Struggling Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a 2-2 home draw against a revived Wolverhampton Wanderers side after a late strike by Norwegian substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen in an entertaining Premier League clash on Sunday.
Having suffered four defeats in their previous five league games, injury-hit Spurs were aiming for a convincing performance to take the pressure off manager Ange Postecoglou but it was the visitors under new boss Vitor Pereira who came away the happier.
Wolves had taken the lead after seven minutes through Hwang Hee-Chan who fired a low shot that went in off the post after a short free kick, but Spurs equalised five minutes later when Rodrigo Bentancur's header beat keeper Jose Sa from a corner.
Tottenham spurned the chance to go in front when Son Heung-Min's spot kick was saved but they did go in ahead at the break after Brennan Johnson struck from close range. The second half was an end-to-end affair with Strand Larsen scoring in the 87th.
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 29, 2024
The result left Wolves 17th on 16 points and they stand two points above the relegation zone. Spurs are languishing in 11th with 24 points from 19 games - the first time they will finish the year lower than seventh since the 2008-09 season.
"It hurts and when you see how hard the players are trying it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward. I think today they deserved a reward," Postecoglou told reporters.
"It's my responsibility for where we are right now and it's my responsibility to get us out of it," the Australian added.
Wolves started brightly and stunned the home supporters when a short free kick was played to South Korean Hwang on the edge of the box and he fired a low shot into the far corner that beat the diving Fraser Forster and went in off the post.
Spurs levelled soon after when Bentancur rose above the defence to send a powerful header past Sa from a Pedro Porro corner on the right much to the relief of Postecoglou.
PENALTY MISS
Tottenham had the chance to take the lead just before halftime when they were awarded a penalty after Andre bundled Johnson over in the area but captain Son's spot kick was brilliantly saved by Portuguese Sa down to his right.
Spurs did go in front in added time at the end of the first half though when Johnson struck from close range after clever footwork inside the area by Dejan Kulusevski who cut the ball back from the right for the Welshman to finish smartly.
Wolves took off the injured Matheus Cunha, who was their most creative player in the opening period, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde at the break, and brought on Strand Larsen and Goncalo Guedes as they looked dangerous chasing an equaliser.
Spurs soon made a change themselves as Destiny Udogie hobbled off and was replaced by Sergio Reguilon at left back, bringing more defensive woes for a side hit by injuries, with their first-choice centre backs both missing.
Another Tottenham substitute Timo Werner was soon in the thick of the action and burst down the left before sending over a low cross that Dominic Solanke just failed to connect with.
Spurs continued to press and Kulusevski was played through by Solanke 10 minutes from time, but although his tame effort got past Sa it was cleared by Santiago Bueno.
Wolves also looked dangerous though and snatched a point when Rayan Ait-Nouri played the ball down the left and Strand Larsen turned inside the box before firing a rising shot into the net past the stranded Forster to delight the away fans.
The Midlands side have now taken seven points from their last three games to boost their chances of avoiding the drop.