Minute 82′, Molineux Stadium
As Pedro Porro stepped over to take yet another corner kick for Tottenham Hotspur against already relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers, the score at Molineux read 0-0. On the points table it was Spurs 18th (32 points, -11 goal difference), West Ham 17th (36 points, -16 goal difference). In the simultaneous match happening at the London Stadium 240-odd miles away, the Hammers were leading Everton 1-0, hence the big four-point gap.
Porro flung in a delicious corner that was completely missed by Richarlison just past the penalty spot – a sign of just how this season had been going for Spurs. And then… instead of bobbling away, the ball simply fell straight down. Having done a full 360-degree turn in search of the ball, Richarlison looked down to find it stuck at his feet. A quick jab in the general direction of the goal seemed to be going well wide, but unmarked at the far post and onside, was Palhinha…
… the tall midfielder stretched mid-fall in desperation to reach the ball and connected perfectly as he slide-kicked the ball into the net from about two yards out. He’d not had the best time after his loan move from Bayern Munich, but that had changed with one well-timed stretch. There was nothing pretty about the goal, but it lit up the face of any fan of a Tottenham disposition.
Spurs leading 1-0. West Ham leading 1-0. On the table, Spurs 18th (34 p, -10 GD), West Ham 17th (36 p, -16 GD)
Minute 88′, London Stadium
As Everton pour forward in search of an equaliser — if West Ham are fighting relegation, Everton are battling for a spot in Europe — the tension at the London stadium grows. As it does at Molineux, where the fans have one eye on the pitch and the other on their mobile phones.
The Hammers had held out — mostly thanks to a stunning Tomás Soucek goal line clearance — but that was about to give. As Vitalii Mykolenko stood up a cross, Konstantinos Mavropanos flicked it on as he misheaded a clearance and in the middle of the box, big James Tarkowski cushioned it down perfectly…
… to Kiernan Dreswbury-Hall. In the middle of a superb season where he pulled the strings to Everton’s attack brilliantly, he wasn’t about to make a mistake. Without moving, he slammed a volley high into the top corner. Clean as you like. The travelling Everton faithful burst out in a celebratory roar, but the cheers were even louder at the Molineux once the news filtered through to the away end there.
Spurs leading 1-0. West Ham being held 1-1. The points table? Spurs 17th (34 p, -10 GD), West Ham 18th (34 p, -17 GD).
Minute 92′, London Stadium
West Ham under Nuno Espirito Santo, though, hadn’t dragged themselves out of the relegation zone (at start of play on Saturday) by simply accepting what was in front of them. They poured forward and as Malick Diouf swung one into the Everton box, the home crowd were expectant: the ball sailed, and sailed till a flying Jarrod Bowen at the far post, extending every sinew, somehow managed to head it back into the mixer…
…where waiting for it was Callum Wilson. He’d scored five times in 27 matches so far, and his time in west London could hardly be called a success, but he was about to make himself a cult figure. Running onto the brilliant Bowen header, he casually slapped it into the net, in between the figures of teammate Crysencio Summerville and Everton keeper Jordan Pickford on the goal line.
Wilson wins it �� pic.twitter.com/jxRTGNXKXQ
– West Ham United (@WestHam) April 25, 2026
West Ham leading 2-1. Spurs leading 1-0. The table reading Spurs 18th (34 p, -10 GD). West Ham 17th (36 p, -16 GD).
In the space of ten minutes West Ham fans had gone from apprehension to real fear to a burst of joy, while Spurs fans had gone from hopeful happiness to utter jubilation to gut-punching sadness (balanced out a little by the now faint hope brought about by Spurs winning their first league match this calendar year). In the space of ten minutes, the Premier League had given us drama for the ages — and we’re in store for even more over the next month.
