TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Tottenham scored two second-half goals to defeat London rivals West Ham and move into the top four of the Premier League.
Spurs are now one point ahead of Newcastle despite having played one more game, while the Irons end the weekend in the bottom three after several other results went against them.
West Ham spurned a glorious chance to take the lead inside the first minute. A quick throw-in caught Spurs cold in their defensive third and afforded Jarrod Bowen a sight at goal from 20 yards, but his volley sailed just wide.
The hosts were incensed that they weren’t awarded a 12th-minute penalty when the ball struck Thilo Kehrer’s wrist following a corner, with a lengthy VAR check just about clearing the German of wrongdoing.
A dire first-half’s first shot on target came with less than 10 minutes to go until the break, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s pea-roller from distance easily grasped by Lukasz Fabianski.
Just before the interval, Harry Kane dropped deep into midfield and looped a ball over the top for Richarlison to chase, only for Fabianski to deny him with his feet from a tight angle.
Cristian Romero headed narrowly over from the resulting corner as the first 45 ended without a goal.
Tottenham should have gone ahead on the other side of the break when Nayef Aguerd loosely gave away possession, allowing Kane to slip through Dejan Kulusevski. After checking inside onto his left foot, he picked out the run of Richarlison, whose trickled shot went straight down Fabianski’s throat.
Moments later, Kulusevski pickpocketed Declan Rice and returned the favor to Kane, who flashed a shot well wide when he should have at least worked the goalkeeper.
A deep cross from Kulusevski nearly found the head of Kane as Spurs’ fast start to the second half continued.
And they eventually broke the deadlock just before the hour mark. Hojbjerg’s pass through the lines found the run of Ben Davies, who squared for Emerson Royal to slot past Fabianski with ease.
West Ham nearly found an immediate equalizer when a long ball from Angelo Ogbonna was flicked on by Michail Antonio and into the path of Bowen, who managed to get a shot off under pressure from Cristian Romero, bringing a low save out of Fraser Forster.
Kulusevski then pricked Fabianski’s palms with a 25-yard strike before Tottenham added a second. Kane was able to wrestle the ball away from a sleeping Ogbonna and quickly slip the ball through substitute Son Heung-min, who found the far corner.
The spurs were able to keep their opponents at bay for the rest of the afternoon, earning three valuable points.
Tottenham Hotspur player evaluation
Fraser Forster, goalkeeper – 6/10 Had little to do but was dependable when called upon.
CB: Cristian Romero – 7/10 – Suffered from an ankle injury on several occasions, but played through the pain and returned to form after a difficult week.
Eric Dier – 7/10 – CB Generally unconcerned. This week, I stepped up without being caught.
Clement Lenglet, CB – 5/10 Still rather timid and fortunate that West Ham did not capitalize on this.
Emerson Royal – 9/10 RM Both ends are solid. He demonstrated his worth as an attacking outlet (yes, seriously) and ensured West Ham couldn’t build around him.
CM: Oliver Skipp – 7/10 – He lacked the mobility and drive he had prior to the injury, but he was excellent at breaking up play. A necessary presence in order to combat West Ham’s driving threats.
8/10 CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg In midfield, he assumed senior responsibility. Leading with a brilliant through ball
LM: Ben Davies – 7/10 – Questions were asked over his suitability to play wing-back due to his physical limitations, but showed great endeavor and grabbed an assist.
RF: Dejan Kulusevski – 6/10 – Snuffed out in the first half but looked more like his old self after the break.
LF: Richarlison – 5/10 – Popped up in various areas trying to cause menace but was largely nullified.
CF: Harry Kane – 7/10 – After being silenced for around an hour, Kane stepped up and bullied the West Ham backline to help contribute to the win.
Substitutes
Son Heung-min (67′ for Richarlison) – 8/10
Ivan Perisic (78′ for Lenglet) – 5/10
Pape Sarr (90′ for Skipp) – N/A
Lucas Moura (90′ for Kulusevski) – N/A
Manager
Cristian Stellini – 7/10 – Spurs were poor in the first half but improved markedly after the break.
GK: Lukasz Fabianski – 5/10 – Didn’t inspire a lot of confidence between the sticks or as a sweeper.
CB: Thilo Kehrer – 6/10 – Got the better of Richarlison before Tottenham swarmed into life.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna – 4/10 – Beaten far too easily in late duels with Kane.
CB: Nayef Aguerd – 6/10 – Like Kehrer looked solid for the most part but the pressure was too much to withstand.
RM: Vladimir Coufal – 5/10 – A physical presence to win high balls but not much else.
CM: Declan Rice – 5/10 – Tried his best to lead the charge but West Ham severely lacked ambition on the ball.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 5/10 – Like Coufal was a nuisance in the air and breaking up play but that was about it.
CM: Flynn Downes – 5/10 – The extra man in midfield didn’t really help West Ham.
LM: Emerson Palmieri – 4/10 – Beaten in a lot of duels by namesake Royal.
CF: Jarrod Bowen – 5/10 – West Ham’s brightest spark but the bar was not very high.
CF: Michail Antonio – 4/10 – Completely isolated and looked leggy when he was found.
Substitutes
Danny Ings (72′ for Antonio) – 5/10
Said Benrahma (72′ for Downes) – 5/10
Ben Johnson (82′ for Ogbonna) – N/A
Pablo Fornals (82′ for Palmieri) – N/A
Manager
David Moyes – 4/10 – West Ham was so aimless and that boils down to the manager.
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