Joao Parinha scored the winning goal late on to give Tottenham a 1-0 victory over Wolves, their first Premier League win of 2026 and their hopes of staying in the Premier League.
The game at Molineux had a dramatic finale after a substitute put Spurs ahead. Callum Wilson’s late winner for the Hammers dampened the celebrations somewhat after Everton scored the equalizer against West Ham to temporarily lift Roberto de Zerbi’s side out of the relegation zone.
But the three points became even more important for Tottenham on an afternoon when they lost Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simmons to injury. They remain two points behind West Ham, but thanks to Parinha their hopes of remaining in the Premier League remain.
Xavi Simmons injured in Spurs game against Wolves, sent off on stretcher
Spurs got off to a strong start but did little to show for it in a fast-paced first half that belied the urgency of the situation. Solanke, and soon after a missed opportunity, Simmons was injured, further increasing the tension among the away fans inside the ground.
As news of the opening game between West Ham and Everton increased the pressure on their provisional opponents, Wolves grew in confidence and twice came close to scoring through Adam Armstrong. However, the match changed in the corner and Matthijs Tell won in style.
Pedro Polo’s ball was passed to Richarlison, who pushed it into the goal. Parinha, who came on as a substitute, was there aiming for a goal. Antonin Kinski dived to block Joao Gomez’s free kick in the 98th minute, but there were still some awkward moments.
However, Spurs held on to this win, and if it proves to be a turning point for them and a chance to stay in the Premier League, it could be the biggest win in their history. Without this win, all four teams will be left adrift with four games remaining. Finally, they have hope.
“It’s more than a victory,” Parinha says.
Tottenham match-winner Joao Parinha asked if this would change things for Spurs:
“I don’t know, I hope things change, that’s the reality, but this win is so much more than that. For me, for my team-mates, especially for the whole club and also for the supporters. It’s not a normal season that we’ve led until today.
“Everyone has a responsibility this season, but the reality is we have four games left until the league final and we have to do our job and hopefully this win can change what happened in the past and give us a bit more motivation because we have been without a win for a long time. Especially in some games we should have gotten more points, more.”
“I think that’s happened a lot, but sometimes it’s the details that matter. But what we can control now is to do our job until the end of the season and keep the club where it belongs, in the Premier League. It’s more than that.”
“We all want to give something and we will give everything we have until the end of the season because it means a lot to us to stay in the Premier League.”
De Zerbi: “I hope the result will change the mentality”
Tottenham manager Robert De Zerbi said this at a press conference.
“We played well in the first 35 minutes of the first half. We didn’t create any big chances to score, but we just controlled the game and had complete control of the game.
“And (in the second half), I don’t know, it was pressure. Maybe in 2026 we wouldn’t have won the game. Maybe this pressure was because we played against Wolverhampton, who were (already) relegated, and we lost distance and lost order on the pitch.”
“Hopefully this result can change something in our heads, mentally. And as for the other result, it’s really, really difficult for us to win games. If we hang our heads against the other teams, it’s going to be too tough.”
He added: “The most important thing is the quality of the players and the human level of the players. It was a surprise for me because I didn’t know them. And when I got to know them better, I understood that we have potential, a chance to survive.”
“When you watch a game in the stands or on TV, you don’t know if they have the right spirit, if they have the right attitude, and (now) I work with them every day.
“The players are all professional and good guys. They are struggling in this situation. (I) want to give them confidence and order on the pitch, because in the second half I didn’t like it at all. We could have played better and we have to play better. We have to play much better than we did in the second half.”
Regarding injuries to Solanke and Simmons:
“Solanke has a muscular injury. We don’t know the extent of the injury, but in Xavi’s case it’s a knee problem. We’ll see in the next few days, Monday or Tuesday.”
“For Solanke, it’s not a big problem. I don’t know how many games he will lose, but I would like to know the situation with Xavi, because a knee is always different from a muscle injury.”
“I spoke to him two minutes ago and he feels better than he did at the beginning of the injury.”
Finally, save Kinsky’s key.
“He deserves this day because he played very well. Especially today he played a decisive role in the result. He deserves everything because he is a good man and a good keeper. And especially after Madrid, he deserves a day like today.”
Edwards defends team after recent loss
Wolves manager Rob Edwards said in a press conference.
“It’s not as easy as getting up and just winning against Tottenham who are going through a bad period. They have a lot of good players and their motivation level is unbelievable.
“It may sound strange to you guys, but I don’t know if you really fully understand what I’m saying. It’s been a really challenging week for us, officially relegated. It’s been really tough. So the players deserve a lot of credit for that because they gave their all and matched their intensity and matched Tottenham’s level of workload.”
“Dear supporters, I thought they were great throughout the game. I don’t have anything negative to say about them. As I said, we lost three games in a row, we are bottom of the league and we were relegated this week. They won’t be happy.”
“But what I want everyone to understand is that everyone is giving their all. Everyone is giving their best, but it will take some time to turn things around. We are not in the middle of a transfer window right now. We can’t change the load. We are trying.”
“It’s a tough situation at the moment. We have to pick ourselves up and get through it, and then hopefully a year from now we’ll be in a more positive position.”
“The way things are, we have four games left, so we have to get up and fight. One last time, I looked around the room and watched all the games. There wasn’t a single player that I could say gave up or didn’t try. There wasn’t one. They gave it their all today.”
“It’s hard because people don’t want to hear it after a loss, but there was a really good performance today, a real effort from everyone. It was there. They’re working really, really hard. They’re going to help with that. They’re with us, they’re fighting.
“This week has been tough. Being relegated was the final nail in the coffin. Maybe if the other team had gone down completely today it could have been complete chaos.”
“That wasn’t it. It was a proper football game and we lost. So people say what they want about it, and that’s fine. But the boys that played today gave it their all.”
