West Ham United battled back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur, with goals from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse leaving them only three points from their opponents, whose poor run was extended with a fourth defeat in five matches.
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How the match unfolded
Both managers made two changes. Ange Postecoglou recalled Cristian Romero after a three-match suspension, replacing Emerson Royal, who was benched. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg came in for Bryan Gil.
Hammers manager David Moyes also shuffled his pack. An injury to first-choice ‘keeper Alphonse Areola meant a first Premier League start of the season for Lukasz Fabianski. Kurt Zouma, who missed the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace for personal reasons, was restored to the Hammers defence in place of Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The home side started strongly, enjoying 90 per cent possession, and in the 11th minute, the pressure paid off as Spurs went in front for the fifth match running.
A superb corner from Pedro Porro was met by Romero, and his looping header flew into the corner past Fabianski to give the Argentinian his first home goal.
Spurs continued to dominate possession and Giovani Lo Celso shot over from the edge of the area.
Brennan Johnson and Lo Celso both tested Fabianski as Spurs pushed for a second goal before half-time, with the latter’s shot from 20 yards producing a smart save from the West Ham 'keeper.
Just before the break, West Ham fashioned their best chance of the half. After good work down the right from Mohammed Kudus, his cross found Lucas Paqueta at the far post, but the Brazilian headed wide.
Six minutes into the second half, against the run of play, West Ham were suddenly level.
There was an element of good fortune as Kudus’s shot deflected off both Spurs centre-backs before falling kindly into the path of Bowen. The forward took full advantage, firing a composed finish beyond Guglielmo Vicario for his ninth Premier League goal of the season. It was also the seventh straight away match in the Premier League in which Bowen has scored.
On 70 minutes, Spurs had a great chance to regain the lead. Richarlison, who had come on as a substitute only a couple of minutes earlier, headed wide from close range after another fine delivery from Porro.
Four minutes later, the home side were made to pay as West Ham took the lead. An underhit backpass from Destiny Udogie put Vicario in trouble.
As Bowen closed in, the Spurs goalkeeper’s hurried clearance went straight to Ward-Prowse. The Hammers midfielder’s shot came back off a post, but rebounded back to him and Ward-Prowse made no mistake second time round and finished into an unguarded net.
Spurs laid siege on the West Ham goal in search of an equaliser but either could not find the target or were thwarted by Fabianski.
West Ham’s three points keep them ninth on 24 points, three points and four places beneath Spurs.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
36 | +43 | 78 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
36 | +20 | 67 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
35 | +11 | 60 |
| 6 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
35 | +22 | 56 |
| 7 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
35 | +11 | 54 |
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
36 | -14 | 49 |
| 10 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
36 | -11 | 48 |
| 11 |
Brighton
BHA
|
35 | -4 | 47 |
| 12 |
Wolves
WOL
|
36 | -11 | 46 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key stats
- West Ham have won successive Premier League away games for the second time this season, previously doing so in August/September – they only did so once in the entirety of 2022-23.
- Bowen has scored in each of his last seven Premier League away games. Only Robin van Persie, between January and May 2011, has had a longer such run in the competition (nine games).
- Spurs have lost three successive home Premier League games for the first time since September 2008.
- Since his Premier League debut in February, only Trent Alexander-Arnold (13) has been involved in more goals among defenders than Spurs' Pedro Porro (10 – 3 goals, 7 assists).
- Spurs are the first side in Premier League history to score first in five successive games and win none of them (D1 L4). Indeed, they’re also the first side to lose three successive homes matches in the competition having scored first in all three.