Tottenham Hotspur played hosts to West Ham United at Wembley Stadium on Thursday night looking to close the gap to fourth-placed Liverpool in the Premier League standings. Mauricio Pochettino opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation against the Hammers but they struggled to break down the West Ham backline in the first half, even with star striker Harry Kane on their side. The second half was a tale of two wonder-strikes with the Hammers, to the surprise of many, taking the lead in the 70th minute when Pedro Obiang unleashed a ferocious shot from long-range. Tottenham responded 14 minutes later through Son Heung-min’s excellent strike which beat the Hammers keeper and made the contest level again.
The match ended with both teams sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Wembley Stadium on Thursday night.
Let’s shed some light on how each Tottenham Hotspur player fared on the night.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 6/10
He hardly had anything to do in the first half. The French goalkeeper was left helpless when Pedro Obiang unleashed a powerful shot from long range. However, he made a very significant save to deny Andre Ayew late on to save his team’s blushes.
RB: Serge Aurier – 6/10
He was always a threat down the right flank with his pace but his delivery into the box was woeful at times.
CB: Davinson Sanchez – 5/10
Not a good game from the Colombian international, he almost cost his team a goal when he cheaply gave away the ball at the centre of the park to Javier Hernandez but fortunately for him, the Mexican forward failed to capitalize on that chance.
CB: Jan Vertonghen – 6/10
He did well in central defence and often joined the Spurs attack to provide support to their frontline.
LB: Ben Davies – 6/10
He had a mediocre game at left-back. The full-back didn’t have much to do defensively but was unable to provide a spark going forward.
CM: Eric Dier – 6/10
He was industrious in the midfield and put in a tireless performance for his team.
CM: Moussa Sissoko – 6/10
He hugged the right flank often but couldn’t manage to create many chances in the opposition third.
RAM: Christian Eriksen – 7/10
Another consistent performance from the Danish international. He was excellent in the first-half but slightly faded after the break.
CAM: Dele Alli – 6/10
The youngster tried his best to score but unlike Tuesday night, he couldn’t manage to get his name into the scoresheet.
LAM: Son Heung-min – 9/10
By far, the best player on the pitch for Tottenham. He was busy cutting in from the left flank and linking play with his teammates. The South Korean scored a wonder goal from long-range and came to his side’s rescue in the final ten minutes of the game.
ST: Harry Kane – 7/10
The English striker was unlucky not to score but when he did, it was ruled out due to offside. He will be desperate to return to form soon with the West Ham defence doing just enough to keep him quiet on the night.
Substitutes:
RM: Erik Lamela- 7/10
The Argentine came off the bench and bagged an assist for his team in lead up to Son’s wonder-strike.
Victor Wanyama – 6/10
He hardly had any meaningful impact in the game.
Fernando Llorente – N/A
The Spanish forward didn’t have enough time to make an impact in the contest.
