José Mourinho will say that he is proud of his people, that the second half was very serious, that he deserved another luck. And you will be right. But he will look at the table and see that he is still immersed in the Premier League, giving way and adding losses, moving away, perhaps certainly, from the European qualifying zone.
The executioner was West Ham, who defeated Tottenham 2-1 and prevailed in fourth place in the standings, while his rival is still far from anything, in the ninth box.
The first half, full of inaccuracies and few options for goal, condemned the visiting team, which had Dávinson Sánchez as the starter, with some lime and other sand.
The Colombian suffered from 5 minutes due to a confusion between Dyer and Tanganga and yes, a cross that was passed to Dávinson and everyone, confused, asking for a foul that they did not whistle, while Antonio appeared at middle, twice, punish Lloris.
And it could have been worse because at the age of 10 Lingard forgave by making a bad decision in the end, after defeating Dávinson’s back. The prospects did not look good for the Colombian or for Mourinho.
Tottenham reacted for up to 12 minutes in a Lamela race that Kane could not capitalize on. A tough clash with the Colombian forced Soucek to score points on the eyebrow and West Ham to play with a few minutes, which “Spurs” could not capitalize on.
Lloris saved Dávinson at the age of 37 when Dawson hit him with his head and Tottenham were still fat, who ran a lot but had only a few shots on goal by Lamela (42) and Kane (45 + 1) before to lower the blind for the first time.
And nothing changed for the complement, or rather yes: Bale arrived in Lamela’s place (all very Mourinho, take out the only one who tried) and, with delayed effect on behalf of VAR, West Ham scored second in the first minute of the game, when Lingard slipped between Dier and Sánchez – again the Colombian the second afternoon – and the score became 2-0. Still bad for Mourinho.
But the difference is always made by talent, and Tottenham’s payroll has many of these, which he reduced to 63 in a free kick by Bale, which was left to Lucas Moura.
“Mou’s team was full of confidence, Dávinson was infected, winning a key ball in line against Benhrama and another against Fornals, while Son escaped the tie in the center of Kane.
At the age of 78, there was a miracle in the West Ham area: Bale joined Kane, the center of the scorer who wasted Dele Alli and on his return Bale collapsed on the crossbar … Incredible! What a pity that not only the draw, but an exceptional piece was wasted.
And in the end West Ham was saved again when Son’s attempt collapsed in the post … who can say that “Spurs” did not try!
The blows forced him to play beyond the 90s, but there was not enough time for a Tottenham who fought, who had to draw, but failed and was left empty-handed and increasingly far from the prominence expected from an irregular team, which paid off badly.