The Hammers had taken the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium only to capitulate in a game that saw Mohammed Kudus completely lose his head.
Tottenham eased the pressure on Ange Postecoglou with a 4-1 win against West Ham, whose own boss Julen Lopetegui will be facing fresh criticism after falling apart in north London.
The hosts faced plenty of scrutiny for their collapse at Brighton heading into the international break, and their weak attempts at defending came under the microscope again when West Ham took an early lead. Jarrod Bowen was easily able to spin away from Destiny Udogie down the right-hand side of the 18-yard-box and fire a low cross towards the back post for Mohammed Kudus to lash in.
Pent-up frustration was emanating from the stands to the pitch, but Spurs managed to channel that emotion and found an equaliser soon after. James Maddison led a counter attack through the middle of the pitch and shifted play wide to Dejan Kulusevski, who cut back infield and fired in off the inside of the post.
On the other side of half-time, Tottenham turned the game around and went in front for the first time. Son Heung-min combined well with Udogie in the left channel, and the Italian’s cut-back found Yves Bissouma, with the midfielder thundering in past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
All of a sudden, West Ham were in free-fall. A swift counter attack saw Kulusevski break into the box and lay the ball back for Son, whose strike bounced between the boots of Areola and Jean-Clair Todibo and rolled over the line.
Tottenham weren’t done yet and they had their fourth before the hour mark. Pape Matar Sarr’s quick thinking saw him pick out Son, who ran through to goal and slotted home to send the home fans into bashful delirium.
The visitors’ misery was compounded late on when Kudus received a red card after a VAR check for violent conduct and Tottenham cruised to victory.
GOAL rates Spurs’ players from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
