Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LANZ OFHOPE &GORY
3-0 up when he came on, it ends up 3-3...Bale’s horror return
THAT probably was not the impact Gareth Bale was hoping for.
At 3-0 Tottenham were cruising, the game looked dead and buried and yet no one banked on one of the all-time great comebacks in Premier League history.
It was an astonishing game. Tottenham were fabulous in the f irst half, but th ey switched off and West Ham clawed their way back with a wonderful display of courage.
Substitute Manuel Lanzini (above) smashed a 20-yard screamer in off the crossbar in the fourth and final minute of time added on to spark wild celebrations among the West Ham players and visiting dugout.
Incredibly, Tottenham were second in the table when Bale came on after 73 minutes... and by the time the game finished and they had thrown away the lead they were sixth.
Football should never cease to surprise us – especially not in this crazy, madcap season – but no one could have seen this one coming.
Not with Tottenham 3-0 up after just 16 minutes.
Harry Kane was incredible. He scored twice and Heung-min Son was also on target as they destroyed poor old West Ham.
Lord alone knows what D av i d Mo y e s said to his players at half time.
Or maybe he did his team talk via video link as it had worked so well when he was self-isolating while he recovered from coronavirus.
West Ham showed far more fight and courage in the second half, but even so they were still 3-0 down at 81 minutes – and that made a piece of football history as no one has ever come from behind from that margin as late in a game.
Jose Mourinho looked shellshocked afterwards, struggling to explain away his team’s collapse. But you could see the confidence and belief drain from his players.
That is inexcusable from a team which had won 6-1 at Manchester United in their last match and with s o ma ny seasoned professionals. But they just switched off and, as soon as Fabian Balbuena pulled one back, the game changed and West Ham believed.
Where they got it from is hard to know, but credit must go to Moyes (top) for turning this season around, let alone this game.
The Hammers are no longer a soft touch, even after going behind inside 46 seconds.
Kane beat Balbuena in the centre circle and sprayed the most wonderful ball to release Son, who cut inside and curled the ball inside Lukasz Fabianski’s far post. That was eight goals in five games for Son.
Tottenham were 2-0 up after eight minutes when PierreEmile Hojbjerg found Son. The Korean set up Kane, who nutmegged Declan Rice and then smashed a low shot into the corner.
It was 3-0 after 16 minutes. Left-back Sergio Reguilon put
over a deep cross and there was Kane at the back post to head it home.
That is nine goals and nine assists for Kane this season. Remember when people said he would not score goals under Jose Mourinho? What a laugh.
The game should have been over. In fact, it was such a cruise they could even bring Bale (left) o n . We l c o m e back Gareth.
Spurs could have scored again when Kane hit the post, but it all changed after 83 minutes.
Aaron Cresswell, so influential with his crossing, put over a ball and Balbuena headed in. Two minutes later, Vladimir Coufal crossed and Davinson Sanchez headed into his own net.
Bale could have scored in injury time when he raced away and put Angelo Ogbonna on his backside, but steered the chance wide. That was the slice of luck West Ham needed – and earned with their spirit.
In the fourth minute of injury time, Cresswell’s f re e - k i c k wa s only half cleared, H a r r y Wi n k s could not get it away, and it fell to Lanzini to smash home a stunner.
Hu g o L l o r i s got a hand to the b ball but th ere w was no stopping i it. What a sensat tional finish. 3-3