West Ham 1-0 Tottenham: Antonio strike sends Hammers into top four

Michail Antonio’s second-half finish was enough to see West Ham past Tottenham 1-0 as the Hammers moved into the top four in the Premier League.

The two teams came into Sunday’s clash on the back of contrasting fortunes in Europe, Spurs downed 1-0 by Vitesse while David Moyes’ side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Genk.

It took until the 72nd minute for Antonio to break the deadlock at the London Stadium, his sixth career top-flight goal against Spurs seeing West Ham move above their rivals.

West Ham, at least temporarily due to Manchester United facing high-flying Liverpool later, climb from seventh into the Champions League spots as Moyes’ men continue to prove their quality.

52 – All 52 of Michail Antonio’s Premier League goals have been scored from inside the penalty area. Only Tim Cahill (56) and Chicharito (53) have scored more goals in the competition with 100% of them coming from inside the box. Neo. pic.twitter.com/URmfz1scC1 OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 24, 2021

Pablo Fornals’ acrobatic right-footed volley forced the first save of the contest before the Spain international skewed wide as the hosts started the brighter of the two sides.

Son Heung-min responded with a low drive, one Lukasz Fabianski saved, after Lucas Moura had wastefully fired off target following the South Korea forward’s offload.

Tomas Soucek then headed narrowly wide, with Fabianski subsequently producing a magnificent save at the other end to deny Harry Kane’s headed effort on the stroke of half-time.

Tempers flared just before the hour-mark as Cristian Romero and Fornals clashed with one another in an otherwise somewhat uneventful start to the second half.

The lively Fornals almost opened the scoring but his right-footed strike, via a deflection off Eric Dier, was tipped over by Hugo Lloris.

However, the Spurs goalkeeper was powerless to stopping Antonio from Aaron Creswell’s resulting corner as the forward turned into the bottom-left corner from close range.

The visitors searched for a late equaliser but failed to breach the hosts’ defence as West Ham made it three league games without defeat against their London rivals for the first time since May 2006.
 

0 – Spurs didn’t attempt a single shot during the second half. It’s the third time they’ve failed to record a shot in the second half of a Premier League match since the start of last season, the most of any side. Dulled. pic.twitter.com/WGvKWyK1Hq

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 24, 2021

What does it mean? Hammers march on as sorry Spurs stutter again

Spurs may have boasted over 62 per cent of the possession but West Ham remained well in the game throughout and duly claimed their rewards as Antonio scored once again against his favourite Premier League opponents.

Moyes has repeatedly attempted to be realistic over his side’s chances this term, both in the league and in Europe, but the Hammers – who needed a result in front of their own fans after losing the last two at home in the top flight – are proving they are a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, Tottenham slip down to sixth after losing their fifth top-flight London derby in a row, a run that will not help Nuno Espirito Santo’s popularity with the supporters.

Classy Cresswell

Cresswell again provided the set-piece goods as he teed up Antonio for West Ham’s winner.

No player in the Premier League has assisted more goals (nine) than the left-back from dead-ball situations since the start of last across all competitions as he continues to provide for his team-mates with his magical left foot.

Antonio, meanwhile, now has six league goals this season, putting him behind only Mohamed Salah and Jamie Vardy (both seven).

Kane falters as shot-shy Spurs suffer

Spurs failed to record a second-half shot, on target or otherwise, as Kane fired a blank up top for Nuno’s team. His header just before the break was the only attempt on goal he had and he could not kick on after ending his league drought at Newcastle last time out.

The England forward endured a frustrating outing, recording just 35 touches – the fewest of any Tottenham starting outfield player – while winning less than half (four) of the 10 duels he competed for.

Key Opta Stats: Best start in six years for West Ham

– West Ham’s 17-point haul after nine matches is their best return since 2015-16, when they went finished seventh under Slaven Bilic. It is three more points than they had after the same number of games last season.
– Antonio scored what was West Ham’s 21st Premier League goal since the start of last season via a set-piece (excluding any penalties), at least three more than the next side (Chelsea, 18).
– Kane has failed to score in each of his last five Premier League London derbies, his joint-longest wait for a goal in such clashes alongside a five-game run between May and December 2014.
– Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg appeared in his 200th match in all competitions since moving to England (134 for Southampton, 66 for current club Spurs).
– Since the start of last season, Hojbjerg is one of only three outfield players to start each of their side;s 47 Premier League games, alongside Stuart Dallas (Leeds) and Soucek (West Ham).

What’s next?

Tottenham need to bounce back when they travel to Burnley in the EFL Cup on Wednesday before facing Manchester United on Saturday. West Ham host Manchester City in the same cup before visiting Aston Villa on Sunday.