Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 West Ham United
Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Saturday 19 October 2024, 12.30pm BST
West Ham United’s unbeaten away run in the Premier League is over after a 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
The Hammers started brightly and were ahead when Mohammed Kudus scored his second successive goal that left Guglielmo Vicario with no chance on 18 minutes.
Julen Lopetegui's men, showing no fear, had chances to extend their lead before Dejan Kulusevski's thumping left foot drive nine minutes before the break had the sides on level terms at half-time.
The match was finely poised heading into the second half but a three-goal blitz saw Yves Bissouma and an own-goal from Alphonse Areola put the hosts in command before Heung-Min Son added a fourth on the hour-mark. Three goals in eight minutes and the game was effectively over, despite West Ham's previous comeback heroics at the same venue.
Lopetegui named an unchanged line-up for West Ham's return to Premier League duty for the third successive game, their longest such run in the top-flight since October 2023.
The 57th Premier League London derby between the sides began at a frantic pace in N17 amid a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium din. With heavy overnight rain lending an extra zip and sheen to the pitch, both sides probed and sought to impose their gameplan on proceedings – and both caused alarm within eleven minutes.
First of all, the ball fell kindly for Brennan Johnson who fizzed an angled shot narrowly past Areola's far post, and moments later at the other end West Ham could have been ahead, with a free-flowing move seeing Kudus force a remarkable reaction save from Vicario.
After a blistering start, Spurs went close again as the quarter-hour mark approached, with Son curling a dangerous effort just wide of the far corner after gaining a yard on his marker.
West Ham’s counter-attacking ability was a persistent hazard, however, and the deadlock was soon broken in the 18th minute. The Irons, who were attempting to make it back-to-back league wins away at Spurs for the first time since 1966, broke at speed through Jarrod Bowen on the right flank, who found Kudus in the penalty area and the Ghanaian bobbled the ball home.
The hosts responded well to falling behind and created a plethora of chances to equalise. A sweeping move saw Destiny Udogie find Johnson only for the ball to come off his shoulder and deflect wide, before Pedro Porro's long-range effort needed a smart save from Areola.
But Tottenham’s pressure finally told nine minutes before the break when James Maddison picked up the ball, drove forward and found Kulusevski. The Swede still had plenty of work to do, cutting back on to his preferred left foot before letting fly with a powerful effort which Areola got a hand to, tipping the ball onto the post at full stretch, but the ball bounced across his goalline, and fortuitously went in off the other post.
Spurs were ramping up the pressure as half-time approached. And with just minutes remaining of an eventful first 45 minutes, Porro came close with a half-volley that fizzed just wide.
The half-time whistle came at an opportune moment for us but, when the game resumed, Tottenham picked up where they left off, and it was not long before they turned the game on its head. Udogie got to the byline and pulled a ball back for Bissouma, who opened up his body and calmly slotted into the far corner to make it 2-1.
Things went from bad to worse when Areola's own-goal added Spurs’ third three minutes later. Son started the move in midfield, traded passes with Kulusevski, collected the return and went for goal. His effort was kept out by Areola, but deflected off Jean-Clair Todibo and then the Irons' goalkeeper for an unfortunate own-goal.
Tottenham had their fourth of the afternoon on the hour-mark. Pape Sarr sent Son scampering down the line and the forward raced inside, ran at Todibo and lashed into the bottom corner from ten yards.
It was one-way traffic in north London, as the Hammers almost suffered a further blow barely a minute later when Son was given time and space on the edge of the West Ham box. The striker let fly with the sweetest of strikes but saw the effort cannon back off the post, before Kudus almost pulled a goal back when his shot was blocked on the line by Udogie.
Back came Tottenham, with Kulusevski curling one narrowly wide, while Johnson had an angled drive well-saved by Areola as Spurs attempted to add a fifth. Timo Werner was next to test the reflexes of our No23 as his header back across goal was parried by the Frenchman and cleared to safety.
With frustration growing, Kudus was sent-off by referee Andy Madley after a VAR review, having been deemed to have committed violent conduct when his hand caught both Micky van de Ven and then Sarr in the face following a challenge between the Ghanaian and the Dutch defender.
It was a forgettable end to a forgettable day, and on which West Ham fans will not want to dwell on.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie (Gray 88), Bissouma (Bentancur 81), Maddison (Sarr 46), Johnson, Son © (Werner 70), Kulusevski, Solanke (Richarlison 81)
Subs not used: Forster (GK), Spence, Dragusin, Moore
Goals: Kulusevski 36, Bissouma 52, Areola OG 55, Son 60
Booked: Van de Ven
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Rodríguez (Mavropanos 70), Paquetá (Álvarez 61), Souček (Soler 61), Bowen ©, Kudus, Antonio (Summerville 61)
Subs not used: Fabiański (GK), Cresswell, Coufal, Luis Guilherme, Ings
Goal: Kudus 18
Booked: Paquetá, Souček, Soler
Sent-off: Kudus 86
Referee: Andy Madley
Attendance: 61,381
