Tottenham’s defensive frailties hammered

An injury-time wonder goal by Manuel Lanzini saw West Ham complete the most unlikely of comebacks to secure a 3-3 draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It was a result that barely seemed possible as Spurs raced into a 3-0 half-time lead.

The quality of Spurs attacking play in the first 45 minutes, suggested the north Londoners are capable of mounting a genuine title challenge this campaign. The paucity of their defence in the game’s final breathless eight minutes, however, exposed just how far away Jose Mourinho’s men still are.

It took 45 seconds for the Premier League’s most devastating forward combination to punch through West Ham. Kane, receiving the ball deep in his own half, immediately released Son with a long curling pass. Fabian Balbuena will have known the sprinting South Korean favours cutting back on to his lethal right foot. But being prepared for what Son will do, and actually stopping him, is a vastly different proposition.

The moment Son skipped inside the Paraguayan defender, it felt inevitable the ball would end up in Fabianski’s net. Son’s low curling finish into the bottom right corner was perfection. It also gave Harry Kane a seventh Premier League assist this season.

Within five minutes, the favour was repaid. Son, retrieving a deep Bergwijn cross, laid the ball off to the England captain on the edge of the box. Confronted by Declan Rice, Kane slipped the ball through his national team colleague’s legs before firing a low drive that left Fabianski cemented to the spot. The game it seemed was all but over before West Ham had even begun.

Tottenham’s third arrived on the quarter-hour mark. Reguilon – fed down the left by Son – sent a teasing cross to the back post. It was a ball of such beauty it demanded to be finished. Kane, jumping high above Cresswell, obliged with an emphatic header. This was Kane’s tenth goal of a campaign which is fast threatening to become his best in a Tottenham shirt. No mean feat, given the brilliant trajectory of his career thus far.

The rest of the first half afforded Kane the platform to demonstrate why he is such a complete player. Time and again he took up positions between the West Ham midfield and defence that allowed him to showcase his sublime range of passing. When it comes to Kane, comparisons with Glenn Hoddle are just as appropriate as likening his goalscoring talent to Jimmy Greaves.

Just before the interval, Kane even produced a goal-saving block in his own box worthy of the finest centre-halves. If only Tottenham’s defenders had followed his example in the game’s closing stages.

Such was Tottenham’s apparent comfort during the second half it became an exercise in bench watching. Gareth Bale finally made his long-awaited second Spurs debut in the 72nd minute replacing Steven Bergwijn on the right of Tottenham’s attack. His first touch was to line up a free-kick from long range which Fabianski gathered comfortably. Rather than a dream return, Bale was about to play a leading role in a Tottenham nightmare.

Before the home side’s agony started, however, Kane hit the post with a left-foot first-time shot in the 78th minute. It would have been the perfect hat-trick his performance deserved. A fourth goal would not have flattered the home side. It proved a decisive turning point.

Four minutes later Sissoko gave away a free-kick in the right-back position. He then compounded his error by allowing Balbuena to rise above him to head home Aaron Creswell’s cross. It was identical to the goal Spurs conceded to Everton in their opening game of the season. Panic took hold of those in Tottenham white. Davinson Sanchez was particularly afflicted. In the 85th minute, the Colombian defender put through his own net with a diving header when trying to divert Vladimir Coulfal’s cross. West Ham smelt blood as the game entered injury-time.

But before they could mount a final attack, Bale had the chance to settle the contest. Played through by Kane, the Welshman showed that despite the tribulations of his last two seasons in Madrid, he is still peerless when it comes to dribbling at full pace. A lightning-quick change of feet saw him bearing down on Fabianski’s goal. It was a piece of skill that deserved to be finished with a flourish. It wasn’t. Bale sent his left-foot shot a fraction wide of the post.

Forcing a corner in the dying seconds, West Ham made full use of their reprieve. Spurs appeared to have cleared the danger as they scraped the ball away to the edge of their box. But there was the diminutive Lanzini to send home a rasping drive, via Lloris’s fingertips and the underside of the bar. The Spurs players dropped to the turf in despair, while Lanzini was submerged by a wave of joyous West Ham bodies.

For Gareth Bale, it was a stark reminder. While the infrastructure and personnel at the club may have evolved beyond all recognition during his seven-year absence, Tottenham’s ability to self destruct on the pitch hasn’t changed a bit.