In the early morning of December 8th, Beijing time, in the 15th round of the Premier League, Tottenham faced West Ham United at home. In the first half, Romero scored with a header, Lo Celso’s volley was saved, and Paqueta had a great chance to miss; in the second half, Bowen equalized the score, Udoki made a mistake in the return pass, and Ward-Prowse Go ahead. In the end, West Ham reversed Tottenham 2-1.
As one of the BIG6, Tottenham started the season unbeaten in 10 games, beating Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal to continue to lead the standings. Then they suffered three consecutive losses and fell to fifth place in the standings until the last round away draw. After Manchester City, the losing streak ended.
In this round, the leader Arsenal won, leaving Tottenham 9 points behind with one game in hand. The championship situation was very unfavorable, so there was no room for error when returning to home against West Ham United.
Sitting at home, Tottenham has a clear advantage, with a ball possession rate of more than 70%, and many statistics such as shots, shots on target, corner kicks, crosses, and dribbles. However, they only played good goals for half a game, mainly concentrated in the first half. Entering the second half, Tottenham’s defense made frequent mistakes, especially Udoki’s fatal return pass error, which directly gave West Ham United a goal, changing the trend of the game. In the next 20 minutes of the game, Tottenham were unable to equalize. Star star Son Heung-min failed to score a goal and was substituted early.
According to statistics, this is the fourth time Tottenham has been reversed in the last five league rounds. Winning first and losing later seems to have become the team’s habit. This loss ended Tottenham’s five-game unbeaten streak at home against West Ham United, and they fell again after four years.
In the last five rounds of the league, Tottenham have been winless, with a record of 1 draw and 4 losses, and only gained 1 point, which was an away draw with Manchester City. The points are still 27 points. While there is no chance of tying with Manchester City, they only rely on the goal difference advantage to beat Manchester United and continue to rank fifth in the standings.
Judging from their recent performance, Tottenham have no hope of winning the title, and they are facing very fierce competition for the fourth place. Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City are firmly in the top four. Villa suddenly broke into the top position. At the same time, Manchester United, Newcastle, and Brighton are behind them step by step. Pressing hard, the difference between the two sides was less than a goal.
Detailed review of the game——
In the second minute of the opening, Kulu got a single chance in the penalty area, but goalkeeper Fabianski attacked and destroyed it in advance, and the ball went out of the baseline.
In the 12th minute, Polo took a corner kick and Romero scored in the penalty area, helping Tottenham lead 1-0.
In the 17th minute, Sun Xingmin directly chose a long shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball was confiscated by goalkeeper Fabianski.
In the 35th minute, Lo Celso volleyed from the penalty area and was blocked by goalkeeper Fabianski.
In the 44th minute, Paqueta headed the ball unguarded and missed the perfect opportunity.
In the 52nd minute, Kudus shot from outside the penalty area and the ball fell to Bowen. The latter pushed the top corner into the net to help West Ham equalize the score 1-1.
In the 70th minute, Tottenham made a cross from the wing and Richarlison’s header missed the post.
In the 74th minute, Udoki made a mistake in returning a gift from the backcourt, and Ward-Prowse scored twice in a row to help West Ham lead the score 2-1.
Tottenham starting lineup: 13-Vicario, 23-Polo, 17-Romero, 33-Ben Davis, 38-Udoji, 8-Bissouma, 5-Hojbjerg, 18-Lo Celso, 21-Kulusevski, 22-Johnson, 7-Son Heung-min
West Ham starting: 1-Fabianski, 5-Coffal, 4-Zuma, 27-Agde, 33-Emerson, 19-Alvarez, 7-Ward-Prowse , 28-Soucek, 14-Kudus, 10-Paqueta, 20-Bowen