1-1! Son Heung-min is powerless, Tottenham Hotspur misses the top four in the Premier League, praying that Manchester City will take revenge on Villa
Recognised as the number one league, the Premier League is far more competitive than the other four leagues, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal battling Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United battling it out for the remaining Champions League spot. At the start of the 31st round of the Premier League in mid-week this week, Tottenham Hotspur came to the away stadium to play a London derby with West Ham United. Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-2 at home in the first leg, and whether they can get revenge has become the focus of fans' attention. There wasn't much Son could do in this campaign, with Brennan Johnson and Kurt Zouma each scoring a goal as Tottenham drew 1-1 with West Ham United to remain fifth.
There was no room for error in any of the games for Tottenham, who were aiming for a top-four finish, with Postecoglou continuing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Vicario continuing to guard the net, Udogie and Porro splitting the flanks, and Van der Ven and Sergio Romero partnering in central defence. Bentancur and Bissouma were deployed in midfield, with Maddison, Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson lined up, Son Heung-min as a lone arrow, and Richarlison and Kulusevski on the bench.
David Moyes also came up 4-2-3-1, with the familiar names of Kudus, Paqueta, Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Soucek and Coufal all coming on. With goalkeeper Areola absent due to injury, the 38-year-old Fabianski was in goal for the Hammers.
As the referee blew the whistle, Tottenham staged an anti-guest show. Only 5 minutes into the opening game, Bentancur split the ball in the front of the penalty area, Werner broke through on the left side and crossed, Brennan Johnson outflanked the volley at the back point, and Tottenham got off to a dream start, 1-0!
In the 10th minute, Son Heung-min crossed from the front of the penalty area, and Porro inserted a kick on the right side to shoot a cold arrow, and the ball grazed the far post and missed slightly, and Tottenham failed to extend the advantage. West Ham United, who escaped the catastrophe, equalized in the 19th minute, Bowen's corner cross, the landing point was just right, Zouma flicked his head into the far corner from close range, 1-1!
In the 36th minute, West Ham United won a free kick in front, Ward Prowse hit the goal directly from 30 meters out, the ball fell sharply around the human wall, but the angle was somewhat positive, and was blocked by Vicario's hands. In the first 45 minutes, Tottenham had 70 per cent possession but were unable to take the lead.
Yibian fought again, and the two teams continued to attack. In the 48th minute, Antonio seized on his opponent's mistake and shot from inside the penalty area, and Vicario responded with a world-class save. A corner kick followed, Mavlopanov headed in goal, Vicario turned the tide in front of the goal line to block the ball, and Antonio was kicked off in an offside position.
In the 61st minute, Son Heung-min crossed from the edge of the penalty area, Brennan Johnson took the ball and was cut off, Ward Prowse sent a scalpel over the top of the long pass, Antonio led the ball into the penalty area, but the single volley was blocked under the interference of Van der Ven. In the 69th minute, Polo's pass on the right was blocked, and he followed up with his feet to shoot, but unfortunately failed to penetrate Fabianski's ten fingers.
For Tottenham, a draw was meaningless, so Postecoglou couldn't sit still, and went on to go on Sarr, Kulusevski, Hojbjerg and Richarlison. It's a pity that Tottenham never scored the second goal and had to accept a 1-1 result.
In the draw with the Hammers, Tottenham still trailed by two points, failed to surpass Villa, and continued to miss out on the top four. However, Villa will be away to Manchester City on the next matchday, and the Blues are fighting for revenge and will be looking to the defending champions to help.