Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan faced off in the Korean Derby, and Hwang had the last laugh.
On Nov. 11 at 9:30 p.m. ET, Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, in the 12th round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL). Wolverhampton moved up to 12th place in the league with 15 points, while Tottenham remained in second place with 26 points.
The home team lined up in a 3-5-2 formation. Hwang Hee-chan and Mateusz Cunha started up top, while Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina, and Jean-Luc Belgarde formed the midfield. Rayan Aitnouli and Nelson Semedo lined up at wing-back, while Totti Gomes, Maximilian Kilman, and Craig Dawson formed the defense, with Theo Saha in goal.
The visitors lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min, and Dejan Kulusevski lined up in a back three, while Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg formed the midfield. Emerson Royal, Ben Davies, Eric Dier, and Pedro Foro manned the back four, with Guglielmo Vicario pulling on the goalkeeping gloves.
Tottenham came out on fire from the start. In the third minute, a reverse transition pass from Sarr found Kuluczewski, who played a sensational back-footed pass. Foro connected with a low cross, which Johnson calmly finished in front of goal.
Wolverhampton fought back. In the ninth minute, Gomes got on the end of a pass from Semedo and tried a mid-range shot that was blocked by the defense. In the 10th minute, on the counter-attack, Aitnouri fired a shot from inside the penalty box off a pass from Cunha, but Davies was there to make the save.
Wolverhampton continued to push forward. Hwang and Cunha continued to rattle the Tottenham defense on the counter-attack, but Dyer and Davies, playing together for the first time under manager Enzi Postecoglou, did well to keep them at bay.
In the 31st minute, Johnson went toe-to-toe with Hwang in the center of the box, but Hwang was unable to hold her weight and pushed Johnson onto her back. Hwang also got tangled up and tripped over Johnson’s leg. It could have led to a scuffle, but both fighters tied it up nicely.
Vicario made a series of good saves. In the 33rd minute, Lemina fired a shot from inside the right penalty box towards the opposite goal, but Vicario got down to make the save. In the 37th minute, Aitnouri’s shot from close range, despite being offside, was saved by a good angle.
Wolverhampton dominated the game after conceding the opening goal but were unable to find an equalizer. Lemina’s header from a corner in the second minute of first-half stoppage time flew over the crossbar, while Totti’s header in the third minute of first-half stoppage time was saved by Vicario.
Wolverhampton had the best chance at the start of the second half. In the first minute of the second half, Belgarde won the ball on the counterattack and tried a direct shot from the edge of the box that sailed high.
In the fifth minute of the second half, Son received a rather rough challenge from Dawson in the face, but the referee did not give a penalty.
Both teams exchanged attacks. In the seventh minute of the second half, Johnson’s shot after breaking down the left side was deflected by the defense and went in front of Juso Sa. In the eighth minute of the second half, Cunha took the ball from Aitnouli, but couldn’t quite get his foot on it.
In the 10th minute of the second half, Gomes’ shot from a corner deflected off the defense and into the path of Hwang, who was in a great position to take it, but the ball went wide of the goal.
Tottenham were the first to make a substitution. Rodrigo Bentancur came on for Sarri in the 18th minute of the second half. Wolverhampton made another change in the 21st minute, bringing off Semedo and bringing on Matt Doherty.
Tottenham missed a crucial chance. In the 27th minute, on a counterattack that started with a one-touch pass from Son Heung-min, Hojbjerg sent a pass straight to the other side of the box, where Johnson latched onto the ball and fired a right-footed shot wide of the post.
Wolverhampton made two substitutions in the 28th minute, bringing on Belgard and Sasha Kalajic. The intention was to play Kalajic up top and use Hwang and Cunha more as second strikers. The formation also changed to more of a 3-4-3.
Tottenham also made a substitution. In the second half, Johnson and Bissouma were taken off in the 30th minute and replaced by Bryan Hill and Giovani Rosselso. They wanted to shake things up by bringing on two players who hadn’t played much for Spurs.
Wolverhampton scrambled for an equalizer. In the 35th minute, Lemina’s exquisite cross from inside the box almost found Doherty, but Davies was one step ahead of him to make the save.
Wolverhampton missed a crucial chance. In the 40th minute, Gomes delivered an incisive long ball into the box that Kalajic headed over the bar.
Wolverhampton had the final say. In the 42nd minute, Gomes and Aitnouli were brought off for Tommy Doyle and Pablo Sarabia. The idea was to switch to a back three and gain a numerical advantage in attacking situations.
Tottenham almost drove a wedge into the game. In the 43rd minute, Bentancur won possession of the ball in the defensive third and played a straight forward pass for Son to finish, only to be blocked by defensive cover. In the ensuing situation, Rosselso’s effort from just outside the box was tipped over by Jermain Defoe.
Wolverhampton finally found the equalizer. In the 45th minute, Cunha played the ball into the box from the left for Sarabia to collect with a sensational right-footed first touch before firing a left-footed volley between the keeper and the post.
Wolverhampton pulled one back. In the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time, Sarabia collected a ball from outside the box on the right touchline, drove 바카라사이트 to the penalty spot and sent a brilliant through ball. The onrushing Lemina finished with a right-footed shot that rattled the net.
Gary O’Neill’s mercenary strike turned the game on its head, and the game ended 2-1 in favor of Wolverhampton.