Afotimber
A big win over Ipswich Town saw Julen Lopetegui safely through the international break just passed, but the next one is already looming large for the West Ham United manager.
Lopetegui will be without one of his best players, Mohammed Kudus, between now and the next international window, and could find himself sweating over his future by the time the Premier League stops again.
Kudus was sent off for a late moment of madness in which he floored Micky van de Ven and Richarlison, and shoved Pape Sarr in the face, in scenes more akin to WWE wrestling than a London derby.
That red card for violent conduct will earn Kudus a minimum three-game ban and those matches, against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton before the break, suddenly look pretty important for Lopetegui.
“We are going to talk,” said Lopetegui. “Not today. It’s not the day to talk but he [Kudus] will be aware he can improve his actions in these moments because it is not good for him or the team.”
Kudus had put West Ham ahead in the first half, but Dejan Kulusevski equalised before half-time and the visitors collapsed after the interval, conceding three goals in eight minutes.
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady may have stayed until the bitter end, but most of the visiting fans had given up on Lopetegui and his team long before the final whistle.
Lopetegui “sorry for the results”Asked if he had a message for worried supporters, Lopetegui said: “No message, but we are sure we are going to have better moments. The Premier League is very long for all the teams.
“We knew it was a hard start, but we are able to improve and win matches, I am sure. The end of the season is the moment to see where we are. At the moment, we are very frustrated, so sorry for the results but we will work very hard for the next challenge.”
Technical director Tim Steidten was not shy in claiming responsibility for West Ham’s big summer spend, but some of those signings are a long way from proving their worth.
Defender Jean-Clair Todibo suffered a miserable game, contributing to an own-goal, credited to goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, and being turned inside out by Son Heung-min before the Tottenham captain scored a comeback goal.
Guido Rodriguez was dragged off with just under 20 minutes remaining as Lopetegui moved to a back three, and where is striker Niclas Fullkrug, who is injured and still yet to score for the club?
Whereas Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou made a change at half-time, sending on Sarr in place of James Maddison, to give his midfield more energy and physicality, Lopetegui was slow to react – only making changes after his team had conceded three goals in a crazy second-half spell.
Sarr introduction supercharged Spurs“We needed more running power in midfield and Pape [Sarr] has lots of that, bags of energy and running,” said Postecoglou. “He really helped us to get control of the midfield and that gave us a good platform to go forward. Our general play improved from there and we looked dangerous going forward.”
For all the excitement of the Postecoglou era, Spurs had been without a win against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham with the Australian in charge before today.
It looked like it could be another difficult derby day for Tottenham and Postecoglou when Kudus put West Ham ahead after Jarrod Bowen had beaten Destiny Udogie. But Kulusevski levelled for the hosts before Spurs ran riot after the restart.
Yves Bissouma shot through the legs of Max Kilman in the 52nd minute before Todibo helped to deflect the ball off Areola into his own net and the returning Son netted on the hour mark.
VAR intervention ensured Kudus was sent offKudus thought he had got away with a yellow card for his WWE-style one-man assault on Van de Ven and Sarr, with Richarlison also grounded after running into him. But VAR sent referee Andrew Madley to the monitor and his booking was immediately cancelled in favour of a red card.
Postecoglou has previously claimed that derby games are no more important than regular matches. But, following his first win against a big London rival, the Australian acknowledged the importance of it to the Spurs supporters.
“It’s important for our fans, for sure, because these are the games they want to feel good about and win,” said Postecoglou. “Personally, any game we win I get equal joy out of, as I’ve always said. But part of the momentum we built in that second half came from the energy the supporters gave us, especially after we got the second goal.
“You could really feel the atmosphere in the stadium lift and that pushed us along. We need the support, especially at home, but for them to provide that we’ve got to give them something in return. So today’s hopefully a little bit of a reward for our fans.”