us not to be scared to face this path,” the Italian said. “For sure there are many aspects to improve. It’s difficult today to speak about the game because for me in my opinion the game was good, the performance was also good.

“We created many chances against a team with the second-best defense after Man City. Despite this we created many chances to score, we had the possession.”