Tottenham 4-1 West Ham: Spurs run Payet-less West Ham ragged

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said they lost their best player when Dimitri Payet suffered an ankle injury two weeks ago. His comments surprised many, but not because they’re untrue.

That sentiment appeared evident as West Ham was thoroughly trounced 4-1 by Spurs at White Hart Lane as Harry Kane bagged a brace and the visitors both struggled in possession and proved porous at the back.

The opening 15 minutes saw both teams look to feel out the other side, but Spurs eventually worked themselves on top of possession. The home side was patient, electing not to send in speculative crosses on a number of occasions, instead choosing to play the ball in possession and work for an opening on the ground.

West Ham were forced back by Spurs’ high press, and Adrian was called into action with a diving stop to keep out a deflected shot from Christian Eriksen on 22 minutes.

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That was a foreshadow to the moment a minute later where Spurs would take the lead. Spurs found Dele Alli with space at the top of the shot, but a poor touch allowed the Hammers defense to arrive and block his shot. Unfortunately for the defense, the rebound fell right to Harry Kane with his back to goal, and he turned strongly around Carl Jenkinson and buried the 23rd minute chance.

West Ham was immediately galvanized by the deficit, and moments later a deflected shot from Mark Noble looped up to Cheikhou Kouyate who produced an acrobatic overhead kick from close range that clattered the crossbar.

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Spurs would push themselves back on the ball after the initial reaction from the visitors, and they’d push for another. It would come on 34 minutes as a corner swung in and Toby Alderweireld picked off Winston Reid on a teammate, rose above Andy Carroll, and powered home a header for a 2-0 lead.

The home side began to truly take over, as Alli nearly scored a third for Spurs as his header moments later smacked the bar. Kane pounced on a lucky bounce in the 39th minute and was clean through on goal, but scuffed his chance horribly, sending the ball wide.

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The game got chippy after halftime. Kyle Walker was lucky to get away with no punishment for kicking Winston Reid, and on the other end Reid fouled Kane after losing the ball just outside the box. West Ham cleared the chance, but a terrible giveaway by Tomkins in his own half sent Kane through via Eriksen, and the England international buried a third for Spurs.

Walker added a cherry on top with a stunning effort in the 84th minute off the outside of his foot, and Spurs were well and truly on top. The Hammers would get a late consolation as a long-ball counter saw Nikita Jelavic work hard to find Manuel Lanzini who rocketed home from a tight angle.

That was all for West Ham, as the game boiled over and the anger flowed from both sides on a derby day. Dele Alli and Mark Noble both were given yellow cards to earn suspensions in their next match, while Walker and Diafra Sakho both were cautioned for a later scuffle. Spurs with the three points move just two back of rivals Arsenal in the battle for the Champions League, with the Gunners losing Saturday. West Ham remain on 21 points, still a solid position but with plenty of work to do after this eye-opening performance.

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