MANUEL LANZ THE KNOCKOUT BLOW Stunned Spurs see title hopes get Hammered
IT’S happening again.
Exactly one year to the week that they blew it to leave the title in Leicester’s hands, Tottenham are seeing it all slip away again. Eleven years on from the defeat at West Ham that denied them Champions League football, their ambitions are bigger but the heartbreak is the same. Manuel Lanzini’s 64thminute winner – a reward for his outstanding performance at the London Stadium – means Tottenham surely can’t catch Chelsea now. They must forget about taking it to the title wire. Chelsea will surely extend their lead back to seven points with victory over Middlebrough on Monday night. It now looks a bridge too far for Tottenham.
Even Mauricio Pochettino’s all-stars, for all their belief and invincible spirit, know that Chelsea won’t surrender it from here.
Tottenham now will have to wait until next season. The tears shed in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge last year will surely have been repeated in the bowels of the London Stadium after this.
It won’t have gone unnoticed by Pochettino either that on a big pitch, the kind on which Spurs will play all their home games next season at Wembley, his players couldn’t cope.
They couldn’t put together the passing game with which they had racked up nine wins out of nine for the first time since 1960. They couldn’t worry their opponents out of it the way that they have done
so impressively at White Hart Lane.
They couldn’t breach the renewed defensive solidity which has given West Ham three clean sheets from their last four matches. It is the first time this season the Irons have gone five consecutive matches without defeat.
In doing so they have delivered yet another, piercing, surely fatal blow to Tottenham’s title bid.
For so long this season nobody could question the north Londoners’ strength in adversity.
They’d beaten Burnley away without Harry Kane. Come back at Swansea from a goal behind after 88 minutes. They’d toughed it out to beat a Crystal Palace side that had seen off Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Then, of course, they made north London theirs with that crushing win over Arsenal last weekend.
In this corner of east London, however, the run was brought to shuddering end.
Despite Andy Carroll’s groin preventing him from leading the line the Hammers were at it. Just five minutes in, Andre Ayew released Lanzini at the back post but the Argentine could only drive his diagonal effort wide.
Six minutes later it took Ben Davies and the excellent Victor Wanyama to prevent Sam Byram heading in a cross to the back post,
West Ham keeper Adrian then produced a string of saves to keep his side in it. First he did superbly on 21 minutes to twice deny Kane, once with his legs.
He then saved at his near post from an Eric Dier header. Both stops would prove crucial as the tension mounted. Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld had efforts wide of goal. Tottenham’s goalscoring touch had deserted them.
Cue Lanzini. Aaron Cresswell crossed into the box, Tottenham – normally so composed – failed to clear. The ball was sent back across goal by Sam Byram and Lanzini rammed it in.
Perhaps it was justice for the Argentine, who had been brought down by keeper Lloris on the edge of the Tottneham area in the first half (left) amidst calls for a penalty.
Bilic has been under pressure because of his team’s failure to adapt to a new stadium. It might just be that this win has given the club lift-off.
For Tottenham, it is Groundhog Day.