Wolves 1-0 Tottenham: Antonio Conte’s side are BEATEN at Molineux as Adama Traore scissor-kicks it

There may have been days across the past month when Antonio Conte preferred the comforts of his couch to the infuriation of watching Tottenham at closer range. It is entirely likely this was one of them.

It wouldn’t have been such torturous viewing as the debacle against Sheffield United in the FA Cup the other night. It wasn’t so flat, so lifeless, so much of an upset. Nor was it so relevant to the ever-expanding genre of chances this club has failed to take in the pursuit of meaningful achievements in its recent existence.

So, no. It wasn’t all that. But it was bruising, both for what it represented as a second defeat in a week, with the associated repercussions for their top-four ambitions, and also for how it was administered, with Tottenham so hopelessly complicit in their demise.

They had chances. So many chances. If we are to be precise about it, they had 22 of them, and this against a side whose season has largely been a fight against relegation. A side whose designated strikers have now gone an exact calendar year without scoring in the Premier League.

But that same side not only withstood all of Tottenham’s pressure across a one-sided first half, it was able to harness it and throw back a storm of its own in the second. Unlike Wolves, Tottenham did not have the wit or strength to hang firm, and so they were beaten by Adama Traore’s strike eight minutes from time. A fine goal that was well taken, and one that was deserved after a period of immense pressure and some clever substitutions by Julen Lopetegui.

Adama Traore broke the deadlock with eight minutes left as Raul Jimenez was denied by Fraser Forster but Traore was first to the rebound and saw his effort go in off the crossbar

Spurs dominated the first half but had nothing to show for it despite Pedro Porro smashing it against the crossbar and Ivan Perisic’s diving header at the near post

The Lilywhites come close on so many occasions with another effort from Spanish winger Porro tipped over by goalkeeper Jose Sa after he was found by Dejan Kulusevski

When Conte returns to work this week we will no doubt learn his thoughts on it all, and possibly those around the renewed suspicions that he is in his final months at the club. We will maybe glean a few thoughts, too, about how this team is able to beat Manchester City but can lose meekly to Sheffield United and Wolves, the latter with the benefit of a rested Harry Kane.

On the latter, what a broken gamble that turned out to be – spared from Cup exertions, with the heightened expectation of what he might bring in the Premier League, only for the best of English strikers to be left isolated for the better part of the match. Sure, Spurs made a small mountain of chances and hit the bar twice, but they never once found a way to use Kane effectively.

It has just been that kind of jarring season for them, both under Conte and in the care of Cristian Stellini.

For his final match as solo conductor, Stellini rotated heavily on the back of the FA Cup debacle, with five dropping out and Kane, Oliver Skipp, Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and Clement Lenglet coming in.

Lopetegui’s hand was forced somewhat by the hamstring injury sustained by Hugo Bueno in midweek against Liverpool, which will necessitate around a month of treatment and contributed to one of three changes here.

Among those stepping up was Pedro Neto, making his first start since October, as well as Diego Costa, whose fascinating signing in January has so far been notable only for the welcome video rolled out by the club. It was the first time in two months that he had made the XI and, alas, he lasted less than 25 minutes.

This being Costa, he had a few little nudges, swipes and growls at Cristian Romero in that time, before the 34-year-old’s left knee buckled upon landing from an aerial challenge with Oliver Skipp. He departed on a stretcher and, judging from his discomfort, that might well transpire to be his final contribution in a scoreless season at Wolves.

Lopetegui sent in Raul Jimenez to fill Costa’s place and it generated a certain amount of progress, in that Wolves finally had a shot shortly before half-time, albeit one Fraser Forster was able to block easily with his feet. That was as far as they close as they went, or for the time being anyway.

And Spurs? They had energy, so an upgrade on their Cup upset, and they also had a few sleek moments bordering on impressive when passing through Wolves’s press. But as has become a theme, the finishes were not quite on point, with Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski and Ivan Persic drawing decent saves of varying difficulty from Jose Sa before Pedro Porro crashed a free-kick against the bar in stoppage time.

Wolves striker Diego Costa’s left knee buckled upon landing from an aerial challenge with Oliver Skipp 

He departed on a stretcher and, judging from his discomfort, that might well transpire to be his final contribution in a scoreless season at Wolves

Antonio Conte will return on Sunday after recovering from gallbladder surgery to a side fourth in the Premier League

Lopetegui fiddled with the deck at the break, bringing on Nathan Collins and Adama Traore for Neto and Mario Lemina, and the balance of the game changed markedly.

After an early scare, when Craig Dawson deflected a drive by Son onto the bar, Wolves created two solid chances, first when Jimenez bought space from Romero and drilled across goal for Nelson Samedo, who arrived marginally too late for a tap in. The second, a Jimenez diving header, was saved well by Forster. Had it gone in, it would have been the first league goal by a Wolves striker in a year – perspective for some Tottenham’s problems, maybe.

Those scares seemed to generate a little fear in Stellini’s team, who having spent so long on the front foot, were suddenly hanging back and staying deep. Into the clearer spaces of midfield stepped Ruben Neves and with three long-range shots across three minutes he drew two further saves of note from Forster, before Matheus Cunha mishit another chance into the side-netting.

That onrush was a sign of the momentum changing and the goal rubber-stamped the transaction. If there was an error on the Tottenham part you might argue against Forster, who was otherwise excellent on the day, but in saving from Jimenez’s drive he did push the loose ball into the heart of a busy area. From there, Traore’s finish was superb.

The biggest indictment on Tottenham is that by the time it had rattled in off the bar, Wolves had already shown themselves to be fair value for the win.