A Tomas Soucek red card took all the drama away from the London Stadium, as Tottenham Hotspur snapped West Ham 3-0 on Saturday.
MORE — Thomas Frank reaction to win
A scoreless first half was in favor of Spurs but far from decisive, and Pape Matar Sarr put Spurs in front in the 47th minute.
Soucek then made a reckless lunging tackle on Joao Palhinha in the 54th minute, earning a straight red card, and Spurs struck twice within 10 minutes to put the game to bed.
WATCH — West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur
Lucas Bergvall scored and then assisted a Micky van de Ven goal to round out the scoring for Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs become the fourth team on nine points and trail only Arsenal on the table via goal differential. West Ham finish their day in 18th with three points and a minus-7 goal differential.
Spurs take advantage of gift, tear open a perfect Saturday
Tomas Soucek is not a dirty player and he certainly didn’t mean to stab a long, straight leg wide of the ball and into the leg of Joao Palhinha but a leg-breaker is a leg-breaker and this London derby lost its drama at that point. Spurs already led 1-0 and West Ham are simply nowhere near the talent level of Spurs — especially down a man. Thomas Frank’s men then had a chance to put the game to bed and get their starters some rest and their bench players some run ahead of the UEFA Champions League this week. They did that and then some, and Micky van de Ven’s laughter with Frank while exiting the game with 10 minutes to play go a long way to illustrate this game’s status as a Spurs waltz. There’s not a ton to really learn about West Ham here on the day, but right back and central midfield look like problem spots as Graham Potter bids to sort his team.
What’s next?
Spurs kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a Tuesday visit from Villarreal, then stay in the role of visitors with a Premier League trip to Brighton at 10am ET Saturday.
West Ham host Crystal Palace at 10am Saturday.
How to watch West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30 pm ET, Saturday
Venue: London Stadium — London
TV Channel: NBC
Streaming: Watch on NBC.com
West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur final score: 0-3
Goal scorers: Pape Matar Sarr 47', Lucas Bergvall 57', Micky van de Ven 64'
Red card: Tomas Soucek 55'
West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur live updates — by Nick Mendola
Micky van de Ven goal — West Ham 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Bergvall is dancing with the ball in the box, and a choppy touch turns into an assist when Van de Ven snaps a low shot inside the post.
Still 26 minutes plus stoppage to go for Spurs against their 10-man hosts.
West Ham subs
Off go Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville for Soungoutou Magassa and Luis Guilherme.
Lucas Bergvall goal — West Ham 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
That’ll do it, pretty much right off the restart.
Cristian Romero pings a long ball to meet the nitro spring of Lucas Bergval, who soars through the air to nod a classy header over Mads Hermansen.
That goal came maybe 10-15 seconds after the restart from the red card.
Tomas Soucek red card (video)
A straight-red card to Tomas Soucek, who leaves his boot high in a tackle and tears open the sock of Joao Palhinha.
West Ham down a man in the 55th minute.
Jarrod Bowen saved
Guglielmo Vicario gets low to punch a Jarrod Bowen shot that came through a congested top of the arc.
Spurs defend the corner well.
Pape Matar Sarr goal — West Ham 0-1 Spurs
It’s deservedly off a corner kick, and no one’s covering the back post area.
It’s given all day for Pape Sarr to measure his header. He’s wisely used the time.
Halftime — West Ham United 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Pretty even, though the more you view the replay of Romero’s disallowed goal, the more you feel Spurs were wronged (although Micky van de Ven did have an unsavory incident well before the perceived infraction!).
How tight is it?
Spurs have possession 57-43 and their xG edge is tiny (0.29-0.27). Spurs are the better proposition to win, but West Ham are no slouches today.
Controversial no goal
Cristian Romero nods a corner kick over the line, but the goal won’t be awarded due to a foul prior to his header.
Micky van de Ven had shoved Kyle Walker-Peters, who was hanging off Romero, and that sent the ex-Saints and ex-Spurs man to the grass.
It’s difficult to argue that the goal would’ve been overturned if it was awarded on the field, as incidents like that happen fairly often in corner kicks and are called a small percentage of the time.
Both teams with a let off in the books now.
West Ham could (and maybe should) be in front
The Irons work the ball across and through the 18, and Lucas Paqueta turns and fires a low shot wide of the goal.
He might’ve had an even better choice with Crysencio Summerville to his right, but the a better shot also would’ve been a goal.
The Irons are up for the derby, ready to rip when Spurs lose possession (which has not been often through 15 minutes).
West Ham lineup
Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Ward-Prowse, Fernandes, Soucek, Summerville, Bowen, Paqueta
Spurs lineup
Vicario, Spence, Van de Ven, Romero, Porro, Palhinha, Bergvall, Sarr, Simons, Kudus, Tel
West Ham vs Spurs preview
Spurs were easily brushed aside by Bournemouth last time out, and Thomas Frank’s side looked more like the team that lost 22 PL games last season (twice as many as they won) than the one that beat Burnley and Manchester City to open the season. Mohammed Kudus will receive an unfriendly reception upon returning to east London after swapping sides of the rivalry this summer ($75 million) and stating that he “only wanted Spurs” in his first statement upon joining the club. Kudus scored 13 goals and assisted 9 more in 65 Premier League games for West Ham. The 25-year-old Ghanaian international isn’t the only major addition to Spurs’ attack either, with Xavi Simons ($70 million) and Randal Kolo Muani (loan) set to make their debuts after signing just before the transfer closed. Frank will likely use both players in multiple positions, with Simons either on the left wing or as the no. 10, and Kolo Muani either at center forward (by himself, or with another in a 3-5-2) or on the left wing as well.
West Ham were one of the Premier League’s busier clubs leading up to the deadline because, well, they hadn’t done much business up until that point and the squad desperately needed strengthening. Prior to Aug. 29, the Hammers, a side that scored just 46 goals last season (6th-fewest), had added a new left back (El Hadji Malick Diouf, from Slavia Prague), a free-transfer right back (Kyle Walker-Peters), a free-transfer center forward (Callum Wilson) and a new goalkeeper (Mads Hermansen, from Leicester), so it was hardly a surprise they scored just once in their opening two games. And still, Mateus Fernandes ($52 million, from Southampton) was the only attack-minded player signed this summer, alongside 21-year-old defensive midfielder Soungoutou Magassa (Monaco) and 19-year-old center back Dmitri Colau (Paris FC).
West Ham team news, focus
OUT: Luis Guilherme (shoulder) | QUESTIONABLE: Niclas Fullkrug (calf), George Earthy (ankle)
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
OUT: Yves Bissouma (undisclosed), James Maddison (torn ACL - MORE), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Radu Dragusin (knee), Kota Takai (foot) | QUESTIONABLE: Dominic Solanke (ankle)
West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
In the past, an uglier, scrappier game would have suited West Ham perfectly, but Spurs’ new-look midfield might just have something to say about that. 1-1 until late, and then… West Ham 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur.
