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.
Mohammed Kudus’ second goal of the season left Guglielmo Vicario with no chance on 18 minutes, only for Tottenham to restore parity through Dejan Kulusevski nine minutes before the break.
But a second-half blitz saw Yves Bissouma and an own-goal from Jean-Clair Todibo put the hosts in command before Son Heung-Min 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.
The 57th Premier League London derby 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 sides caused alarm within ten minutes.
First of all, the ball fell kindly for Brennan Johnson who fizzed an angled shot narrowly past the 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.
The blistering start continued as Spurs would go 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 by playing their attacking game and created a plethora of chances. A sweeping move saw Bissouma find Johnson who could only head a close-range effort wide.
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 on to his left foot and saw his pinpoint shot tipped onto the post by Alphonse Areola, 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 eventual first 45 minutes, Pedro 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. Destiny 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 Todibo’s own-goal added Spurs’ third three minutes later. Kulusevski drove forward and laid it off to Son. His effort was well saved by Areola, but ricocheted off the Frenchman and rolled over the line.
Tottenham had their fourth 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 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.
Kulusevski then curled one narrowly wide, and 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 Areola as his header back across goal was parried by the Frenchman.
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 der 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 der 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
Booked: Van de Ven
Goals: Kulusevski 36, Bissouma 52, Todibo OG 55, Son 60
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
Booked: Paquetá, Souček, Soler
Sent-off: Kudus
Goal: Kudus 18
Attendance: 61,381
Referee: Andy Madley
