Tottenham Hotspur scored three goals in eight second-half minutes as they roared back from a goal down and pummelled West Ham United in north London.
Muhammed Kudus, who was later sent off for lashing out at both Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr, put the visitors ahead before Dejan Kulusevski restored parity.
Then, after half-time, Tottenham sent West Ham into a tailspin, with strikes from Yves Bissouma and the returning Son Heung-min sandwiching an own goal from Jean-Clair Todibo.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris break down the main talking points from a fine day at the office for Ange Postecoglou and his team.
Kulusevski opens the floodgates
The final result looked comfortable for Tottenham but it is worth remembering back to how nervous people were inside the stadium when it was still 1-0 to West Ham.
With Spurs struggling to turn possession into chances, it felt like it could have been another one of those frustrating days. What turned the game, and released the pressure from Spurs, was Dejan Kulusevski’s brilliant strike after 36 minutes.
As Spurs broke forward, Kulusevski cut in from the right, shaped to shoot into the far corner then pulled his shot hard to the near post. Via Alphonse Areola’s hand and both posts, the ball rolled in.
That was the moment the game changed. As soon as Spurs scored once, you could tell they were going to overwhelm West Ham. The dam had burst. The visitors could no longer keep up their diligent early defending, tracking runners and squeezing the space between the lines. Spurs looked like scoring every time they got the ball. Half-time was a relief for them.
Dejan Kulusevski was key to Tottenham’s comeback (Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
The important thing for Spurs was that they started the second half with the same intensity, dominating the ball and employing dangerous movement.
And they did, scoring three goals in eight minutes early in the second half. In truth, they should have finished the game with a few more goals than they did. When Spurs are on it, they attack in wave after unstoppable wave. It just took Kulusevski’s equaliser to get them going.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
The joy of vintage Son
When Son Heung-min got taken off with 20 minutes left, getting a standing ovation from the crowd, he looked like he was proud of his work. He also looked relieved that he was back to doing what he does best after a frustrating start to the season.
This was Son’s first appearance for three and a half weeks, following a hamstring injury, which saw Timo Werner taking his place on the left. But even before that, this had not been a vintage start to the season for Tottenham’s talisman.
He scored twice here against Everton on August 24, almost two months ago, but has not scored since. At times, he has looked like age was starting to catch up with him.
But against West Ham, Son looked back to his best and was unlucky to score only once. When he burst down the right onto Kulusevski’s flick, his shot deflected in off Todibo and was given as an own goal.
But then he scored a vintage Son goal, the sort of goal only he could score, racing onto Sarr’s diagonal, sending Todibo the wrong way with a stepover, and burying a low hard finish past Alphonse Areola.
It was a reminder of what a unique player he is and how potent he can still be. Spurs will hope there are more days like this to come.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Udogie gets his swagger back
Destiny Udogie received a lot of unwanted attention after Tottenham’s damaging defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break.
The 21-year-old mishit a clearance in the build-up to Yankuba Minteh’s goal and was outmuscled by Georginio Rutter before Danny Welbeck’s winner.
It was important that he started off strongly against West Ham but, after a few encouraging runs down the left wing, his defensive deficiencies were exposed by Jarrod Bowen. West Ham’s forward received the ball at the back post and, after briefly slipping, he turned past Udogie with ease and drilled a cross into the box, which Mohammed Kudus fired into the net.
Udogie responded brilliantly though and became a key attacking outlet for Spurs. He underlapped Son Heung-min and floated a cross into the box which bounced wide off Brennan Johnson’s shoulder. Then the Italy international created another chance for Pedro Porro, who acrobatically volleyed the ball over the bar.
Destiny Udogie holds off West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
West Ham could not work out how to contain Son and Udogie, so it was no surprise that they combined with each other for Yves Bissouma’s strike in the 52nd minute. Son found Udogie in the box and he pirouetted on the ball before passing it back to Bissouma for a simple finish.
Tottenham did not have much defending to do in the second half as they overwhelmed West Ham but Udogie made a great block on the line to prevent Kudus from scoring a second goal. It was an encouraging all-round performance, which will have helped rebuild the Italian’s confidence.
Jay Harris
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Tottenham?
Thursday, October 24: AZ Alkmaar (H), Europa League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)
