Let’s take a look at the Premier League Player Ratings from the London derby between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard were on target to send West Ham into the top-four with a 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
Antonio took only five minutes to break the deadlock in London. The striker marked his return after a two-match absence by scoring on the rebound after Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris saved his initial effort.
It took Antonio’s personal tally against the Lilywhites to five goals. He has also scored an impressive 42 times from inside the box in his Premier League career. Only Tim Cahill (56), Javier Hernandez (53) and Gabriel Jesus (45) can boast better records.
42 – All 42 of Michail Antonio's Premier League goals have come from inside the box – in the competition's history, only Tim Cahill (56), Chicharito (53) and Gabriel Jesus (45) have scored more with all of them coming from inside the box. Poachers. #WHUTOT pic.twitter.com/lpiGzpvMog
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2021
The early goal proved the difference in the first-half, with West Ham arguably coming out as the stronger of the two sides.
Tottenham, meanwhile, welcomed back Sergio Reguilon and posed a decent threat early on. But the visitors took 43 minutes to get a shot on target. Manager Jose Mourinho, therefore, made a double-change during the break by bringing on Gareth Bale and Matt Doherty for Erik Lamela and Japhet Tanganga respectively.
The changes didn’t make an immediate impact, though, as Jesse Lingard doubled West Ham’s lead just two minutes into the second-half.
3 – Jesse Lingard has as many Premier League goals under David Moyes (3 in 4 games for West Ham) as he did under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (3 in 36 games for Man Utd). Upturn. #WHUTOT pic.twitter.com/IXHimitnmM
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2021
The Manchester United loanee burst into the box to smash the ball into a far corner. And while his effort was initially ruled out for offside, a VAR review overruled the decision to allow Lingard’s goal.
Off the back of an impressive Europa League outing, however, Bale showed flashes of his improved form again. The Welshman looked sharp in the attack, and it was his corner that allowed Lucas Moura to head a goal back for Spurs in the 64th-minute.
That goal changed the game and breathed fresh life into Spurs. They turned up the pressure and continuously hounded the West Ham defense.
But while Harry Kane almost grabbed an equalizer on two occasions, West Ham held on to grab a fifth win in six home games. The Hammers have now moved into the top-four on 45 points, while Spurs remain ninth and nine points behind.
81 – José Mourinho has earned 81 points after 50 league matches in charge of Spurs, his lowest total at this stage in any managerial stint:
124 points – Porto
126 – Chelsea (1st spell)
113 – Inter
123 – Real Madrid
114 – Chelsea (2nd spell)
95 – Man Utd
81 – SpursDwindling. pic.twitter.com/2EULGc16GG
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2021
Player ratings
West Ham: Fabianski (7); Coufal (6), Diop (6), Dawson (7), Cresswell (7); Soucek (6), Rice (8); Bowen (6), Lingard (8), Fornals (6); Antonio (8).
Bench: Benrahma (6), Johnson (5), Noble (5).
Tottenham: Lloris (6); Tanganga (5), Sanchez (7), Dier (6), Reguilon (6); Hojberg (6), Ndombele (6); Lucas (8), Lamela (6), Son (6); Kane (6).
Bench: Doherty (7), Bale (8), Alli (6).
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