Tottenham returned to profitable methods within the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as they got here from behind to thump West Ham 4-1 in N17.
Spurs have been initially made to work laborious by the Hammers, however the guests’ implosion at first of the second-half noticed them cruise past their bitter London rivals.
The style of West Ham’s defeat will concern many in Hammers quarters and instantly lump the strain on Julen Lopetegui, who’s overseen an detached begin to his tenure in east London. They continue to be 14th within the desk, whereas Spurs have climbed as much as sixth.
How the match unfolded
The return of Son Heung-min to the Tottenham XI meant the hosts have been at full-strength for this London derby, however they have been dealing with up in opposition to a West Ham crew that received in N17 final season and got here with the intent of irritating the Lilywhites.
Julen Lopetegui ceded territory and management in a bid to sucker Tottenham right into a false sense of safety, and whereas Spurs began brightly, Mohammed Kudus had two wonderful possibilities on the again submit from Jarrod Bowen crosses – the second of which he transformed to open the scoring.
West Ham supplied slickness in possession by Bowen and Kudus, however they have been on the again foot for almost all of the opening 45 minutes and have been pressured to defend a barrage of Tottenham corners. Spurs’ strain informed by Dejan Kulusevski, who restored parity with a nice end off the submit, and Alphonse Areola was pressured into a few wonderful saves to make sure the competition was all-square on the break.
Scarred by the occasions which unfolded at Brighton two weeks in the past, Postecoglou opted for a half-time tactical change which noticed James Maddison withdrawn, however the boss’ change paid dividends because the hosts raced right into a 3-1 lead ten minutes into the second half.
Yves Bissouma scored his second purpose of the season from a Future Udogie cut-back earlier than Jean-Clair Todibo moderately comically transformed into his personal web after Son Heung-min and Kulusevski had mixed within the West Ham field.
A classic Son strike then accomplished the Hammers’ implosion on the hour with a classic sequence and end. Julen Lopetegui rung the modifications thereafter and Kudus got here immensely near netting a second, however Spurs’ 15-minute blitz ended the competition.
Whereas the scoring concluded earlier than the hour mark, there was time late on for West Ham’s woeful afternoon to worsen as standout performer Kudus was despatched off for a bonkers sequence which noticed him evolve into an NFL working again as he stiff armed a number of Tottenham gamers after kicking out at Micky van de Ven.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 6/10 – Nonetheless does not look fully positive of himself in possession and from corners, however he did make a wonderful save earlier than Kudus opened the scoring.
RB: Pedro Porro – 7/10 – Grew into the competition after West Ham drew first blood and had an actual affect on proceedings, particularly with the ball. Such an exquisite technician and he got here shut a few times with formidable efforts.
CB: Cristian Romero – 7/10 – This was rather more like Romero, who snapped into tackles and ventured into the West Ham third hoping to make an affect.
CB: Micky van de Ven – 5/10 – Did not have all of it his personal manner in opposition to Antonio, and there have been a number of duelling points. Not his cleanest show.
LB: Future Udogie – 7/10 – Struggled early on and defended poorly within the build-up to West Ham’s opener. Nevertheless, bounced again within the second half in an enormous manner. After teeing up Bissouma’s purpose, Udogie prevented West Ham from getting again into the sport at 4-1 with a purpose line clearance.
CM: Yves Bissouma – 8/10 – Favoured over Rodrigo Bentancur, and the supervisor’s religion was repaid. Provided stability on the base of midfield and completed neatly to kick-start Tottenham’s second-half rout.
CM: James Maddison – 7/10 – Withdrawn at half-time after a good first-half. Pulled the strings however did not all the time join. He did drive Tottenham ahead and create Kulusevski’s equaliser.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski – 9/10 – Spurs’ standout performer this season was majestic but once more. Great steadiness and poise in possession, with the Swede’s grace littered all through the lunchtime duel.
RW: Brennan Johnson – 6/10 – The scoring streak involves an finish! Johnson did have his possibilities, however he did not have the rub of the inexperienced in entrance of purpose.
ST: Dominic Solanke – 8/10 – No purpose for Solanke, however he was good within the N17 solar. The West Ham defenders had a torrid time attempting to dispossess the Spurs ahead when the ball got here into his ft. Shone as a serviceman.
LW: Son Heung-min – 8/10 – There have been facets of this Son efficiency which have been proper out of the South Korean’s irresistible classic. The skipper was again to his greatest right here.
Substitutes
SUB: Pape Matar Sarr (46′ for Maddison) – 7/10
SUB: Timo Werner (70′ for Son) – 4/10
SUB: Richarlison (81′ for Solanke) – 5/10
SUB: Archie Grey ( for Udogie) – N/A
SUB: Rodrigo Bentancur ( for Bissouma) – N/A
Subs not used: Fraser Forster (GK), Radu Dragusin, Mikey Moore, Lucas Bergvall.
Supervisor
Ange Postecoglou – 8/10 – Who stated Ange hasn’t obtained a plan B? His change at half-time supplied Spurs extra management at transitions and set the stage for the second-half rout. An excellent day for the Tottenham boss.
GK: Alphonse Areola – 4/10 – Areola made a few good first-half saves, however it shortly went downhill for the Frenchman. Received a hand to Kulusevski’s equaliser, was at fault for the third, and Spurs’ different two strikes went by him.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6/10 – Had his typical standout moments one-on-one, however not precisely positive the place he was when Son was netting Tottenham’s fourth. The South Korean was capable of dupe the right-back with delicate feints.
CB: Jean-Clair Todibo – 4/10 – The Frenchman’s first style of this fixture was a reasonably bitter one. Torrid second half after impressing at instances within the opening interval.
CB: Max Kilman – 5/10 – Key in limiting Spurs within the first half with some nice field defending, however he wasn’t given a lot of an opportunity within the second half because the hosts ran riot. Kilman didn’t do an excellent job of masking Spurs’ runners within the half-space.
LB: Emerson – 6/10 – The left-back’s aggressive nature helped stifle Spurs down the proper early on, and he confirmed some class with the ball at instances. Like the remainder of the West Ham crew, he opted in opposition to defending after the restart.
RM: Jarrod Bowen – 6/10 – Began excellently and created two wonderful possibilities – one among which led to the opener.
CM: Guido Rodriguez – 6/10 – Utterly overawed after the break, however had defended fairly nicely within the first-half. Coated the channels nicely.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 4/10 – Actually undecided what his function is on this crew. He does not even crash the field any extra. Booked for throwing Brennan Johnson to the bottom from kick-off.
CM: Lucas Paqueta – 5/10 – Paqueta’s quiet begin to the season continued on Saturday, with the Brazilian struggling to get into the sport earlier than his substitution. Booked, too.
LM: Mohammed Kudus – 7/10 – West Ham’s shining gentle, little question – even with the crimson card! After netting the opener, Kudus spent the rest of the sport weaving his manner by hopeful Lilywhite challengers. Misplaced the plot on the finish.
ST: Michail Antonio – 6/10 – A little bit of a nuisance and held the ball up fairly nicely at instances within the first half.
Substitutes
SUB: Edson Alvarez (61′ for Paqueta) – 5/10
SUB: Crysencio Summerville (61′ for Antonio) – 5/10
SUB: Carlos Soler (61′ for Soucek) – 5/10
SUB: Konstantinos Mavropanos (71′ for Rodriguez) – 5/10
Subs not used: Lukasz Fabianski (GK), Aaron Cresswell. Vladimir Coufal, Luis Guilherme, Danny Ings
Supervisor
Julen Lopetegui – 3/10 – The Spaniard is in troubel. Appreciated the preliminary strategy, however the sweocnd-half implosion can be an enormous concern. Hammers do not like dropping this fixture, they usually’ll be horrified by the style of this defeat.
