“To do it against a Spurs who are doing very well this season and who have conceded the least goals and scored the most goals, blah, blah, blah and to do it in style means they should be happy with the result, not us”.
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The Hammers went ahead through Michail Antonio’s seventh-minute header and were unfortunate not to extend their lead before half-time.
Gunners boss Wenger is likely to make changes for tonight’s must-win clash with Swansea but it remains to be seen whether Sanchez will be taken out of the firing line and his determination to play may make it hard.
“We didn’t start well”.
“It’s clear we are in a very good position but there are still 11 games to play”.
West Ham were hungry and combative, refusing to allow their London rivals time to breathe let alone play the kind of football that had taken them to within touching distance of the Premier League title. “We made some mistakes and the team didn’t feel free to play the way they play”, stated Pochettino.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday laughed off Leicester City counterpart Claudio Ranieri’s claim that his team are the favourites for the Premier League title.
Tevez at least proved vital as West Ham escaped relegation at the expense of an irate Sheffield United in 2006-07 as his seven goals in the final 10 games proved crucial. It wasn’t a surprise that their first meaningful effort of the game came from long range, Toby Alderweireld forcing Adrian into a save from 30 yards, before Harry Kane’s rebound was blocked.
Although West Ham remains sixth, it is only a point behind fourth-place City, which lost 3-0 at Liverpool. That leaves Emmanuel Emenike to make just his second start for West Ham up front. So from the get-go we went out and attacked them.
Erik Lamela had a decent opportunity to score early in the second half when Trippier was caught napping at the near post, allowing the Argentine to meet the end of a cross and divert a header, but his attempt went wide.
But, after West Ham defender James Collins limped off to be replaced by Reece Oxford, the visitor was fortunate not to fall 2-0 down when Antonio spurned a chance to double his tally, firing over from Payet’s superb free-kick in the 66th minute.
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If they stutter in any of those three big Premier League matches – or, in fact, against anyone else in the run-in – some will accuse Tottenham of lacking backbone and steel.
