Ange Postecoglou was there to see another defensive implosion, but this time he was not the coach who will have to deal with the fallout. For Tottenham, there was merely glee in becoming the latest side to expose a multitude of flaws in Julen Lopetegui’s so-called revolution at West Ham.
The idea of Lopetegui as a tactical mastermind was never harder to take seriously than during a game in which his plodding, identity-free team were obliterated by three goals in the space of eight second-half minutes. The implosion was astonishing, any semblance of shape or organisation disappearing as Son Heung-min and the outstanding Dejan Kulusevski ran riot for Spurs, and it is in no way premature to wonder if West Ham have replaced David Moyes with the right coach.
It is nothing short of a mess at the moment, even after much investment in the squad last summer. The gaps in midfield and defence are vast, while the resilience that characterised West Ham under Moyes has evaporated. Their indiscipline without the ball was staggering and, if there was fight, it was restricted to the moment when the red mist fell over Mohammed Kudus during the dying stages, a red card an inevitability after the winger took it upon himself to try to floor anyone wearing a Spurs shirt.
Lopetegui did not defend Kudus, who can expect an extended layoff after pushing Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr in the face, and he was downbeat about West Ham’s response to Yves Bissouma making it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. “The team has to manage these moments,” the Spaniard said. “We have to be competitive.”
Fortunate to lose only 4-1, West Ham were anything but combative. There was some early optimism, Kudus making it 1-0, but the lead never felt secure and Lopetegui did not react to a crucial half-time change from Postecoglou.
Spurs, fizzing with vibrancy and creativity, had an extra edge after responding to West Ham’s midfield physicality by replacing James Maddison with Sarr’s energy.
That made this a good day for Postecoglou, who had questions to answer about his gung-ho methods after losing from 2-0 up against Brighton.
“We had to work pretty hard,” the Australian said. “It was a bit of an arm wrestle. It was disappointing to concede but we worked our way back and got our reward. Our football was excellent.”
Spurs pushed from the start, Brennan Johnson volleying wide and Son going close after returning from injury, although they still looked vulnerable at the back. West Ham probed down the right, Jarrod Bowen worrying Destiny Udogie and laying on chances for Kudus. Guglielmo Vicario saved the first but Kudus took the second.
It was obviously not going to be the end of the scoring. Spurs roared back, Johnson and Pedro Porro almost equalising, and West Ham’s structure began to creak. They wanted to be expressive but lacked the poise to deal with the Spurs press and were exposed when another move broke down. Maddison had time to run at a backtracking defence and feed Kulusevski, who cut inside from the right, skipped past Guido Rodríguez and pulled a shot back across goal, surprising Alphonse Areola, who was able only to get a weak hand to the ball and watch it spin over the line after hitting both posts.
Overwhelmed, West Ham needed to readjust and give Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo more protection. But is there a slower midfield trio in the league than Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paquetá and Rodríguez? And why did Lopetegui wait until West Ham were 4-1 down before he finally made the triple substitution that was on the cards after Bissouma’s goal?
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In fairness Spurs were exhilarating. They were in front when Son played a pass behind Wan-Bissaka, who watched Udogie turn and tee up Bissouma for an easy finish.
They were rampant, soon surging forward again, Kulusevski’s flick setting up Son for a shot that Todibo deflected in off Areola for an own goal.
Todibo’s misery continued, Son bamboozling him with a couple of stepovers before firing a low shot past Areola, and all that was left was for Kudus to lose his head after clashing with Van de Ven. West Ham ended in deserved disgrace.
