Premier League

TOTTENHAM 1 (Kane 64)
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0

THE possession statistics told the story: Wolves enjoyed just as much of the ball as Tottenham in this gritty, hard fought victory, and the visitors can bemoan the fact they took the game to Antonio Conte’s men yet came away with nothing.

But this Spurs team look like they are developing the habit of being able to eke out the points when they are not fully firing.

Last week, they grabbed a late equaliser against Chelsea. Today, they came out in the second half and found the extra gear they needed to eventually beat a spirited Wolves side.

And it was that man Harry Kane – who else? – who grabbed the goal that sent Spurs to the top of the Premier League table, albeit briefly before being knocked off by north London rivals Arsenal.

Kane’s back post header on 64 minutes is his 185th league goal for Spurs – making him the record scorer in the division for a single club, surpassing Sergio Aguero’s Manchester City tally.

Speaking after the game, Conte said: “Last season we might have lost this game. But this is not enough, and we will only continue to improve.

“To get seven points from three games shows this team is improving. This team has great chemistry and this is so important.”

Wolves came at Tottenham early on, Bruno Lage’s team a beefy collection of triers – well-organised and with a hefty dollop of skill, too.

Conte recognised this, but praised his players for working out what they needed to do in the second half.

The Spurs boss said: “In the first half we struggled a bit for many reasons. We suffered. In the second half, I tried to fix some situations but also we had to have a lot of energy.”

Conte has that ability to inspire. And in the second half his side came at Wolves from the re-start and suddenly the wind changed. Kane sent a header against the bar, while not-quite-on-it-yet Heung-Min Son saw an effort hit a post.

New boy Ivan Perisic got plenty of the ball, and it was his flick on from a going-nowhere Son corner that Kane met at the back post. It wasn’t pretty – but it hasn’t been so far. Yet Spurs are three in, undefeated, and winning ugly.

Tottenham: Lloris, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Royal, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic (Sessegnon, 76), Kulusevski (Bissouma, 86), Son (Richarlison, 76), Kane.
Substitutes not used: Doherty, Gil, Forster, Tanganga, Moura, Lenglet

Wolves: Sa, Castro, Collins. Kilman, Neto (Traore, 71), Luiz, Neves, Moutinho (Dendoncker, 58), Nouri (Semedo, 71), Podence (Jimenez, 59) , Guedes (Hwang, 81)
Substitutes not used: Raul, Sarkic, Boly, Nelson, Gomes. Cundle