Wolves secured an impressive 2-1 victory over Tottenham this afternoon and there was one player in gold who stood out above the rest.
After losing 2-0 against Brentford in abject fashion last weekend, Gary O’Neil called for a response from his Wolves players and he certainly got one as they stunned the Tottenham Hotspur stadium into silence.
A double from Joao Gomes, who scored his first goals of the campaign for Wolves, helped the Wanderers make history as they secured a third consecutive win over Spurs.
The first was a flicked header from a corner and the second saw him round off a lung-bursting run from Pedro Neto by caressing the ball into the bottom left corner.
Gomes has been hailed for his sensational tackling ability this term, but on Saturday afternoon not only did he bully his opponents physically, he also grabbed the headlines at the other end of the pitch.
Joao Gomes hailed as ‘best player on the field’ in win over Tottenham
Wolves were coming up against a side boasting superstars in James Maddison and Heung-min Son.
Despite this, journalist Liam Keen labelled Gomes as the ‘best player on the pitch’ after opening the scoring.
That’s some praise for a player who cost the club £15 million last year and continues to go from strength to strength.
He backed up his two goals by impressing in every other department and outperformed the Spurs midfield with his sheer grit and determination to win the ball back.
The Brazilian won seven of his ground duels, six tackles and made five clearances to go alongside his brace and help Wolves secure what was a valuable three points on the road.
What a player
O’Neil is responsible for unearthing a beast at Wolves who is so exceptional at winning the ball back for his team, but today he showed a different side to his game, popping in the box when it mattered and showing the composure of a forward.
After making a lung-bursting run up the pitch and keeping up with Neto in the process, he could have easily snatched at his chance, but he calmly slotted it into the far corner.
It’s the sort of finish that demonstrates there is more to come from the 23-year-old, who is only going to continue to develop rapidly, especially alongside his partner in crime Mario Lemina.
Gomes was also hailed as a ‘jewel in the crown’ by journalist Nathan Judah and that just personifies how important he is to the Wolves side, and he showed that by grabbing two goals.