Harry Kane scored his 250th goal for Tottenham as they moved top of the Premier League for a few hours with a hard-fought win over Wolves.
The England forward reacted sharply to head in Ivan Perisic’s flick on from a corner to give Spurs their reward for their second-half dominance.
Kane’s effort also saw the hosts become the fifth team to score 1,000 goals at home since the Premier League was formed in 1992.
The goal had been coming with both the 29-year-old and his strike partner Son Heung-min hitting the woodwork as Spurs poured forward to break the deadlock.
The intensity of their football was in complete contrast to the first period, when a Wolves team containing seven Portuguese players – the joint-most from a single foreign nation in a starting XI in the competition – were in the ascendancy.
Bruno Lage’s side restricted the hosts to just one 45th-minute effort and were unfortunate to see record signing Matheus Nunes nod Ruben Neves’ probing pass inches wide of the Spurs goal.
However, despite the promise of Nunes’ display and the neat and tidy football which saw them develop several good openings, Wolves lacked a spark in the final third as their winless top-flight run reached 10 matches.
Kane comes to the fore for Spurs
Having had to wait until mid-October for his first Premier League goal last term, Kane has now scored crucial goals in two of Tottenham’s first three fixtures in a month that he has historically struggled in.
His last-gasp equaliser at Stamford Bridge helped Antonio Conte’s side maintain their unbeaten start at Chelsea, while against Wolves he delivered a match-winning contribution.
On the balance of play it was not unmerited, though it relied upon Kane’s persistence and capacity to immediately brush off one missed opportunity and search for another.
Having registered Tottenham’s only first-half attempt at goal with a looping header, Kane cannoned a header against the Wolves bar in the second period before brilliantly escaping the attention of Nathan Collins to nod home from two yards
Had Wolves had a player of his ilk at the other end of the pitch, the score may have arguably been reversed.
The likes of Daniel Podence and another new signing Goncalo Guedes both worked themselves into positions where Kane would have likely profited.
Meanwhile, Raul Jimenez looked short of match sharpness when appearing as a substitute on his return from a pre-season injury and Lage will hope to get the Mexican up to speed quickly, with no side outside the bottom three scoring fewer goals than Wolves last term.
Player of the match
PerisicIvan Perisic
Wolverhampton Wanderers
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Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
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Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
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Squad number4Player nameCollins
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Squad number27Player nameMatheus Nunes
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Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
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Squad number23Player nameKilman
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Squad number9Player nameJiménez
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Squad number17Player nameGonçalo Guedes
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Squad number7Player namePedro Neto
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Squad number19Player nameJonny
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Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
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Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
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Squad number3Player nameAït-Nouri
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Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
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Squad number11Player nameHwang Hee-Chan
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Squad number37Player nameTraoré
Line-ups
Tottenham
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Lloris
- 6D Sánchez
- 15Dier
- 33Davies
- 12Emerson Royal
- 5HøjbjergBooked at 11mins
- 30Bentancur
- 14PerisicSubstituted forR Sessegnonat 76′minutes
- 21KulusevskiSubstituted forBissoumaat 86′minutes
- 7Son Heung-MinSubstituted forRicharlisonat 76′minutes
- 10KaneBooked at 67mins
Substitutes
- 2Doherty
- 9Richarlison
- 11Gil
- 19R Sessegnon
- 20Forster
- 25Tanganga
- 27Lucas Moura
- 34Lenglet
- 38Bissouma
Wolves
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Malheiro de Sá
- 19Castro Otto
- 4CollinsBooked at 67mins
- 23Kilman
- 7NetoSubstituted forTraoréat 71′minutes
- 27Nunes
- 8Neves
- 28João MoutinhoSubstituted forDendonckerat 58′minutes
- 3Aït-NouriBooked at 56minsSubstituted forNélson Semedoat 71′minutes
- 10PodenceSubstituted forJiménezat 59′minutes
- 17Gonçalo GuedesSubstituted forHwang Hee-Chanat 81′minutes
Substitutes
- 9Jiménez
- 11Hwang Hee-Chan
- 13Sarkic
- 15Boly
- 22Nélson Semedo
- 24Gomes
- 32Dendoncker
- 37Traoré
- 39Cundle
- Referee:
- Simon Hooper
- Attendance:
- 61,298
Live Text
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Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.
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Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.
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Attempt missed. Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Yves Bissouma.
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Attempt saved. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Harry Kane.
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Attempt blocked. Hwang Hee-Chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Nélson Semedo.
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Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Davinson Sánchez.
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Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Davinson Sánchez.
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Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Yves Bissouma replaces Dejan Kulusevski.
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Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Emerson Royal.
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Attempt blocked. Jonny (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Rúben Neves.
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Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Hwang Hee-Chan replaces Gonçalo Guedes.
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Foul by Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur).
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Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Ryan Sessegnon replaces Ivan Perisic.
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Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Richarlison replaces Son Heung-Min.
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Attempt missed. Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
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Foul by Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur).
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Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Attempt blocked. Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Gonçalo Guedes.
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Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Nélson Semedo replaces Rayan Aït-Nouri.
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