Following a 4-1 victory over West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur dominated with three quick goals in the second half, helping to erase memories of their Brighton defeat. In an earlier match, the team had suffered a difficult 3-2 away loss to Brighton, which lingered over manager Ange Postecoglou during the subsequent international break.
Even when West Ham took an early lead with a goal by Mohammed Kudus, due to lax defensive play on Tottenham’s part, the home team remained undaunted. Before halftime, Dejan Kulusevski equalised, and from there, Tottenham’s performance became increasingly spectacular.
The Spurs’ comeback was set in motion in the 52nd minute when Yves Bissouma scored, followed swiftly by Jean-Clair Todibo’s own goal four minutes later. The final blow was delivered by Son Heung-min, who scored with his signature left foot at the 60-minute mark.
To further add to West Ham’s woes, Mohammed Kudus was later sent off for unsportsmanlike behaviour. New coach Julen Lopetegui endured another disappointing outing.
Tottenham’s win was bolstered by the return of their fit captain, Son, and the exceptional performance of Brennan Johnson. West Ham, on the other hand, after enjoying a 4-1 win over Ipswich and a promising start in the 11th minute, ultimately fell short.
Earlier, Kudus managed to take a shot past Micky van de Ven of Tottenham, which Guglielmo Vicario pushed away impressively. Alas, Tottenham did not learn from this and after Son’s close miss, West Ham took the lead. Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie slipped up, allowing Bowen to set up Kudus for an 18th-minute goal. Postecoglou could only express his disappointment, but his team admirably bounced back, with Son’s deflected shot and Lucas Paqueta’s near own goal being testament to Tottenham’s resolve.
Pedro Porro made a commendable attempt during the match, only to have his shot impressively blocked by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola who swiftly captured the rebound, stopping Johnson from scoring a tap-in. The game swerved in favour of Tottenham, who managed to equalise after 36 minutes when James Maddison skillfully set up Kulusevski. With a left-foot strike off the post, Kulusevski found the net from 16 yards away.
At halftime, Pape Sarr replaced Maddison, and the team began the second half vigorously, reflecting the motivational guidance of Postecoglou. Udogie, after having his shot deflected earlier, passed the ball to Bissouma who scored Tottenham’s second with ease in the 52nd minute. Only four minutes later, the score was 3-1 when Kulusevski set it up for Son and an unfortunate deflection of West Ham’s defender Todibo pushed the ball past the goal line.
The Spurs were not yet satisfied and within an hour, Son managed to score his ninth goal against the Hammers, marking a span of three goals in just eight minutes. The ball moved from Sarr to Son, who beat Todibo and skillfully landed the shot. Tottenham pushed for more, with Son hitting the post and Udogie blocking Kudus’ shot. Areola made more commendable saves against Johnson and Timo Werner.
The game took a turn for the worse for West Ham when they were left with 10 players – Kudus was dismissed by referee Andrew Madley in the 86th minute, after a review by VAR for rough conduct when he pushed Sarr in the face.