West Ham’s soft centre was woefully exposed by Spurs as Graham Potter’s men unravelled yet again at home in a 3-0 defeat.
Following a 5-1 defeat to Chelsea in their last home game, the Hammers imploded after the break in this latest London derby as Spurs scored three in a 19-minute period and Tomas Soucek was shown a straight red card.
West Ham are now winless in seven Premier League games at the London Stadium – their worst home run since 2003.
After a competitive and even first half, Spurs took charge when Pape Mata Sarr headed home from a corner – the fifth goal Potter’s side have conceded from such scenarios this season.
Spurs thought they had scored in the first half from a corner that was headed home by Cristian Romero. But referee Jarred Gillett spotted a shove in the box by Micky Van de Ven on Kyle Walker-Peters and ruled out the goal with the VAR not seeing fit to intervene.
Soucek was then given his marching orders for a high tackle which ripped the sock of Joao Palhinha, and the home side wilted.
Lucas Bergvall looped a fantastic header home to double the lead before Micky van de Ven swept home a third to heap more embarrassment on the Hammers, who had to endure some Mohamed Kudus showboating in the closing stages as their former player relished his return following his £55m move to Spurs this summer.
Micky van de Ven (left) celebrates after scoring Tottenham Hotspur’s third goal
This was a perfect response from Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who had been underwhelming in their last fixture before the international break when losing 1-0 to Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, Potter finds himself back under pressure.
Potter calls for patience
Graham Potter insisted West Ham fans need to be patient given the number of new signings and believes there were positives to take from the defeat to Tottenham
West Ham boss Graham Potter speaking to Sky Sports:
“In the end, the scoreline is a difficult one for us. The second half went away from us quickly, I thought the first half was good. We showed our attacking intent. There were positives in the first half but we made a mistake in the second half, the second half was really uncomfortable. We have had to suffer. The team is coming together and we have to be patient with them. Focus on the positives and move forward.
“I understand [fans’ frustration], the scoreline is the scoreline. Of course every one is upset. From our perspective, we have to look at the positives. We have played two games at home against two top sides. We are a new team and need to stick together.”
Frank: An impressive win
Spurs boss Thomas Frank:
“I think West Ham defended very well in the first half. I’m so happy that the goal came in the second half, because you never know, the momentum can change after half-time but we kept going and scored a good goal after and then 3-0 – done. So a very good, clear win and a good performance.
“We all know the derby and the importance of the game for the fans and I think it’s a testament to the boys in the group that we haven’t won in six years. It shows everything how difficult it is to play here, and now we won 3-0 today. I think that’s impressive.”
