**Premier League**
**WEST HAM 0 (Soucek sent off 54)
TOTTENHAM 3 (Sarr 47, Bergvall 57, Van de Ven 64)**
TOTTENHAM’S post-Daniel Levy era started superbly as three second half goals saw off West Ham at the London Stadium.
Spurs hadn’t claimed a Premier League victory at this ground since November 2019, with the three previous meetings ending in 1-1 draws.
Speaking after the game, Spurs manager Thomas Frank said: “A very good, clear win and a very good performance. We all know the importance of this game for the fans. It is difficult to play here so to win 3-0 is very impressive.”
Tottenham have now kept three clean sheets out of their first four league games. Frank was impressed with his defence, adding: “It’s crucial that we defend well too to give us foundations for clean sheets.”
West Ham should have gone a goal up in the 14th minute, but Lucas Paqueta’s disappointing effort from well inside the box dragged wide.
Five minutes later Spurs thought they had struck first themselves. Captain Cristian Romero headed home Mohammed Kudus’ impressive delivery from a corner. However, much to the delight of the home fans, referee Jarred Gillett spotted a shove by Micky Van de Ven on Kyle Walker-Peters and the goal was ruled out.
It seemed harsh, especially after replays showed West Ham keeper Mads Hermansen initiating the contact – but VAR agreed with the referee’s decision. While there was certainly contact, it’s the sort of incident that you’d doubt VAR would overturn had the referee allowed the goal to stand.
In the 34th minute there was another incident in the West Ham box. This time Van de Ven was held by Mateus Fernandes, but the referee didn’t see anything wrong. VAR once again supported the on-field decision, and no penalty was given.
A flurry of Spurs corners towards the end of the half led to nothing, and both sides headed into the break lacking rhythm.
While Tottenham had managed to get plenty of balls into the box, they failed to create any opportunities through the midfield. Mathys Tel, playing up front instead of Richarlison, barely touched the ball.
Nevertheless, the second half was a completely different story. Xavi Simons, making his much-anticipated debut, marked the occasion from Tottenham’s ninth corner of the game as he superbly found Pape Matar Sarr at the back post, who headed the ball home within a minute of the restart.
Things went from bad to worse for the Hammers when Tomas Soucek’s studs connected with Joao Palhinha’s shin, leading to a straight red card for the Czech on his 250th appearance for the club.
Tottenham doubled their lead only two minutes later as Romero’s delightful ball over the West Ham defence found Lucas Bergvall, whose header delicately looped over the keeper into the back of the net.
Van de Ven then added a third just after the hour-mark to put the game beyond doubt, prompting many home fans to decide they’d seen enough.
Hermansen spared Ham supporters from further embarrassment in stoppage time, pulling off a superb stop to deny Kudus’ close-range volley in his first outing against his former club.
The 3-0 defeat leaves West Ham with three losses from their opening four games of the season, heapin pressure onto manager Graham Potter. For Tottenham, all eyes will be on their return to the Champions League on Tuesday evening, as they host Villarreal in north London.
**West Ham:** Hermansen, Walker Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Ward-Prowse (Irving, 90+1), Fernandes (Magassa, 60), Paqueta (Wilson, 67), Soucek, Bowen, Summerville (Guilherme, 60)
**Substitutes not used:** Areola, Julio, Fullkrug, Wan-Bissaka, Potts
**Tottenham:** Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven (Danso, 79), Spence (Udogie, 70), Palhina, Sarr, Bergvall (Johnson, 79), Kudus, Tel (Odobert, 79), Simons (Richarlison, 71)
**Substitutes not used:** Kinsky, Bentancur, Davies, Kolo Muani