West Ham United surrendered a solid first-half display in spectacular fashion, collapsing defensively during a chaotic 18-minute period to suffer a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
The two sides went into the break level at 1-1, but by the 60th minute, Spurs had taken full control, netting three quickfire goals.
Yves Bissouma gave the hosts the lead early in the second half, capitalising on sluggish West Ham defending to fire past Alphonse Areola. Things only got worse for the visitors, whose defensive frailties were laid bare in front of a stunned away contingent.
A disastrous mix-up between summer signing Jean-Clair Todibo and goalkeeper Areola gifted Tottenham their third goal.
Son Heung-min’s dangerous cross caused confusion in the West Ham backline, and as the two defenders failed to communicate, the ball bounced into the net for an unfortunate own goal by Areola.
Minutes later, Son added Spurs’ fourth, exploiting a huge gap in the right side of West Ham’s defence. Given far too much space to operate, the South Korean star glided into the area, leaving the Hammers reeling as he slotted home with ease on his return to the starting lineup.
Scottish football icon Ally McCoist, working as a pundit for TNT Sports, was left baffled by West Ham’s defensive breakdown. Reflecting on Areola’s own goal, McCoist said:
“If there was going to be a goal at the end of the move, it deserved a better goal than it got. An excellent ball again from Son with the outside of his right foot, takes a touch there, beautiful. He continues his run and gives Kulusevski the option. It’s a catalogue of disasters. It really is. Disaster for West Ham.”
McCoist didn’t hold back in his criticism of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who had shown promise earlier but faltered at key moments. After Spurs’ fourth goal, McCoist remarked:
“It’s a great finish. But dear me, where is Wan-Bissaka? Where is your right full back? I know he’s up the pitch looking for an overlap but he leaves Todibo in a position there which Son just wants to exploit.
“He wants to take him one vs one, stepover, gets his half yard, keeps it down low and hard and it goes in. I understand that West Ham are chasing a little bit but Wan-Bissaka’s positioning there for me is poor.”
The defeat leaves West Ham searching for answers after a collapse that saw a promising performance unravel in spectacular fashion.