Heung-Min Son ended his goal drought as he helped Tottenham produce one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Matches between these two are usually fiery affairs, but the first half was played out in a stale atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with both teams lacking inspiration. Spurs, though, were a much-improved team in the second period and cruised to win thanks to goals from Emerson Royal and Heung-Min Son, as they have been on numerous times this season. Spurs had lost their previous two matches in all competitions, and manager Antonio Conte was recovering from surgery in Italy, while West Ham had to endure insulting chants from the home fans following a terribly dismal display that further adds to their relegation fears.
Tottenham have never appeared far from a crisis during a peculiar season that has seen fans protest against the owners, while an expiring contract and surgery have cast doubt on Conte’s future, yet they are back in the Champions League qualifying places. Newcastle’s halting form has been crucial, with the Magpies sitting sixth in the table, but Spurs – and caretaker manager Cristian Stellini, who has now won all three games he has taken charge of – deserve credit for handily defeating West Ham.
David Moyes spoke optimistically before kick-off about the momentum a four-game unbeaten run had generated for his side, but their performance told a different story, with only one shot on target across 90 minutes against a Spurs side coming off back-to-back defeats at Leicester last weekend (when Conte returned temporarily) and AC Milan in midweek. West Ham’s greatest chance of the game came barely a minute in when Jarrod Bowen volleyed from the edge of the box well wide of Fraser Forster’s goal.
The Hammers were fortunate not to concede a penalty in the 14th minute as the officials refused to penalize a clear handball in their area for the second game in a row. Thilo Kehrer was the fortunate defender on this occasion, getting away with slapping down the ball as Richarlison attempted to turn, and the Brazilian was subsequently denied a goal on his first start since the World Cup as Lukasz Fabianski blocked his shot from a close angle.
As the first half came to a close, Cristian Romero headed narrowly over, but Spurs showed significantly more effort after the break, with Richarlison having another shot saved before Harry Kane blasted over after Declan Rice’s blunder. Spurs’ goal came from an unexpected source, with Ben Davies latching onto Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s wonderful cross to square for Emerson, who slid his effort past Fabianski with poise (56). Son, who had been demoted to the bench, then came in to score the second after being set up by Kane (72), with Spurs simply seeing out the remainder of the game to secure a much-needed win ahead of another important London derby at home to Chelsea next weekend.
“On a number of times, we didn’t defend effectively enough and gave them too much encouragement at the start of the second half. We had some control, but we played it square and back, allowing Tottenham to come on,” West Ham boss David Moyes said. “I believe we encouraged them. For goals, we made a handful of pretty bad defensive mistakes. We can’t afford it at this level. They’ve been here before, so I believe many of them are prepared. In the coming week, I’ll be looking at the hue of the player’s eyes. You can guess what hue mine will be.”
“It was extremely difficult in the first half because we needed players who could fight a lot. We selected this style of the team for this type of game, and we perform admirably. Since our energy level was higher than theirs in the second half, we created numerous scoring opportunities,” Tottenham assistant head coach Cristian Stellini said. “He remained on the bench, and…then it was Sonny’s turn. Sonny is a terrific player in space, and we tried to employ him in this manner, and it was a good concept. We are thrilled for Sonny because he has a goal. He must maintain his cool and wait for his greatest performance because he must fit perfectly. He is not fully recovered yet, so we must handle him.”
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