Tottenham mounted a comeback of their own after three goals in eight second-half minutes inspired a 4-1 victory over 10-player West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs were left to dwell on their collapse at Brighton during the international break and after a bright start, they might have been left fearing the worst as Mohammed Kudus gave the Hammers the lead (18). The hosts had been warned moments earlier as Guglielmo Vicario had to pull of a stunning save to deny the Ghana international, but the Spurs goalkeeper could do nothing to keep out his second effort after latching onto Jarrod Bowen’s cross.
You could sense the frustration all around the ground after Spurs wasted another bright start and opportunities continued to come and go. The returning Heung-min Son’s curled effort flew inches wide, while the in-form Brennan Johnson missed with a header from six yards as the ball hit his shoulder and bounced wide.
But Spurs eventually found the breakthrough as Dejan Kulusevski’s shot beat Alphonse Areola before hitting both posts and creeping over the line, much to the relief of the home fans.
From that moment, Spurs, who replaced James Maddison with Pape Sarr at the break, never looked back amidst a rapid capitulation from West Ham.
Yves Bissouma started the scoring rush in the 52nd minute before an own goal from Areola after Jean-Clair Todibo had also deflected Son’s shot (55) and was described as “comical” by Sky Sports‘ Micahel Dawson on Soccer Saturday, three minutes later saw Spurs open up a two-goal advantage.
Son (60) capped the scoring spree with Spurs third in eight minutes, slamming home at the far post to see his side bounce back from their Brighton nightmare in superb style.
West Ham’s dramatic second-half collapse was complete when Kudus finally received a red card after a lengthy VAR check. In a fracas towards the end of the match after a coming together with Micky van de Ven, Kudus raised his hands to both the Dutchman and Sarr. He was initially shown a yellow card but after being sent to the VAR screen, referee Andrew Madley brandished a red card to cap an afternoon to forget for Julen Lopetegui and his side.
Kudus’ moment of madness…
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Mike Dean gives his verdict on Mohammed Kudus after the winger saw red at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As if West Ham’s afternoon wasn’t bad enough already, Kudus was then sent off in the 86th minute following a VAR review.
It was a lengthy VAR review too, but it didn’t need to be. The only real surprise was when the referee initially brandished a yellow card.
Mohammed Kudus clashes with Micky van de Ven
It all started when Kudus appeared to kick out at Van de Ven, who was on the floor after a coming together. He then pushed Van de Ven in the face as tempers boiled over before an accidental clash of heads with Richarlison.
It didn’t end there as the Ghana international, who was one of his side’s better performers, pushed Sarr in the face before a red card compounded a difficult afternoon for the Hammers.
It doesn’t get any easier for Lopetegui who will have to try and revive West Ham’s fortunes without Kudus, who faces the prospect of three games on the sidelines, potentially even more.
Sarr ‘changed the game’ for Spurs
After the game, Spurs boss Postecoglou revealed the introduction of Sarr in place of Maddison was tactical, and it was a substitution that “changed the game”, according to player of the match Kulusevski.
He said: “It’s hard to do both things [attack and defend] all the time and it was good to get Pape in, he changed the game for us.”
Postecoglou felt Sarr’s running power and energy were needed up against a physical West Ham midfield.
He said in his post-match press conference: “I just felt we West Ham ask you certain questions in midfield areas and I just felt Pape’s running power would help us in the second half. They obviously worked hard in the first half and I thought he could give us some real energy.
“I thought he did really well and he gave us a platform to really threatening every time we want forward and clinical in our football.”
On replacing Maddison, he added: “Yes it was tactical, I just felt we needed a bit more running power in that midfield area.
“Pape gives us some good energy there and I thought that really helped us in the second half.
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