Premier League 2018/19: 3 mistakes Tottenham committed against West Ham United

Tottenham Hotspur were handed a shock 1-0 defeat by cross-city rivals West Ham United in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. The Hammers, in the process, became the first side to register an away win at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Manuel Pellegrini's men were determined and ruthless from the beginning and made Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs look like dummies.

We pick out three mistakes committed by Tottenham which led to their loss to West Ham United on Saturday:

---

#1 Poor performance by centre-back duo

Toby Alderweireld had a poor game

Tottenham's central defenders Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez had a tough afternoon and could not prevent West Ham's Michail Antonio from taking the lead. Both Alderweireld and Sanchez did not put up strong enough performances for their manager Mauricio Pochettino to stand up and applaud.

Belgian Alderweireld and Colombian Sanchez were an unlikely pairing, to begin with, with the former's usual partner Jan Vertonghen being left out of the matchday squad by manager Pochettino for 'big fatigue' and the result was pretty ordinary. Once your centre-halves have a poor game themselves, it is hard for the rest of the team to emerge above their shadows.

---

#2 Players playing out of position

Juan Foyth played at right-back on Saturday

Tottenham's manager Pochettino played centre-back Juan Foyth in the right-back position when he had regular right-backs Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker-Peters warming the benches. Although the young Argentinian put up a decent performance, Spurs lacked the control and tenacity that someone like Trippier would have provided them with.

The idea to play Foyth at right-back was bold and almost paid off, but Spurs would surely have been better served if England international Trippier had made it to the starting eleven. Young Foyth, however, deserves credit for his good show.

---

#3 Ineffective Heung-Min Son

Heung-Min Son did not have the greatest of games

Heung-Min Son, who, in Harry Kane's absence, has made the centre forward's position his own in the Spurs team, failed to put up a good show on Saturday. Son was tracked and marked closely by West Ham's central defenders Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena. This was also one of the reasons why Tottenham had almost half the number of shots on goal as West Ham (four compared to the Hammers' seven.)

Son took Tottenham past Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and a lot was expected from him. However, the South Korea international could not build on his previous performances.