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Tottenham Hotspur 4 West Ham 1 – Relentless Spurs, classic Son and Udogie revival
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Tottenham Hotspur 4 West Ham 1 – Relentless Spurs, classic Son and Udogie revival

Tottenham Hotspur scored three goals in eight second-half minutes as they came from behind to beat West Ham United in north London.

Mohammed Kudus, who was later sent off for hitting Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr, gave the visitors the lead before Dejan Kulusevski equalized.

Then, after half-time, Tottenham sent West Ham into a tailspin when Yves Bissouma scored and the returning Son Heung-min saved a Jean-Clair Todibo own goal.

Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris summarize the main topics of conversation from a beautiful day in the office of Ange Postecoglou and his team.


Kulusevski opens the floodgates

The final result looked pleasing for Tottenham, but it's worth remembering how nervous the people in the stadium were when the score was still 1-0 against West Ham.

With Spurs struggling to convert possession into chances, it felt like it could have been another one of those frustrating days. What turned the game around and took the pressure off Spurs was Dejan Kulusevski's brilliant goal after 36 minutes.

As Spurs pushed forward, Kulusevski came forward from the right, shot into the far corner and then directed his shot hard at the near post. The ball rolled over Alphonse Areola's hand and both posts.

That was the moment the game changed. Once Spurs scored, you could tell they were going to overwhelm West Ham. The dam had broken. The visitors could no longer maintain their diligent early defence, chasing runners and occupying space between the lines. The Spurs looked like they were scoring every time they got the ball. Halftime was a relief for them.


Dejan Kulusevski was key to Tottenham's comeback (Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

It was important for Spurs that they started the second half with the same intensity, dominating the ball and using dangerous movements.

And they did, scoring three goals in eight minutes early in the second half. In fact, they should have finished the game with a few more goals than they did. When it's the Spurs' turn, they attack unstoppably, one wave after another. All it took was Kulusevski's equalizer to get them going.

Jack Pitt Brooke


The Joy of Vintage Son

When Son Heung-min was sent off with 20 minutes to go and received a standing ovation from the crowd, he seemed proud of his work. He also seemed relieved to be back doing what he does best after a frustrating start to the season.

This was Son's first appearance in three and a half weeks after he sustained a hamstring injury and Timo Werner took his place on the left. But even before that, it hadn't been a first-class start to the season for Tottenham's talisman.

He scored twice against Everton here on August 24, almost two months ago, but has not scored since. At times it seemed as if age was slowly catching up with him.

But against West Ham, Son showed his best and was unlucky to only score a single goal. As he charged down the right side for Kulusevski's shot, his shot deflected off Todibo and was ruled an own goal.

But then he scored a classic Son goal, a goal only he could have scored, racing onto Sarr's diagonal, sending Todibo the wrong way with a stepover and drilling a low, hard finish past Alphonse Areola.

It was a reminder of what a unique player he is and how strong he can still be. Spurs will hope there are more days like this.

Jack Pitt Brooke


Udogie gets his swagger back

Destiny Udogie received a lot of unwanted attention following Tottenham's crushing defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break.

The 21-year-old missed a free kick in the build-up to Yankuba Minteh's goal and was overwhelmed by Georginio Rutter before Danny Welbeck's winner.

It was important that he started strongly against West Ham, but after a few encouraging runs on the left wing, his defensive deficiencies were exposed by Jarrod Bowen. The West Ham striker received the ball at the back post and after briefly slipping, he easily turned past Udogie and delivered a cross into the box that Mohammed Kudus fired into the net.

However, Udogie responded brilliantly and became an important attacking outlet for Spurs. He overtook Son Heung-min and sent a cross into the box that bounced wide off Brennan Johnson's shoulder. The Italian international then opened up another chance for Pedro Porro, who acrobatically shot the ball over the crossbar.


Destiny Udogie holds off West Ham's Jarrod Bowen (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

West Ham couldn't contain Son and Udogie, so it was no surprise when they scored Yves Bissouma's goal in the 52nd minute. Son found Udogie in the penalty area and he pirouetted on the ball before passing it back to Bissouma for an easy finish.

Tottenham didn't have much to defend in the second half as they overwhelmed West Ham, but Udogie made a great save on the line to prevent Kudus from scoring a second goal. It was an encouraging overall performance that helped restore the Italian's confidence.

Jay Harris


What did Ange Postecoglou say?

We will let you know after he speaks at the post-match press conference.


What's next for Tottenham?

Thursday, October 24th: AZ Alkmaar (H), Europa League, 8:00 p.m. UK, 3:00 p.m. ET


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(Top photo: Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)

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