Angelo Ogbonna has opened up on West Ham’s stunning comeback against Tottenham last October but insists that he and his teammates are wary that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will be looking for revenge after last season’s encounters.
The Hammers produced arguably the comeback of the season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when they came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3, with the points shared courtesy of an injury time stunner from Manuel Lanzini.
West Ham claimed eventual bragging rights in the reverse fixture, however, notching a 2-1 victory with goals from Jesse Lingard and Michail Antonio.
The two sides are set to battle it out this afternoon and Ogbonna has recalled his side’s famous comeback against Spurs last season, and says his teammates were always confident of pulling off the unthinkable.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “They thought the game was over. I’ve seen their faces. But they didn’t know about West Ham. The new West Ham. I think it’s part of the West Ham character. I always say that the team here makes me proud.
“The moment we are struggling, we are fighting, we survive. All Italians are like that. When Italians struggle, we survive. It’s the best moment. We knew it. We knew we could come back.
“Sometimes football is unpredictable. We want to do something more against Tottenham. Every fan can feel that. We are looking forward to it.”
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The Italian defender has also played his part in another West Ham comeback against Spurs, when he scored the winner during the North Londoners’ stint at Wembley in 2017, which saw the Hammers come away with a 3-2 win from 2-0 down.
While Ogbonna clearly likes to revel in West Ham’s previous showings against Spurs, he is wary that Nuno’s men will be looking for revenge after last season’s disappointing results against them.
“I remember the game at Wembley,” Ogbonna continued. “We went 2-0 down. Slaven Bilic was on the line but everyone was behind him and wanted to do something for him. I think it was the best goal I’ve scored for West Ham.
“But Lanzini’s goal was… last minute. No-one expected that, top corner and I was the one who had blocked Winks from scoring. Now Tottenham is a new environment. They will want revenge because they lost in our stadium as well and they will want to show they are different.
“Now we will have to show what we’ve been fighting for. West Ham fans create the most amazing atmosphere. When we play we don’t play with 11 players, we have a 12th player and this is a special game.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Spurs have always found it tough against West Ham as they are always up for this fixture, and last season’s results were the most disappointing for a while. It doesn’t help that both sides have had contrasting results in Europe during midweek, but like all London derbies, anything can happen on the day.
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