West Ham will be left with a sour taste in their mouths as they lick their wounds following a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday (19 October).
The Julen Lopetegui era finally looked to have taken a positive turn, beating Ipswich Town 4-1 before the international break, but the Hammers were brought back down to Earth in North London.
Mohammed Kudus got the East Londoners off to a brilliant start, netting the opener after just 18 minutes, but that was cancelled out before half-time by Dejan Kulusevski.
Yves Bissouma, Son Heung-min and Alphonse Areola’s own goal helped Spurs to open up a three-goal lead, and with tempers flaring, Kudus could not contain his anger and was awarded a straight red card.
There will have been few positives for the West Ham manager to keep hold off on the short journey back to the London Stadium, and the Spurs media team just couldn’t help themselves after the game.
Taking to X on Saturday (19 October), the official Spurs account wrote: “I 4-1 absolutely loved that.”West Ham United taste defeat v Tottenham
In just 10 games in all competitions under the new manager, the Hammers have conceded three or more goals in a game on four occasions. This cannot continue.
They also only have three victories in that time, beating Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town in the Premier League and Bournemouth in the EFL Cup, which is far from ideal after the success under David Moyes.While the Scot’s reign at the London Stadium ended on a bad note, his performances in Europe across the last three seasons gave the Irons so many special memories, memories that feel very long ago now.The Hammers are just five points above the relegation zone, winning four points from their first eight matches, and fixtures do not get any easier from this point.
Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Newcastle United are all on the horizon, and Lopetegui will need to brace himself for more criticism over the next few weeks.
