Tottenham, the Premier League’s early pacesetters, suffered their fourth defeat in five games on Wednesday, falling 2-1 to West Ham after once again blowing a lead.
Ange Postecoglou’s side stormed out of the gate this season, playing a brilliant brand of aggressive football and winning eight of their first ten games to top the table.
However, their pace has slowed considerably in recent weeks, and they now trail leaders and fierce London rivals Arsenal by nine points.
Spurs arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in high spirits after an entertaining 3-3 weekend draw against champions Manchester City, and they started in style.
Cristian Romero put the home side ahead early as a reward for their dominance, but the visitors levelled shortly after half-time through Jarrod Bowen, and James Ward-Prowse completed the turnaround in the 74th minute.
West Ham boss David Moyes was overjoyed with his team’s ability to “bloody nose” elite sides.
“Huge performance because of the quality of the opposition,” he explained to Amazon Prime. “We had a tough night tonight. We had to get our hands dirty. Fortunately, we just about made it.
“The quality Tottenham showed in the first half, I don’t know if we touched the ball for eight or nine minutes.”
Spurs are on top.
Spurs had about 90 percent possession in the first few minutes, but the visitors failed to create an impact.
They were rewarded in the 11th minute, when Romero met an outswinging cross from Pedro Porro and guided his header into the top corner from the penalty box.
The home team continued to dominate and generate opportunities, with Dejan Kulusevski standing out.
Lukasz Fabianski saved Giovani Lo Celso’s 35th-minute attempt before Brennan Johnson fired straight at the custodian.
Spurs, however, failed to capitalise on their huge advantage, and were relieved when Lucas Paqueta headed wide after a superb cross from Mohammed Kudus in the final minutes of the first half.
Spurs nearly increased their advantage on the stroke of halftime when West Ham skipper Kurt Zouma diverted Lo Celso’s cross into the stanchion.
The second stanza, on the other hand, was a different story, with West Ham dangerous on the break and Spurs’ energy levels dwindling.
England forward Bowen won the ball on the left and supplied Kudus, whose shot was diverted into Bowen’s path, and he made no mistake to draw in the 52nd minute, scoring for the league’s seventh away game in a straight.
Richarlison, a Spurs substitute, came agonisingly close to equalising with his first touch, but his header was inches wide of the back post.
West Ham, on the other hand, scored next, taking advantage of a defensive blunder.
Destiny Udogie sent a short back ball to keeper Guglielmo Vicario, who could only deflect it away to Ward-Prowse, who hit the post but tucked the rebound into an empty net.
It means the Spurs have now lost five consecutive games after scoring first, losing four and won one.
Son Heung-min, the captain of Tottenham Hotspur, urged for his squad to be more ruthless.
“You get the lead five times in a row and losing the game is unacceptable,” he went on to say.
“We were soft, especially in the Premier League, where even if you win 2-0 or 3-0, you never know what will happen in the end.” One-nil isn’t enough; you must attempt to end the game.”
Spurs are now fifth, three points behind the top four, while West Ham are ninth.