POCH’S BID
MANUEL LANZINI burst the Tottenham bubble last night.
The Argentine struck from close range in the 65th minute to rock Mauricio Pochettino’s title hopefuls.
It was against the run of play in a match Spurs looked to be dominating and it left them with that sinking feeling again.
Spurs were desperate for a 10th straight win in the league to get them within a point of title rivals Chelsea, who face Middlesbrough at home on Monday.
Crumble
But after a difficult first season at the London Stadium it seemed the Irons had decided to show their mettle for once.
It was at this stage of the season a year ago that Pochettino’s men started to crumble, having chased Leicester for so long, picking up two points out of the last 12.
At first, last night, Spurs were seemingly shocked by the intensity of the West Ham approach, with manager Slaven Bilic eager to show he was still the right man for the Hammers job.
Victor Wanyama had to use all his power to stop Sam Byram getting a free head to an inviting Aaron Cresswell cross and Cheikhou Kouyate was allowed space to nod at goal but too far out to trouble Hugo Lloris.
Mark Noble was booked in the 15th minute for sliding in aggressively on Eric Dier, a minute after Kyle Walker was cautioned for catching Lanzini, although he did look to touch the ball first.
Spurs started slowly but in the 22nd minute, a long ball forward from Toby Alderweireld found Harry Kane, whose shot was blocked by Hammers keeper Adrian.
It went straight to Dele Alli and his effort struck Byram.
Next the ball deflected back to Kane and his second shot was turned over the bar by Adrian’s boot.
From the corner the Spanish keeper clawed away at the near post when Dier flicked on