Tottenham 0-2 Wolves: Conte’s top-four hopes damaged due to Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker

At half-time, the cameras panned to a young Tottenham fan who could hold back the tears no longer. Antonio Conte knew exactly how the lad was feeling.

If the Italian thought Wednesday night’s first-half versus Southampton was bad, then God knows what he thought about his team’s deplorable showing during the opening 45 minutes here.

They improved, marginally, in the second half – but that was all too little too late.

Tottenham got exactly what they deserved: a depressing defeat – one that raises serious questions of their top-four credentials. 

Tottenham’s hopes of securing a top flour place took a further hit after they lost 2-0 to Wolves to compound a damning week

Antonio Conte’s side were hoping to bounce back following their 3-2 defeat to Southampton but they stuttered once more

After a promising start to his reign, Conte is discovering exactly how sizeable the rebuild is going to be here at Tottenham, who have now lost three consecutive Premier League games.

Wolves were excellent, take nothing away from Bruno Lage’s team.

Raul Jimenez was unplayable, 19-year-old Lee Cundle – on his first Premier League start – swaggered around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium like he owned the place and Conor Coady was being Conor Coady in the heart of Wolves’ back-three.

But they were given a huge helping hand courtesy of a feeble display from their opponents, most notably from Hugo Lloris who made two uncharacteristic errors to hand Wolves their three points on a plate.  

Wolves stunned Spurs with an early strike from Raul Jimenez in the opening six minutes to take control in north London

Leander Dendoncker (left) then extended the club’s lead with a goal in the 18th minute of the game after some dire defending

It’s back to the drawing board for Conte, who made the big call of dropping Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for the visit of Wolves.

Yet, you’d imagine Hojbjerg’s presence would have had minimal bearing on the outcome, Tottenham were that bad.

Don’t worry Antonio, it’s only Manchester City next.

Spurs were two-down before Kevin Friend blew up for the break, the half-time whistle greeted by a cacophony of jeers for the second time in five days.

They were poor against Southampton in the first half on Wednesday night – but these depths were alarming. They were lucky it was only two.

The opener arrived in the seventh minute, Jimenez hammering home a sweet volley after two largely unconvincing saves from Lloris, the first from Ruben Neves and the second from Nelson Semedo’s follow-up.

There’d have been no finger pointing in the French keeper’s direction; rightly so – he’s been Spurs’ saviour more times then they’d care to remember.

But this was far from vintage Lloris, he’d be the first to confess.

Had Son Heung-min not tried to be too precise when sent clear through by full debutant Rodrigo Bentancur in the 16th minute then perhaps the first-half would have developed in Tottenham’s favour.

The reality, though, was far more painful. Once more Lloris was at the centre of his team’s woes as Wolves extended their lead.

The keeper miscued a routine pass out to Ben Davies, whose clearance was just as unsatisfactory in the 18th minute.

Seconds later the ball was in the back of Tottenham’s net, Leander Dendoncker bundling home after further comical defending that saw Bentancur and Davinson Sanchez get themselves in all worlds of trouble in their own box.

Conte, stoney faced, just stood there. Almost motionless. This was harrowing for Tottenham.

It was about to get worse for Ryan Sessegnon, who was hooked in the 28th minute in place of Dejan Kulusevski. The youngster’s deflated face spoke a thousand words; Conte’s attempts to console the left-wing back with a handshake and a pat on the back unlikely to have eased his embarrassment.

Sessegnon appears to have a future under Conte, but this episode could take a while to overcome. 

Son Heung-min (right) should have done better when played in by Rodrigo Bentancur and that could have shifted the tide

For Tottenham’s struggles, England international Harry Kane (right) actually looks to be approaching some of his best form

Wolves manager Bruno Lage was quick to celebrate after the game as his team now occupy seventh place in the table

Harry Kane fired wide before being denied by Romain Saiss’ last-ditch tackle in the 39th minute. For Tottenham’s struggles, Kane actually looks to be approaching his best form. That, on a disastrous afternoon, will provide some solace for Conte.

But it’s all a case of ifs, buts and maybes for Tottenham at the moment. It certainly was here against Wolves.

Had Daniel Podence not squandered a big opportunity after Harry Winks’ error just before the break then who knows how the already furious home supporters would have reacted.

Likewise, had Lloris not denied Jimenez eight minutes after the restart following more atrocious defending from Davinson Sanchez then you got the sense that all out mutiny would have broken out here.

In fairness to Tottenham, at least they rallied in the second period. Kane, Winks and Son all went close as they threw caution to wind. Jose Na produced an excellent instinctive save from Cristian Romero’s bullet header in the 88th minute as they at least tried to muster a response.

By then though the stadium was half-empty; probably a blessing for Tottenham’s players who were treated with the same disdain by supporters as they were at half-time.

The damage was done in the opening 20 minutes. Question is: how much damage has this caused to Tottenham’s Champions League chances?