Michail Antonio played the role of match-winner for West Ham as they went three games undefeated against Spurs for the first time in 15 years with a 1-0 victory at the London Stadium.
This was far less entertaining than either of last season’s matches – a memorable 3-3 draw in Tottenham and a nip-and-tuck battle settled by Jesse Lingard in Stratford – but the result was a big one for the hosts, lifting them to fourth in the Premier League table.
The game’s decisive moment came in the 72nd minute when Antonio volleyed home an Aaron Cresswell corner from close-range, to complete a perfect week for West Ham following impressive wins against Everton and then Genk in the Europa League.
Here, i rates the key performances that defined the game.
Harry Kane – 4/10
Once the transfer window had closed and it had been confirmed that Tanguy Ndombele would be staying at Spurs, Nuno rejigged his system to get the Frenchman into a No 10 slot, thus alleviating some of the creative burden on Harry Kane. Against Newcastle, Kane operated more as a No 9 than in the half-and-half role for which he became accustomed last season, but this was more like the 2020-21 version for the most part.
Kane’s attempts to drop deep and link play didn’t quite work though, as he struggled to exert any real influence on the game throughout. He drew a fine stop from Lukasz Fabianski with a powerful header at the back post at the end of the first half but otherwise he was too often on the periphery of proceedings. Kane’s most telling contribution came in his own box when he was far too passive in attempting to prevent Antonio from scoring.
Michail Antonio – 7/10
The individual battle between Antonio and Cristian Romero was the most absorbing aspect of an otherwise low-key first half. Romero, Tottenham’s most aggressive, front-foot defender, struggled at times to match the West Ham striker’s muscularity as he looked to bound onto balls knocked down into the channels.
And West Ham’s opener came as a direct consequence of his upper body strength, as Antonio held off Kane with ease before firing Aaron Cresswell’s delivery accurately into the bottom corner. It was Antonio’s sixth Premier League goal against Spurs, more than he has scored against any other club in the competition, and took him to six for the season.
David Moyes took the opportunity to rest him in midweek and that decision was very much vindicated. Brilliant as Declan Rice is, Antonio is West Ham’s most important player and they are far more effective with him in the team than without him.
Cristian Romero – 6/10
During the most recent international break, a clip of Tottenham’s Argentine defender Cristian Romero and ex-Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi goading a Peruvian for missing a penalty became a hit on social media. That incident gave a clear indication into the kind of player and character Romero is: aggressive, wholehearted and a bit of a Sergio Ramos in his approach to diplomacy.
That was in evidence again at the London Stadium when Romero picked up an utterly needless yellow for whispering some sweet nothings in the ear of Pablo Fornals after a firm challenge had left the Spaniard crumpled in a heap on the floor. Spurs have long needed an assertive presence in the heart of defence and in Romero they have finally found one. Why he wasn’t tasked with man-marking Antonio from the corner is anybody’s guess.
Son Heung-min 5/10
Son Heung-min was Tottenham’s most menacing player in the first half, with his daring darts infield from the left flank successful in pulling West Ham’s back four into uncomfortable positions. It was from one such off-the-ball run that Son had his first chance of the game when put through on goal by Ndombele, but he lacked the accuracy to seriously trouble Fabianski.
The South Korean faded badly in the second half though, and wouldn’t have had much room for complaint had Nuno elected to take him off.
Aaron Cresswell – 8/10
Spurs can’t say they weren’t warned. Cresswell’s set-piece prowess came to the fore on Thursday night when he set up two of West Ham’s goals in a 3-0 win over Genk, from a corner and then a free-kick. He also provided a dead-ball assist against Spurs to kickstart the comeback in last October’s thrilling 3-3 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
And yet while it was obvious what was coming, Spurs were powerless to prevent the inevitable. This was Cresswell’s seventh league assist from set-pieces since the start of last season, a total that moves him level with James Ward-Prowse in that particular metric: he is an unheralded and integral part of Moyes’ masterplan.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3nlm6Oh
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