Tottenham – West Ham: Tottenham Hotspur blew a three-goal lead in unbelievable fashion, as Manuel Lanzini’s Goal of the Season candidate at the very death led West Ham to a 3-3 draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
The rocket goal ruined Gareth Bale’s return and an otherworldly first half from Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, who went wild in the first half.
The game recalled Jose Mourinho’s first in charge of Spurs, when they built a 3-0 away lead only to hold on through two late Irons goals.
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This time, though, it Lanzini, Fabian Balbuena, and a Davinson Sanchez own goal that gave West Ham a remarkable point.
Kane scored twice and assisted Son for another as Spurs scored thrice before the game was 20 minutes old. Son assisted one of Kane’s goals with Sergio Reguilon assisting the other.
Gareth Bale entered the game late to make his first appearance for Spurs in 2,709 days; Bale last put on a Tottenham shirt in a competitive fixture when he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Sunderland in May 2013.
Tottenham – West Ham saw a tight ending that proved the Premier League is up for just about anything this season.
Three things we learned from Tottenham – West Ham
1. Kane (and Son) are record chasers: Look it’s only been five games and Spurs have not exactly played defensive stalwarts but both Harry Kane and Heung-min Son are on pace to break the Premier League goal record. Kane is also on pace to break the assist record. Of course even one of those marks falling would be an amazing achievement but given the wide open nature of the Premier League this season it’s not an insane thought.
Kane, for what it’s worth, would currently register 38 goals and just over 53 assists by our pace calculations. Seems reasonable (if you’re Lionel Messi and it’s 2011). According to Opta, Kane’s five goals and seven assists are the most goal involvements through five matches in PL history.
2. What in the world did we just see? The game could not have been more comfortable when West Ham began its comeback with an 82nd-minute goal from Balbuena. Then came the odd own goal from Sanchez. But Spurs looked set to see out the three points right until the very last moment, when Lanzini hit-and-hoped this ridiculous strike from distance to secure a point.
West Ham deserves full credit for an outrageous, never-quit comeback against a team that had looked like Premier League title contenders for most of the match. Lucky? Sure, yet earned.
WHAT A STRIKE!
IT'S 3-3. WEST HAM TIE IT. pic.twitter.com/p8302notOq
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 18, 2020
3. Return of Bale: Gareth Bale entered in the 73rd minute, a vision nearly a decade in the dreams of Spurs fans since he left for Real Madrid. He took a free kick with his first touch, something that would’ve sent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into the ether were fans in the stands. They weren’t, and his kick went right to Fabianski, but the sight itself felt right. Welcome back. Can it be the Harry and (no one calls him this) Gary show?
Man of the Match
(It’s still Harry Edward Kane).
Tottenham – West Ham recap
It took less than a minute for Spurs to find a way through the Irons, Kane hitting a nice pass to Son that the South Korean cut inside to curl past Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham tried to answer twice in the next five minutes, Aaron Cresswell just missing with a dangerous free kick before being denied a goal off a corner by an intervening Davinson Sanchez.
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Kane got his goal in the eighth minute with a venomous strike from 20 yards, taking the ball from Son and nutmegging England teammate Declan Rice before unleashing his shot.
The second half didn’t provide much of anything besides monitoring Kane’s pursuit of a hat trick and Bale’s “second” Spurs debut.
But hold on! Balbuena turned in a Cresswell assist in the 82nd minute and Davinson Sanchez scored an own goal three minutes later to put a scare into Tottenham.
Bale used a terrific 1v1 move to get himself in position to restore a multi-goal lead but fired wide, minutes before Lanzini’s incredible equalizer. What even is the Premier League 2020-21 season?
