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Palhinha strikes in stoppage time to spare Tottenham blushes and deny Wolves | Premier League

From zero to thwarted heroes, life breathes yet through Wolves. Though it probably should have been three points rather than one. A point edged Tottenham into the surprise party Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Bournemouth are enjoying in the top five as João Palhinhaâ€s strike in the depths of stoppage time denied Wolves. Showing a fight and determination hitherto lacking from their season, the visitors had seemed destined for victory via Santiago Buenoâ€s scrappy opener.

So close to a tactical triumph for Vítor Pereira, who signed a new, three-year contract last week, despite his team being on nil Premier League points. “The spirit was there, everything was there but the last minute, itâ€s football,†said the Wolves manager.

His team will require so much more than a single point, considering other expected relegation candidates†promising starts. He had taken drastic action. From a home defeat by Leeds last week that heightened the growing disquiet at Molineux, Wolves†starting team selection featured nine changes, the same formula successful against Everton in the Carabao Cup.

A near repeat of the form that relieved Gary Oâ€Neil of his duties almost a year ago had suggested the continued danger of asset-stripping a squad. At Tottenham, a number of Wolves†summer buys who mystified fans showed they had something to offer, only for concentration to lapse at the last as Pape Sarr laid up Palhinha for a raking drive.

As the final whistle sounded, Pereira threw his notes in rage at the turf: “Some players came at the end of the market and then went away with their national teams,†he said. “Now we are building the spirit and putting them on the tactical page. We came here to win this game.â€

Sam Johnstone could only watch Palhinhaâ€s strike fly by, after an excellent performance. In replacing José Sá he repeated a fine performance against Newcastle a fortnight previously. Like many others, Sáâ€s performances have fallen below standard. “They understand the decisions,†Pereira said of the omissions. “The first half we had some problems but the second half my team were the best team on the pitch.â€

Johnstone said: “We have to be proud of today. That is our baseline performance now.â€

Santiago Bueno bundles home to give Wolves the lead. Photograph: Richard Pelham/Getty Images

In the midst of a heavy schedule, a trip to the arctic circle set for Tuesday in the Champions League, Spurs rushed to get their Saturday night assignment completed, missing a number of first-half chances. They were eventually relieved to collect a point they would have struggled to collect under their previous management.

“We were clearly on top and in control,†said Thomas Frank of the first 45 minutes. Matt Doherty, the right-back, unprotected by Jhon Arias ahead of him, was booked when his hefty challenge stopped one of Destiny Udogieâ€s trademark overlaps. In the final action before the break Doherty hit the bar from a corner Spurs struggled with. It served as an unheeded warning.

Pereiraâ€s half-time changes reverted his defence to the usual back three/five from the previous four. The speed of Jackson Tchatchoua, the summer arrival, a half-time replacement, was deployed to stop Mohammed Kudusâ€s runs. Successfully, too; Udogieâ€s influence also faded.

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Frank said: “It changed our positions a bit and adapting to that and then the goals and the emotion of it, we gave simple passes away.â€

Wolves, having clogged up midfield and closed off the flanks, took the lead, Santiago Bueno bundling in after a Spurs made a mess of an Arias corner. Jørgen Strand Larsen, who held the ball up expertly until being replaced late on, had been given a first bite of the cherry as Spurs again failed to clear their lines.

Wolves did not completely sit on their lead, Hugo Bueno forcing a save from Gugliemo Vicario. Arias, a star of the summerâ€s Club World Cup with Fluminense, showed off serious chops with neat touches buying breathing space. His fellow South American, André, another former “Flu†player, impressed in midfield.

Frankâ€s late changes included the withdrawal of the disappointing Xavi Simons. Like many of his colleagues, little had come off for the Dutchman. When all seemed to be coming up Pereira, he was denied by Palihinha, who offered post-match commiserations to his compatriot. “We needed something special and we got that,†said Frank, not a little relieved.

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Golf

Ryder Cup 2025, Friday foursomes recap: Europe strikes first in big way

Well, that didn’t go as planned – for the home team at least.

While Bryson DeChambeau’s first-tee moon shot and subsequent birdie kicked off the 45th Ryder Cup with an American bang, Keegan Bradley’s U.S. side did little in following that up. DeChambeau and partner Justin Thomas would drop that leadoff foursomes match to Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, and the Americans would get dominated in each of the next two in what ended a convincing, 3-1 opening-session win for the Europeans on Friday morning at Bethpage Black.

“We were aware it was going to be a tough day,†Rahm said. “Two of their better favorites up there, two of the crowd favorites. We knew the crowd was going to be loud, and well, we are going to need our best. And even though we didn’t have our best start during the first seven holes, we battled, we stayed in it and from then on, we started hitting good shots and getting really positive vibes.â€

Europe took the first session for the second straight Ryder Cup, following its 4-0 result in Rome. The last four times that the Europeans have led after one frame, they’ve gone on to win the Ryder Cup, doing so in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2023.

“Very proud,†European captain Luke Donald said. “They’ve come out very strong.â€

Bradley remained hopeful, though his body language was far from what he showed Thursday afternoon as he ran down the 18th fairway waving an American flag.

“We just had the President fly over in his Air Force One, so I’ve got a feeling things are going to turn here,†Bradley said.

Here’s a recap of Friday morning’s foursomes session:

Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) def. Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas, 4 and 3

DeChambeau was the sparkplug that the U.S. needed, smashing his tee ball about 45 yards short of the first green and then draining a 15-footer for birdie to win the hole. But that Europeans would withstand the early blow, and after incredible escapes – first Rahm from the heather at No. 6 and then Hatton from the trees and his ball against a twig at No. 7. A Thomas miss from 5 feet at the latter would tie the match back up.

“The second shot into 7 is a little bit of a hit-and-hope. Thankfully, it kind of went straight,†said Hatton, who later canned 24- and 8-footers for birdie at Nos. 12 and 13 to stretch the Euros’ lead to 3 up.

Trying to ignite something, DeChambeau rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 14th and then celebrated with a huge fist pump toward the crowd, but Rahm wasn’t fazed, pouring in his birdie on top of it.

On the next hole, DeChambeau fanned a drive up against the hospitality tents, and Europe would go on to win the hole and the match with par.

Ludvig Aberg/Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe) def. Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley, 5 and 3

It wasn’t quite the beatdown of the world No. 1 that Aberg orchestrated with Viktor Hovland in Rome, but it was a convincing win nonetheless. Aberg and Fitzpatrick birdied four of the first six holes to jump out to a 3-up lead. They went 4 up after Aberg sank a 16-footer for birdie at the par-4 ninth. Meanwhile, the Americans missed three straight putts inside of 8 feet at Nos. 4-6 to fall behind.

“It was a nice mix of tee-to-green and good putting as well, and obviously I felt like we showed that on certainly those first seven holes,†Fitzpatrick said.

Henley spun back a wedge to gimme range at the par-5 13th to get one back, and he then hooped a birdie from outside of 30 feet at the par-3 14th. But Fitzpatrick had spun a short-iron to 5 feet to set up an Aberg match and maintain a 4-up advantage.

Both sides missed the fairway left at the par-4 15th, though Henley put Scheffler well back, and the world No. 1 couldn’t advance the second shot within 30 yards. Fitzpatrick completed a sand save with a 12-foot par make to end the match.

“We just didn’t hole enough putts early,†Scheffler said. “We had some chances. I think the putts just didn’t fall. But overall, the guys we played, they played a really good round, and [let’s] go back out this afternoon and see what we can do.â€

Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) def. Collin Morikawa/Harris English, 5 and 4

When Keegan Bradley sent out this pairing, it was the worst of 132 possible foursomes combinations, per Data Golf. The U.S. duo did little to prove otherwise. English missed a 10-footer from the fairway cut while McIlroy took the first hole with a short birdie make after Fleetwood hacked a pitch beautifully from a tough lie. English missed a 7-footer at the par-5 fourth, too, as his side fell 2 down.

McIlroy then lipped in an 8-foot birdie at No. 5 and stuck a wedge close at No. 6 to double the lead, to 4 up. With a Fleetwood tee ball to 6 feet and McIlroy make at the par-3 eighth, that lead grew to 5 up.

The Americans birdied the par-4 ninth, but that would mark their only birdie and won hole.

“When you’ve got a partner like Tommy you can play with so much freedom and so much trust in your game because you know you have someone that’s going to back you up,†said McIlroy, who is now 3-0 in foursomes with Fleetwood.
“… I’ve been looking forward to doing this again since that last putt dropped in Rome.â€

Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Robert MacIntyre/Viktor Hovland, 2 up

This match was the last one on the golf course for a while, as the Europeans battled back from being 3 down through 11 holes. Schauffele stuffed his approach close at the par-4 second to give his side the early lead before Cantlay missed a 7-footer for par at No. 7 to bring the match back to tied.

Schauffele canned a 14-footer for birdie at No. 8 and two holes later a 7-footer for par to build the lead back to 2 up. It was 3 up thanks to Hovland missing a 5-footer on No. 11, but then the comeback began.

Europe won Nos. 12, 13 and 15 – all on Hovland makes – to tie the match again. However, the sweep was denied when MacIntyre whiffed on his par putt from 7 feet at the par-3 17th, which sent the match to No. 18 with the U.S. guaranteed at least a half-point. With the Euros drawing a tough lie in the right rough, Schauffele stepped up one last time, throwing a dart to 9 feet. After MacIntyre missed his par attempt, the Americans finally got on the board.

Baseball

Mets’ offense explodes, Nolan McLean strikes out 11 to hold on for 8-5 win over Cubs

Two homers helped propel the Mets to an 8-5 win over the Cubs in Chicago on Thursday night to take the series.

Nolan McLean, while dominant at times, had an uneven night. But with the offensive production, the Mets didn’t need their young phenom to carry the weight of the season. And with the Reds winning their game earlier in the day, the Mets remain one game ahead in the wild-card race with three games remaining.

Here are the takeaways…

-New York got to Shota Imanaga in the first inning with Francisco Lindor setting the table with a leadoff walk. After Juan Sotonearly missed a two-run shot, Pete Alonso followed with a double to put runners on second and third with one out. Mark Vientospopped out toward the stands on the third base side, which Dansby Swanson caught in foul territory, but he fell into the stands, which automatically allowed Lindor to score from third since Swanson went out of play. Brandon Nimmo hit a single to score Alonso to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead.

Lindor would help the offense out again in the third, launching a fastball 408 feet out of Wrigley Field to put the Mets up 3-0. It’s Lindor’s 30th homer of the season, his second 30-30 year of his career. It’s also just the third time in MLB history two teammates — with Soto — had 30-30 seasons, joining the 1996 Rockies (Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks ) and the 1987 Mets (Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry).

It’s also the first time in franchise history that three players have had 30 home runs in the same season, joining Soto and Alonso.

-The Mets’ batters started to hit Imanaga hard in the fourth. Vientos hit a screamer tailing away from Ian Happ in left field, but the Gold Glover made a nifty diving catch for the first out. Nimmo and Luis Torrensfollowed with back-to-back singles before Brett Baty launched a three-run shot to give the Mets a comfy 6-0 lead.

With the Cubs trying to chip away, Tyrone Taylorgot the runs back in the sixth with a two-out double that scored Nimmo and Baty. Taylor entered that at-bat 0-for-5 since returning from the IL, but delivered a massive hit to reestablish the Mets’ six-run lead.

-McLean was asked to essentially save the Mets’ season again, and he did his darnedest on this night. After allowing a two-out double to Happ in the first, he struck out Moises Ballesteros to end the first inning and kept the momentum on the Mets’ side after their two-run opening frame. The young right-hander was cruising in the early going, striking out eight batters in the first four innings. He made one mistake, leaving a hanging changeup to Seiya Suzuki smashed it to straight center field for a solo shot, just the second home run McLean has allowed in his big league career. Swanson hit a solo homer of his own with one out in the fifth to get the score to 6-2. Despite the homers, McLean had reached a new career-high in strikeouts, fanning 10 Cubs across his first five innings of work.

After McLean picked up his 11th strikeout of the night, the most by a Mets pitcher this season, he started to lose his command. He walked Happ and allowed a ground-rule double to Ballesteros before Suzuki launched a three-run shot to trim the Mets’ lead to 8-5. New York tried to stretch McLean to get through six innings with the bullpen taxed, but McLean hit a wall.

McLean allowed five runs on five hits (three home runs), two walks through 5.1 innings (94 pitches/63 strikes) while striking out those 11 batters. The five runs pushed McLean’s ERA to 2.06 on the year.

-In relief of McLean, the taxed Mets bullpen was tasked with getting the final 11 outs of the game and performed masterfully. The combination of Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz shut out the Cubs to hold down the win. Here’s how each reliever did…

  • Stanek: 0.2 IP, 1 H
  • Raley: 1.0 IP, 3 K
  • Rogers: 1.0 IP
  • Diaz: 1.0 IP, 1 H

–Francisco Alvarez was not in the starting lineup, as manager Carlos Mendoza wanted to give the young backstop a day off after he had leg cramps toward the end of Wednesday’s game. Torrens started and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. The Mets’ skipper also said he had a decision to make with the lefty Imanaga on the mound, and chose Baty over Jeff McNeil. Baty finished 2-for-4 with the big blast and made a bare-handed web gem at third base to get McLean through the third inning.

Game MVP: Mets bullpen

With McLean unable to get out of the sixth, the ‘pen got the final 11 outs without giving up a run from the high-powered Cubs.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets head to Miami to take on the Marlins. The series opener on Friday has a first pitch time of 7:10 p.m.

Brandon Sproat(0-1, 3.94 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets. Miami will send Sandy Alcantara (10-12, 5.48 ERA).

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Baseball

Paul Skenes strikes out 7 in no-decision in Pirates’ victory

Sep 25, 2025, 12:02 AM ET

CINCINNATI — Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes isn’t a big numbers guy, yet he does maintain high standards for himself.

The 23-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and struck out seven in six innings in his final scheduled start of the season on Wednesday night. While he didn’t figure in the Pirates’ 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in 11 innings, he lowered his ERA to 1.97.

Skenes became the first qualified pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 since Justin Verlander in 2022. He’s the youngest pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA since 20-year-old Dwight Gooden’s 1.53 in 1985.

“I’m actually worse than I was last year,” Skenes said with a wry smile. “It was 1.96 last year. I’m 1.97 this year. Just got to be better. No, it’s cool. I don’t come into the year with any numerical goals.”

Skenes struck out Spencer Steer in the second inning Wednesday for his 211th strikeout, a single-season Pirates franchise record for a right-handed pitcher, surpassing Mitch Keller’s 210 in 2023. He ran his strikeout total to 216 for the season.

“There’s going to be a lot of records that Paul Skenes will have as he continues to go throughout his career,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “How he prepares. How he competes. What a start today and what a season he’s had.”

Pirates ace Paul Skenes lowered his ERA to 1.97 after Wednesday’s start. “Having a sub-2.00 is great, but it’s about winning,” he said afterwards. AP Photo/Michael Swensen

Skenes is considered the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award but says he hasn’t given the award much thought. With a 10-10 record, he would be the first starter to win a Cy Young with a non-winning record, according to ESPN Research. (Eric Gagne and Bruce Sutter both did it as relievers.)

In addition, Skenes’ 10 victories would tie Jacob deGrom in 2018 for the fewest wins by a starter to win a Cy Young Award, excluding 2020.

“Unfortunately, you can’t have two guys win the Cy Young,” said Skenes, the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year who went 11-3 with 170 strikeouts in 23 starts last year. “I don’t really know what my numbers versus other guys stacks up too, so we’ll see.”

On Wednesday night, Skenes faced Reds right-hander Hunter Greene in a marquee pitching matchup in front of an announced crowd of 30,725 and a playoff atmosphere at Great American Ball Park, with the Reds chasing an NL wild-card berth.

Skenes responded by lowering his career ERA against the Reds to 0.31 in five starts. He has thrown 28 consecutive scoreless innings against Cincinnati. It was the 12th scoreless outing by Skenes this season.

“Facing Greene, it’s going to be a battle,” Skenes said. “The atmosphere was electric. Hopefully we have that in Pittsburgh next year. Having a sub-2.00 is great, but it’s about winning.”

Skenes’ 1.97 ERA is the second-best mark by a qualified Pirates pitcher since Wilbur Cooper’s 1.87 in 1916. His 1.96 ERA through 55 career starts is the lowest for any pitcher in that span since 1913.

His 0.95 WHIP is the second lowest for a Pirates’ pitcher in a single season behind only Babe Adams’ 0.90 in 1919.

But of all his statistical accomplishments this season, the ones that stand out for Skenes relate to his workload and endurance. He pitched 187â…” innings this year, after throwing 133 last year, and he made 32 starts.

“How many innings did I throw?” Skenes said. “That one [innings] and 32 starts. Made all my starts. That’s pretty cool. It’s a product of doing what you’re supposed to, making pitches throughout the year.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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