That’s it for today’s blog. I’ll leave you with Jacob Steinberg’s report from the London Stadium. Bye!
Jose Mourinho has suffered more defeats in his last six league games in charge of Tottenham than he did in his first 74 in charge of Chelsea (5-4).
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) February 21, 2021
At the 16th attempt, David Moyes has finally beaten Jose Mourinho!
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 21, 2021
What a job he is doing with @WestHam this season 👏 pic.twitter.com/mlt7RZVrFt
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Full time: West Ham 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Peep peep! West Ham move up to fourth in the table with a very, very, very, very, very, very very hard-fought victory over Spurs. They scored very early in each half through Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard and then withstood a Spurs onslaught after Lucas Moura made it 2-1.
Spurs created enough to draw, maybe even win, but they had to settle for another defeat. It’s their fifth in the last six league games and their seventh in the last 12.
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90+4 min Jesse Lingard is replaced by Mark Noble.
90+3 min Son shoots high over the bar from the edge of the area.
90+2 min: Son hits the post! What a strange incident. Coufal’s attempted clearance hit Son, looped tantalisingly over Fabianski and rebounded off the far post!
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90+2 min Son’s free-kick is headed away as far as Alli. He tries to poke a pass to Son but underhits it.
90+1 min Lingard gives away a stupid free-kick, fouling Alli on the left wing. Spurs have sent almost everyone forward.
90 min Five minutes of added time.
89 min West Ham are hanging on desperately. They look shattered.
88 min Son’s brilliant cross from the left is sliced over his own bar by Diop. Bale’s corner comes to nothing.
86 min Alli tees up Dier, who marauds onto the ball and then slices it miles wide.
84 min Coufal is okay to continue.
82 min Bale’s cross is punched away by the flying Fabianski, who takes out Coufal in the process. There’s a break in play while he receives treatment.
81 min West Ham substitution: Ben Johnson replaces Pablo Fornals. That might mean a switch to a back three/five.
78 min: Bale hits the bar! Two chances for Spurs in the space of a few seconds. First Kane’s low cross from the right was brilliantly cleared by the stretching Rice in his own six-yard box. The ball came back to Kane, who picked out Bale on the edge of the area. He waited for it to bounce and swished a beautiful shot with the outside of his left foot that clattered off the top of the bar. That was such a sweet strike from Bale.
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78 min Spurs have gone to a back three, with Dier on the left and Doherty on the right. It’s a 3-2-4-1 formation now.
78 min “No reason to replace Mourinho,” says Søren Sorgenfri. “He needs better players. Take out Kane and Son and the current squad is no more than midtable at best. Investments must be made.”
77 min Dele Alli comes to replace Sergio Reguilon. Don’t ask me what that means tactically.
75 min Fornals plays a short pass towards Antonio on the edge of the area. He lets it run, and the alert Lingard almost sneaks through on goal. Lloris and a defender, not sure who, were scrambling to clear the danger.
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75 min It looks like Dele Alli is about to come on.
73 min: Just wide from Kane! An equaliser is coming. Lucas Moura found Kane on the edge of the D, where he shifted the ball away from Dawson and hit a powerful low drive with his left foot. Fabianski was beaten but it whistled past the post. That was another beautifully struck effort from Kane.
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72 min Bale has been good since coming on. He finds a bit of space and plays the ball down the line to Doherty, whose cross is intercepted at the near post by Rice.
72 min The latest yellow card goes to Pablo Fornals for a foul on Ndombele.
71 min Lots of Spurs pressure now. Son plays an inviting pass back towards Lucas Moura, who rifles high over the bar from inside the D.
70 min “Graham Potter please,” says James Stephenson. “Or Diego Martinez, the Granada manager .”
69 min Michail Antonio is booked for blocking a Spurs free-kick.
67 min A cross-shot from Kane beats everyone in the six-yard box and drifts past the far post. Lucas Moura was the closest to reaching it.
66 min “Since we’re on our way to another disappointing Spurs loss, it’s time for daydreaming,” says Dave Purcell. “Who would be your top choices to replace Jose?”
Nagelsmann or Rodgers I guess. You?
65 min A West Ham change: Said Benrahma replaces Jarrod Bowen.
Bale swung a corner towards the near post, where Lucas Moura twisted his neck to flick a superb header that hit the inside of the post and went in.
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GOAL! West Ham 2-1 Spurs (Lucas Moura 64)
And now they’re back in it!
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63 min This is a good spell for Spurs, who are attacking with more intensity than at any stage in the match.
62 min Diop is booked for a foul on Lucas Moura.
62 min Bale cuts inside promisingly but shoots straight at Fabianski from distance.
61 min Kane’s dangerous low cross from the right is well held at full stretch by Fabianski.
59 min Kane flashes the free-kick just wide of the far post. Fabianski probably had it covered - it went to his side - but it was really well struck.
58 min Ndombele is fouled 25 yards from goal by Lingard. The free-kick is to the left of centre, so you’d expect a right-footer to hit it.
56 min The free-kick is headed away to the edge of the area. Sanchez collects and boots the bouncing ball over the bar.
56 min Soucek is booked for a late tackle on Kane. He got the ball but I think he went through Kane to get to it.
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52 min And West Ham will have won seven of their last nine.
51 min If it stays like this Spurs will have lost seven of their last 12 league games.
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49 min Lingard played a one-two with Fornals in the inside-left channel, then knocked the ball past the last man Dier. Had Fornals touched the ball he’d have been offside, but Lingard got there first and belted it into the far corner.
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GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Spurs (Lingard 47)
It’s been given!
48 min It’s still being checked. Fornals, who was offside, made a move towards the ball but Lingard beat him to it and crashed a left-footed shot past Lloris.
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LINGARD HAS A GOAL DISALLOWED FOR OFFSIDE! It was a cracking finish, too. I think that’s a bit harsh, because it’s been given against Fornals even though he didn’t touch the ball. It’s being checked by VAR.
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half.
Jose Mourinho has made a double substitution: Matt Doherty and Gareth Bale are on for Japhet Tanganga and Erik Lamela.
“I mean, I could probably look it up, but I’d rather simply trust that you know vastly more than me (especially on this subject),” begins Matt Dony. “Regarding that Opta Joe stat, didn’t Van Nistelrooy score more Premier League goals from exclusively inside the area? I seem to remember all his United goals were from inside the box, then he scored from outside the area on his Madrid debut, but I may be wrong. It happens occasionally.”
From memory, he scored one from outside the area at Charlton in November 2005.
Half-time reading
Half time: West Ham 1-0 Tottenham
Peep peep! Another half of toil and trouble for Spurs, who had most of the ball but did little with it. Michail Antonio’s early goal allowed West Ham to sit in and play on the break, just the way they like it. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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45+2 min: Fine save from Fabianski! Kane, on the edge of a crowded penalty area, shifts the ball to the side and hits a cracking low shot across goal. Fabianski gets down really smartly to his right to push it away. The resulting corner is headed wide by Dier in front of the near post.
45 min Three minutes of added time.
44 min Reguilon is booked for pushing Bowen over.
43 min Reguilon’s pass infield finds its way to Lamela, who hits a sweet first-time curler from 22 yards. Fabianski plunges to his right to make a good save.
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43 min “You said ‘this isn’t a classic’,” says Foderoy. “It’s classic Spurs.”
42 min Hojbjerg is booked for cleaning out Lingard.
38 min Cresswell’s outswinging corner is thumped towards goal by the head of Dawson, forcing Lloris to push the ball over the bar. It was a comfortable enough save. The second corner is headed on at the near post by Diop and drifts across the penalty area to safety.
36 min Lamela is booked for a lunging tackle on Diop.
34 min Craig Pawson has walked over to give Jose Mourinho a rollocking. Mourinho doesn’t have a face like thunder; he has a face like the apocalypse.
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32 min Cresswell’s free-kick is headed up in the air by Sanchez and then claimed by Lloris.
32 min Antonio is fouled by Sanchez 22 yards from goal. The free-kick is in line with the left edge of the penalty area, so I’d expect a cross from Cresswell.
31 min This isn’t a classic.
30 min Cresswell’s cross hits Tanganga straight between the legs in the comedy style.
27 min Reguilon’s cross is handled by Bowen just outside the area on the left. Son’s free-kick is blocked at the near post and then Lucas Moura spanks a shot over the bar from 25 yards.
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25 min Spurs are dominating possession, though West Ham look fairly comfortable defensively. Lamela’s long-range shot is blocked by Diop.
24 min Son’s driven cross is missed by Lucas Moura at the near post. That looked like a decent chance. Meanwhile, Soucek is back on the field.
42 - All 42 of Michail Antonio's Premier League goals have come from inside the box - in the competition's history, only Tim Cahill (56), Chicharito (53) and Gabriel Jesus (45) have scored more with all of them coming from inside the box. Poachers. #WHUTOT pic.twitter.com/lpiGzpvMog
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2021
21 min Reguilon is lucky not to be booked for a cynical foul on Bowen.
18 min Soucek doesn’t look concussed, but he is leaving the field to have stitches put in. West Ham are going to play with ten men for the time being.
16 min A Spurs corner leads to a scramble in the area. There’s a nasty clash of heads between Soucek - who is bleeding profusely above his left eye - and Sanchez. Play is allowed to continue and Kane has a snapshot blocked by Soucek, who jumped straight to his feet after the clash of the heads. Now play has stopped and Soucek is receiving treatment.
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14 min Rice clips a pass over the top to put Bowen through on goal, but his first touch is poor and the Spurs defenders are able to get back. That was another great chance for West Ham.
13 min: Just wide from Kane! Spurs almost equalise on the break. Lamela ran a long way and slid an angled pass through to Kane on the edge of the area. With Diop backpedalling, Kane cut across a fierce shot that swerved just wide of the near post.
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12 min “I found it amusing when Moyes was asked in the build-up if he was pleased that Chelsea had dropped points yesterday,” says Brad McMillan. “He just chuckled, as if he’d only just realised quite how well his team have done this year. He must be pinching himself now.”
Literally.
10 min Another chance for West Ham. Antonio wins a 50/50 with Hojbjerg and plays in Lingard on the left side of the area. He pokes the ball tamely across goal and wide of the far post. I think he was trying to find Antonio, though a shot would probably have been the better option.
9 min Reguilon plays a good ball down the line to Lamela, whose chipped cross is booted up in the air by the stretching Cresswell. Fabianski comes from his line to claim the loose ball.
7 min Oh, Spurs.
Bowen’s wicked inswinging cross from the right was met by Antonio, who stretched to poke a volley towards goal from close range. Lloris made a good save but Antonio was able to roof the rebound from a couple of yards.
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GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Spurs (Antonio 5)
There’s something to report now: West Ham have scored!
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4 min Nothing to report so far.
2 min “Hi Rob,” says Duncan Edwards. “Assuming no injuries, do you think Mick Antonio should go to Euro 2021?”
No. Good player though.
1 min Peep peep! West Ham kick off from left to right.
Here come the players. It’s a nice day in east London, mild and dry, apart from the bubbles.
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“Excited about today’s game,” writes Yash Gupta. “After all the bad results I thought maybe Rodon, Alli or Bale might be back in the lineup, but I guess Mourinho has not made those changes to see how Moura and especially Sanchez respond after what happened last week. If they don’t respond well, they can finally join Winks and Sissoko on the bench or maybe even out of the squad.”
Pre-match reading
Team news
Michail Antonio returns up front for West Ham, who have switched to a back four. Spurs make one change from the team that was hammered at Manchester City last weekend: Sergio Reguilon replaces Ben Davies at left-back.
West Ham (4-2-3-1) Fabianski; Coufal, Diop, Dawson, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Fornals, Lingard; Antonio.
Substitutes: Martin, Randolph, Balbuena, Alves, Johnson, Lanzini, Noble, Benrahma, Odubeko.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Tanganga, Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon; Ndombele, Hojbjerg; Lucas Moura, Lamela, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Hart, Doherty, Alderweireld, Davies, Winks, Sissoko, Alli, Bale, Vinicius.
Referee Craig Pawson.
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Preamble
Only Manchester City have taken more points than West Ham in 2021. David Moyes’ team have won six of their eight Premier League games this year, and another victory today would move them into the top four. The top four! There’s a long way to go before they start playing the Champions League theme at the London Stadium, but so far it’s been an exceptional season for West Ham.
One of the few things they haven’t done is beat one of the Big Six (though they did win at Leicester and Everton). They will hope to rectify that against a Spurs side who have been in desperate form. Spurs have lost four of the last five in the league, although you’d expect them to improve now that Harry Kane is back. For Jose Mourinho’s sake, they need to.
Kick off 12pm.
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