João Palhinha’s 82nd-minute goal briefly lifted Tottenham Hotspur out of the Premier League relegation zone, but the respite lasted only as long as it took for West Ham United’s late winner against Everton to drop them back into 18th place. Roberto De Zerbi’s first victory as Spurs manager — and the club’s first league win of 2026 — nevertheless kept the north London side alive in the survival fight, even if the joy among supporters who had celebrated news of Everton’s equaliser proved short-lived.
Palhinha’s late intervention
The Portugal midfielder slid in to score after Richarlison had scuffed a shot goalwards from Pedro Porro’s corner, with former Spurs defender Matt Doherty playing Palhinha onside. De Zerbi ran on to the pitch pumping his fists as the ball crossed the line, the goal ending a fraught and low-quality contest that had threatened to extend Tottenham’s miserable run. Victory meant they avoided equalling the club record of 16 consecutive league games without a win, set in 1934-35.
De Zerbi’s impact and survival hopes
The win was a significant milestone for De Zerbi, appointed on a long-term contract on 31 March 2026 as Tottenham’s third manager of a turbulent season following Thomas Frank and the calamitous, short-lived reign of Igor Tudor. The Italian has preached positivity since arriving, repeatedly reminding his players that the same squad finished fourth in the Champions League group stage this season. “They have to be positive,” he said after the match. “They have to feel full confidence because they are good.”
That message was reinforced by an unusual motivational tool: an advert for a performance psychologist appearing on players’ LinkedIn feeds a month from the end of the season. De Zerbi also named James Maddison on the substitutes’ bench for the second consecutive match, despite the midfielder still nursing pain as he recovers from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament sustained in pre-season. Maddison, sidelined since August 2025, has recently returned to training and was included mainly for the “good vibes” his presence brings.
De Zerbi has set a target of five wins to keep Tottenham in the Premier League, and this victory — their first in the league in 2026 — provides a foundation. The team’s improvement was evident in spells, though the manager acknowledged the challenge ahead. Dominating for half an hour against an already-relegated Wolves side was not enough to paper over the scale of the injuries that continue to mount. Dominic Solanke was forced off in the 40th minute with a suspected hamstring injury, a significant blow given he had already missed 48 matches for club and country since joining Spurs following an ankle operation. He could miss at least two weeks, potentially the rest of the season if the tear is more serious. Xavi Simons was taken off on a stretcher in the second half with a knee injury, possibly an ACL tear, with further tests awaited. De Zerbi offered some hope, saying Simons “feels better than at the beginning of his injury”.
Tottenham’s absentees list swelled to 11, including Cristian Romero (collision with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky), Guglielmo Vicario (hernia surgery), Dejan Kulusevski (knee injury, absent all season) and Destiny Udogie, replaced by Djed Spence at left-back. The enforced changes at least allowed some continuity in selection, and De Zerbi pointed to the Champions League performance as evidence of what the squad can achieve.
Wolves’ relegation context
Wolverhampton Wanderers, by contrast, had their relegation confirmed on 20 April after eight years in the top flight, ending a season defined by a disastrous start following a bungled summer transfer window. They have looked a decent mid-table side for much of the second half of the campaign, earning resounding home results against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool, and surpassing Derby County’s record low Premier League tally of 11 points. But the damage was already done. “It’s been hard this week,” head coach Rob Edwards said. “The final nail in the coffin, relegated. Maybe other teams would have just gone completely today and it might have been a complete shambles. It wasn’t. Those boys out there today gave everything.”
Wolves had lost three successive league games to bottom-six sides since an unwanted three-plus weeks without a match, and they could easily have taken at least a point from this meeting. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky — who had a nightmare Champions League debut in March, substituted after conceding three goals in 17 minutes against Atlético Madrid — produced a superb fingertip save in the 98th minute from João Gomes’s 25-yard free-kick. De Zerbi was quick to praise him: “Especially after Madrid, he deserves a day like today.”
João Gomes, the Brazil international with 10 caps, showed the class on the ball in tight spaces that has drawn strong interest from Atlético Madrid and Manchester United. Valued at around £40 million, his price could drop with relegation, and Edwards acknowledged the likely summer exodus. “There’ll certainly be interest in Joao,” he said. “He’s a phenomenal player. You saw from his commitment out there that … whatever’s going on off the pitch, it won’t affect him.”
As Wolves prepare for a rebuild in the Championship, Tottenham’s fate remains uncertain. West Ham’s late victory over Everton — a result that briefly had Spurs fans celebrating as if survival was secured — moved the Hammers two points clear with a game in hand, while supercomputer predictions give Tottenham a 60.40% chance of relegation. Next Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa, with a depleted squad and mounting injury concerns, will test De Zerbi’s positivity to its limit.
