This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Tottenham Hotspur won an away Premier League match for the first time since January but manager Jose Mourinho didn’t look particularly happy.
Even the BT Sport commentators picked up on it, noticing that he was not smiling at full-time, or as he clapped hands with his players.
Spurs had looked set to win comfortably at West Ham in a London derby that had looked all the spicier after Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking and Mourinho’s appointment earlier this week.
They were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura and added a third just four minutes after the restart thanks to Harry Kane’s header.
But then everything got just a little bit scrappy.
West Ham brought on Michail Antonio and, suddenly, the game changed. The Hammers grew into the game, taking command of the ball and looking to create opportunities.
Antonio scored on 73 minutes and it looked set to spark a grandstand finish. It might have done, had Declan Rice not strayed offside in the 90th minute before poking home from a corner. It would have left Spurs with six added minutes to negotiate without conceding and, due to their recent away form, few would have bet on them to do it.
Indeed, Angelo Ogbonna did score a second for the hosts but it was in the sixth minute of those six added on and it only preceded the final whistle, not another chance.
This was a display where the strengths and frailties of this Spurs team were laid bare for Mourinho to see.
Dele Alli was exceptional in the first half, laying on a superb pass in the build-up to Lucas’ goal and constantly attempting to beat his man as he played in a floating, No.10 role, but he was quiet and eventually withdrawn in the second. Son and Lucas were each a constant menace throughout the first 45 minutes but the second half saw them influence the game less and less.
In the first half, Spurs were in control, dominant at times, and never really in danger of being breached. In the second, after Antonio’s introduction, they looked in trouble whenever the Hammers attacked. That the second goal came from a corner that was poorly defended will be another concern for Mourinho.
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Yet this is the Spurs experience. They all too regularly flirt with pulling disaster out of the fire and, here, they got over the line.
But it was not all smiles at full-time and nor should it have been; Spurs had pulled clear but ended up stumbling through the finishing tape. The fact Mourinho seemingly knew this should serve as a positive.
They won and broke that away day run that surely played a major part in Pochettino’s eventual sacking.
But Mourinho’s stare at the end said it all; they can play better than this and they must.
