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Tottenham Hotspur surrendered a cosy three-goal lead in the last 12 minutes of the game as West Ham United held Jose Mourinho's side to a 3-3 draw in their Premier League fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in one of the most memorable derby games in recent memory.
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Tottenham Hotspur were already three goals up in the first 16 minutes of the game with regular suspects Harry Kane and Heung-min Son getting on the scoresheet yet again.
The Korean star needed just 46 seconds to make the net bulge after being set up by his partner-in-crime Kane with a great ball. Son returned the favour in the eighth minute at the end of a quick passing play but it was Kane who produced a brilliant finish after nutmegging Declan Rice that left Łukasz Fabiański frozen on his feet.
Kane got his second goal after meeting Sergio Reguilon's delightful cross perfectly. West Ham were completely overwhelmed by Spurs' early onslaught and struggled to get a grip throughout the game.
Just when everyone thought the game was done and dusted West Ham found strength from within and scored three goals in the final 14 minutes of the game, one of them being an easily avoidable own goal.
Manuel Lanzini, a substitute who came on in the 77th minute, unleashed a vicious strike from just outside the box to find the top-right corner to ensure West Ham leave the game with a point. An outcome that most had ruled out after Spurs' amazing first-half performance.
Here we take a look at the five major talking points from the game as Tottenham Hotspur surrender a three-goal lead in a game of two halves.
#5 West Ham United created chances in the second half and secured a memorable comeback
West Ham United rarely managed to threaten Tottenham Hotspur defenders and Hugo Lloris in the first 45 minutes as they were busy dealing with the hosts inspired attacking display. Defender Vladimír Coufal came the closest for The Hammers in the first half only for his shot from inside the box to be blocked by Harry Kane.
They started the second half very brightly and had two clear-cut chances in the first minutes, one for Tomáš Souček, who missed a golden opportunity from eight yards out as the the ball passed right between his legs when he tried to strike a deflected cross on the volley and missed spectacularly. Spurs did not slip up a lot after their sluggishness at the beginning of the second half.
Just a couple of minutes later Fornals found himself completely unmarked near Lloris' far post and managed to head the ball over the bar, missing a sitter. Masuaku and Aaron Creswell combined wonderfully on the left-flank but Spurs managed to contain their threat before they moved into dangerous positions.
It was from Creswell's incredible delivery in the 82nd minute from a free-kick that allowed Fabián Balbuena to score the opener for the visitors which paved the way for their comeback.
#4 No more park the bus for Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has received a lot of flak over the last few seasons over his infamous 'park the bus' strategy. His team used to just sit back and recycle possession in the game if they got the lead much to the frustration of the fans.
This season it seems Mourinho has put that strategy behind him as Tottenham Hotspur are just relentless in their search for goals and get even more aggressive after breaking the deadlock. For the second consecutive match Spurs had found the back of the net twice within the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Tottenham Hotspur players were confident going forward, linking well with each other and were clinical too. They scored their first three goals with their first three attempts. So, has Mourinho finally decided to un-park the bus at Tottenham Hotspur? We'll find out for sure once the season progresses.
Also See: Only 4 players have scored a Premier League hat-trick against Manchester United: Where are they now?
#3 New signings Reguilon and Højbjerg made their presence felt on the pitch
Jose Mourinho made some very astute signings in this transfer window. He brought Gareth Bale back to the club, added a technical gifted box-to-box midfielder in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to the side, and in Sergio Reguilon, signed one of the most exciting left-backs prospects in the world.
Hojbjerg put in a very good shift in the middle of the park and had a role in the buildup of Kane's first goal of the game. He was also given the additional responsibility of covering for his full-backs in the game. He was in the thick of the things, especially in the first half, making interceptions and recycling possession to the front two.
Reguilon showed great vision going forward and linked well with Son. He made some intelligent runs on the left flank, carefully creating space for himself and on one of such occasions delivered a picture-perfect cross to Kane who tripled their lead.
The players have adjusted well to their new surroundings and have addressed key weaknesses for Spurs.
#2 Lack of concentration shown by Tottenham defenders
Tottenham defenders were not very busy in the first 45 minutes and did their routine clearance work, passing and held a high line as they dominated West Ham in the first half. When the Hammers increased their intensity from the get-go in the second half, the defenders started fumbling under pressure.
The full-backs failed to track back the attackers, Serge Aurier allowed Cresswell and Masuaku to move into dangerous positions who deliver a lot of crosses in the early stages only to see Forlans' and Soucek missing half-chances.
Davinson Sánchez particularly made a poor judgement call heading the ball into his own net when he was not under any kind of pressure and the ball would've probably been cleared away if he had not got involved with it.
Probably Mourinho should've reverted to parking the bus in the final stages of the game and the outcome could've been different.
#1 Kane and Son's deadly partnership continues
Harry Kane and Heung-min Son were yet again on the scoresheet tonight. The deadly duo have combined for 28 Premier League goals so far, which is the fourth-most of any duo in the history of the league.
Kane has also broken a 16-year-old record set by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, as his assist and two goals tonight made it 12 goal involvements in the first five games of the 2020-21 season. Henry had achieved 11 goal involvements in his first five games of the 2004-05 season.
The duo forms the backbone of the current new-look Tottenham under Jose Mourinho and an injury to even one of them will be detrimental to their campaign. So Mourinho should use them carefully in the coming months when they have a tight schedule.
