West Ham United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking points and analysis

2. West Ham have an error-prone defence

West Ham United's goalkeeper Roberto clashing with Tottenham Hotspur's Davinson Sanchez

West Ham United's defence was in shambles in the first half. Right from the start, the goalkeeper Roberto, who had conceded 6 goals in the previous two fixtures looked shaky between the sticks and almost led to the opening goal in the 11th minute.

Following Harry Wink's free-kick the Spaniard came off his line to claim the ball, but completely missed it and was saved only thanks to Davinson Sanchez's poor connection with the ball.

Dodgy goalkeeping apart, the back four also didn't do any favours to the manager as they seemed too slow to react to the forward passes directed towards Son and Kane. Also, the defenders didn't take responsibility for closing down on their man, leaving the opposition attackers with plenty of space to get an additional touch or two and move the ball to dangerous areas.

The biggest flaw in the defensive plan of the hosts was the tendency of the back-line to maintain a straight line at all times. The players did not want to break the line and make a forward tackle. This allowed Son to time his run perfectly and opening the scoring in the game.

The second goal by Lucas Moura could've been saved, only if left-back Aaron Cresswell had tracked the movement of the Brazilian rather than focussing on maintaining the high-line.