Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s gutting draw against West Ham

Tottenham Hotspur may have cruised to a 3-0 lead within the first 16 minutes today against West Ham, but the away side drew level in the final minute of the game thanks to a Lanzini thunderbolt.

Let’s take a look at five things we learned from the gutting result:

Gareth is back!

Let’s start with the return of the prodigal son. After weeks of anticipation, Mourinho finally named Gareth Bale on the bench for the very first time, seven years after he left North London for Real Madrid. As if that wasn’t enough, we actually got to see the Welshman on the pitch too! If only he had put in that golden chance to make it 4-2 and secure the win.

The Bale and Son story continues –

Every week you assume that someone will find an answer to the Kane and Son link-up, but time and time again the deadly duo carve apart defences. Within eight minutes today, Kane had set up Son, before the South Korean returned the favour. It is no exaggeration to say that the two of them are unplayable at the moment in this new system. The only thing that was missing was the win.

Tanguy time!

This is the Ndombele we have wanted to see since he joined last summer! Not only did he showcase his silky skills and range of passing/dribbling against the Hammers, but he actually got stuck in too! Sprinting back to cover, flying into challenges, cutting off passing channels, the Frenchman was everywhere! Spurs lost something when he went off.

Same old problems – 

No matter how good Spurs are going forward, they have the same old problems at the back. They lose out from set-pieces far too often, they are not dominant enough in the air, and they always seem to crumble when put under immense pressure. Mourinho needs to find some kind of solution to the back four frailties if he is to mount a trophy charge this season.

First glimpse at Vinicius in the bench – 

While all the talk was about the return of Gareth Bale, new signing Carlos Vinicius also took his place on the Tottenham bench for the first time today. Spurs have been crying out for a second striker for well over a year and that man has finally arrived.

Related Topics