Tottenham vs West Ham Post-Match Report

Tottenham Hotspur suffer a 2-1 loss against West Brom(A) in the Premier League

Full Time at the London Stadium

Goal scorers: Moura(64')

Player Ratings:

Starting XI:

Lloris: 4.5

Reguilon(came off 77'): 5.5

Sanchez: 5.5

Dier: 3

Tanganga(came off 45'): 4.5

Hojberg: 5.5

Ndombele: 6

Lamela(came off 45'): 6

Son: 5

Moura: 7

Kane: 6

Substitutes:

Doherty(came on 45'): 5

Bale(came on 45'): 7.5

Alli(came on 77'): 6

Tottenham's MOTM: Gareth Bale

Match Analysis:

Defense: 

Tottenham's defense has been a constant liability this season and it showed against West Ham. Individual defensive errors were the source of Tottenham's conceded goals.

Reguilon showed a lot of liveliness on the left side, but couldn't manage to pin-point a successful cross into the box. However, it was his first match since his 7-match injury.

Eric Dier was caught ball watching for the first West Ham goal. He was very sluggish in the backline and couldn't get his feet moving fast enough to block shots.

Sanchez had to cover for Eric Dier's mistakes many times which led to some mistakes from him. He used his pace to make some last-man passes back to the keeper.

Tanganga had a very busy game since West Ham had a strong left attack. Jose Mourinho subbed him off as the gaffer wanted to get some attacking input from his full backs.

Midfield: 

The midfield battle was crucial against West Ham. 

Ndombele was able to use his superb dribbling skills to fasten the pace of Tottenham's attack. However, West Ham's midfield, which consisted of Soucek and Rice, did not allow him to make many passes going forward. 

Hojberg had a very average game, but he did make many mistakes which led to West Ham counterattacks. He did cover for the 2 full backs many times since West Ham committed many players in the attack.

Attack: 

Tottenham's attacking threat was very minimal in the first half. In the second half, there was more action for Kane, Moura, Son, and Bale

Kane was very quiet in the first half and whenever he had the ball, he got dispossessed. He did take some shots, but none were on target. He was able to get into the box for headers more frequently in the second half.

Moura's light and skillful dribbles were a threat to West Ham's defense. However, there was nothing that came from those dribbles. Lucas Moura was able to score a header, from Bale's cross, which gave Tottenham hopes of getting the equalizer.

Son was very quiet, like Kane, in the first half. He constantly made passes back to the defense and didn't make many efforts to take shots. In the second half, he made several crosses and took some shots, but most of them were way off target.

Bale's introduction to the match changed the attitude of Tottenham's play style. There were way more crosses to the box and many shots were being taken. Bale was able to get the assist from Moura's extraordinary header. Gareth Bale looks like he is slowly gaining the form that was expected of him. 

Lamela successfully dribbled through West Ham players in the first half. Lamela was the source of many counterattacks, but none proved to be of any use. He was subbed off at half time since he was on a yellow card.

Alli dropped into many good spaces when he came on. He had some chances to score, but West Ham's defense was just too compact to break down.

Tottenham have many positive aspects to take from the game, but Jose Mourinho must sort out the consistent defensive errors that cost the match.

Tottenham play Wolfsberger in the second leg of the Round of 32 in the Europa League. Tottenham must focus their attention on the Europa League in order to achieve silverware this season. 

Come On You Spurs