Tottenham 0-1 West Ham: Spurs give rivals hope following shock first defeat at new stadium
Spurs handed their fellow top four challengers a glimmer of hope following a surprise 1-0 defeat to London rivals West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Michail Antonio’s fine second half strike was enough to give the Hammers victory after the versatile forward latched onto Marko Arnautovic’s brilliant pass to fire past Hugo Lloris.
With Mauricio Pochettino’s man perhaps having one eye on their Champions League semi-final clash with Ajax on Tuesday, the first half was a cagey affair with chances at a premium.
Tottenham had the better of the opening exchanges but Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen both had efforts saved by Lukasz Fabianski.
A couple of rare West Ham forays forward saw Ryan Fredericks and Filipe Anderson both test Hugo Lloris but the Frenchman was equal to anything fired his way.
However, the visitors grew into the game after the break and were rewarded as Antonio’s strike game them the lead.
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After some good work in midfield from Declan Rice, the England international found Arnautovic on the right hand side.
The Austrian then lifted a perfectly weighted pass to Antonio, who got the better of Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez before beating Lloris.
West Ham were good value for the victory in the end and could have even added a second following a fine run from Issa Diop, but Lloris kept his effort out.
Spurs substitute Vincent Janssen could have snatched a last gasp equaliser but West Ham’s Fabian Balbuena cleared the Dutchman’s header off the line in the dying seconds of the game.
Antonio’s strike was the first goal Spurs had conceded at their new ground following its opening earlier this month.
Tottenham’s had previously beaten Crystal Palace, Huddersfield and Brighton in the league at the new 62,000 capacity state-of-the-art arena as well as securing a famous 1-0 Champions League victory over Manchester City.
However, the lilywhites will be disappointed after dropping points for the first time at their new home to their bitter rivals from East London.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side sit in 11th place and have little to play for in the league but will take pride in inflicting this defeat on Tottenham.
Spurs remain third in the table on 70 points with just two matches remaining.
Three points behind are Chelsea, who travel to sixth place Manchester United this weekend, with the Old Trafford club reeling after a 4-0 thumping by Everton and a 2-0 setback at home to Manchester City this week.
Spurs’ North London rivals Arsenal, currently fifth on 66 points and a point ahead of United, face Leicester on Sunday having suffered back-to-back defeats against Crystal Palace and Wolves respectively.
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