Premier LeagueWest Ham United 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday, 13th September 2025
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
West Ham capitulated in the second half to hand Tottenham a 3-0 victory, helped hugely by a Tomas Soucek red card.
After a first half where Spurs had threatened only through corners, and Lucas Paqueta had missed the best chance of the half, a free header for Sarr from their ninth corner gave the visitors the lead two minutes into the second half, before Soucek was sent off and Spurs quickly scored two more to end the contest.It leaves The Hammers still on only two home wins in 2025, the last coming in February, and bumped back down to earth after the joy of victory at Forest a fortnight ago.
They faced a new Spurs, an efficient and structured side who no longer look the free flowing side of Postecoglou, but now more robust and disciplined, focused on solidity and set-pieces.
The Hammers made one change from the victory against Nottingham Forest, Summerville replacing the injured Fullkrug as Paqueta played as the leading striker.
Much attention was paid to the returning Kudus, whose every touch was booed, at least before the second half exodus of fans that came soon after the second and third goals.
Thankfully for the Hammers, Kudus was mostly playing to character, with some thrilling touches the prelude to very little end product. Outside of some dangerous corners, he offered flicks without threat.
Whilst Tottenham dominated possession in the first half, West Ham may well feel they had the best of the chances. Walker-Peters and Diouf were both making good inroads down the flanks, the right back driving forward with clever combinations, the left back arriving at pace to whip powerful crosses into the box.
It was the home side who had the best chance of the half, 15 minutes into it as Paqueta got into a good position. It came from smart work by Walker-Peters and Fernandes from half way, the midfielder feeding the ball wide and carrying on his run forward. Walker-Peters carried, then laid off to Bowen, who saw the Fernandes run and played it into his path as he drove into the box.
It was quickly played to Paqueta, who shuffled and swivelled to make space in the centre of the box, but dragged his shot wide when he'd made himself room to do better. It was a sign of hope for the home support, but when the away side had a goal disallowed from a corner five minutes later, it seemed to set a tone of anxiety in the stands and on the pitch.
Potter's side were possibly a little lucky to get away with this one, van de Ven adjudged to have pushed Walker-Peters when marking Romero, who was then free to nod in from inside the six-yard box as Kudus dropped it onto his head.
But the referee had blown, and VAR supported him. Had it been given, it would have been a surprise to see it overturned, and the replays showed that Fernandes had pushed van de Ven towards Walker-Peters.
The Spurs plan was clear, and whilst it's not the most exciting way to win a football match, you can't blame Thomas Frank for seeing the way Potter's West Ham have struggled to defend corners and targeting that weakness.
The rest of the half became a game dictated by corners. It felt like the home side were hanging on a touch, at times, but there is nothing to write about in terms of chances. Frank's side had eight corners in the half, and whilst all dropped threateningly close to goal, none actually created a chance.
That's not to say West Ham were threatening either, although they probably looked as good with their 40% of possession as Tottenham's 60%. Had luck gone their way, they might have been handed a goal when van de Ven flicked a header away from Vicario as a cross looked to be landing safely in his arms, but both were relieved to see the ball ricochet off another defender and back to the goalkeeper with a wide open net behind them and attackers in the area who could have seen the ball drop their way.
It meant the two sides were locked together at 0-0 going into the break, neither manager likely to be unhappy with what he saw, and both came back out for the second 45 minutes with unchanged sides.
West Ham appeared to start well, Fernandes, Paqueta and Bowen combining well to give the captain space for a shot outside the box, but he dragged wide. That little shot of hope was allowed to settle in West Ham mind's for all of a minute before Tottenham went up the other end and took the lead.
After an overlap had left West Ham short, Spurs won a corner. This was their ninth of the game, but clearly they had used the break to make a tweak, or at least make their players aware of the spaces being left in the West Ham setup at the back.
Eight corners had been curled in towards Hermansen, but this one went deeper, to the far side of the six-yard box, and alone stood Pape Matar Sarr to rise and head powerfully past goalkeeper and defenders on the line to give his team a 1-0 lead.
It's worth finding a freeze frame of the moment he heads the ball. In that picture, you'll find five West Ham players marking nobody, all whilst three Tottenham players line up at the far post. Having curled the first eight at Hermansen, clearly somebody on the Tottenham bench suggested a change to see if the West Ham zonal system would adapt. It did not.
The Hammers reacted well, initially, with Bowen testing Vicario with a bobbling effort after possession was won high in the Spurs half and Fernandes quickly found his captain. Moments later, Ward-Prowse delivered a freekick onto Kilman's head, but the centre back couldn't get over the chance and powered it over from inside the six-yard box.
If that was to give some hope that West Ham could get back into the game, it was extinguished soon after.
After Soucek failed to take a ball under control on his chest, he compounded his loss of possession by lunging after the bouncing ball. He was beaten to it by Joao Palhinha, instead dragging his studs down the side of the midfielder's shin and looking up to see a red card instantly brandished by referee Jarred Gillett. A goal down, now The Hammers faced 35 minutes with only 10 men.
If the manager needed a second to react, and his team needed a moment to gather their composure, they didn't get it. Nine seconds after the restart of play, Bergvall had headed Tottenham into a 2-0 lead.
The freekick was quickly rolled to Palhinha, who shifted it on once more and it was floated over the top of the defence from around the halfway line.
It sailed over Mavropanos as Bergvall burst between the Greek defender and Walker-Peters, and with Hermansen caught off his line, the Swedish midfielder climbed high in the air and headed a looping effort over the goalkeeper and into the far corner.
The contest was all over in a minute. It was the fifth headed goal conceded this season, they've conceded six from corners, and were about to concede their 11th goal of the season, two more than any other side in the league.
Potter made changes, throwing Soungoutou Magassa in for his debut and a chance for Luis Guilherme to make his first appearance of the season, replacing Fernandes and Summerville.
They made little difference, the game was all but done, and Tottenham's third wrapped things up.
Another corner, this time headed out, but played back into the box to Bergvall's feet. His turn and touch was loose, but that worked out for him and his team, as it rolled to the path of van de Ven, who swept it low into the corner and past Hermansen.
That was enough for Frank's side, who played the rest of the game out by recycling possession at half pace, West Ham happy enough to just limit the humiliation.
Hermansen did make a fantastic double-save in stoppage-time, the Dane getting down low to claw a volley away and then throwing himself at the rebound fired at goal, although the flag did go up on that second effort.
Not that many saw it, with the stands emptying from 2-0 onwards, floods leaving after the third went in. There is little reason for those fans to stay, stuck watching bad football in a terrible stadium under ownership they don't respect, and that doesn't respect a single one of them.
There have been two home wins in 2025, none since February. The Hammers haven't won a game at home against a side that finished in the top half since December 2023.
What's worse for Potter is that his win percentage is the second worst in West Ham's Premier League history, beating only Avram Grant. Maybe worse is that his side have the least points of the 17 ever-present Premier League sides since his appointment in January.
He will be frustrated, especially in watching his side actually deal reasonably well with the majority of Tottenham's corner, only to let Sarr win a free header so easily to open the scoring. He may feel the whole evening could have looked different had Soucek not lunged in and been sent off.
But these are excuses on one game, and things do not get easier for him any time soon. A home tie with Crystal Palace next week, a team the Hammers haven't beaten at home for over five years, is followed by a trip to David Moyes's Everton and a trip to set-piece masters Arsenal. All that before a planned fan boycott against Brentford.
At the moment, his best hope is that his poor performance is seen as a shield by the West Ham chairman, who faces protests and anger at his stewardship of a club that has lost its soul.
Joyous, isn't it?
Manager's Rating: Graham Potter 4/10 The minor improvements in defending set pieces were undone by the lack of independent thought that was clearly on offer as the defence stood marking nobody with three back post for the first goal. He needs to get a grip of this team, and whilst he is clearly a good coach of individual skill, it appears he lacks an ability to coach basics in defence.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Mads HermansenThe late save was very good goalkeeping, but the weakness on corners is emanating from him and his lack of command. It isn't just him, but teams are firing corners at him now, as if they know how easily it could lead to a goal. In the end, the protection of the centre took so much focus that nobody watched the back post.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Had good attacking moments and also limited Xavi Simons's influence in open play. Still deserves the start over Wan-Bissaka.
El Hadji Malick Diouf
Did well against Kudus, looked to be up for the physical side of the game against the former Hammer, who has incredible strength in possession. Got up and down the flank, delivered some powerful crosses that were just away from teammates. He looks to be improving defensively for this league with each game.
Max Kilman
The defence was better on corners, but still looked panicked, and then a clear sign of a lack of leadership back there was exposed on the opening goal.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
He's in for his physicality, and for the aerial prowess that Todibo lacks. But the defence still looked frail, lacked leadership, and then the Greek defender gets lost under a ball for the second goal.
James Ward-Prowse
Dropped one good set-piece onto Kilman's head, one that probably should have been put away. His forward passing was improved, but a double-pivot of Soucek and Ward-Prowse is not going to offer anything from deep to progress the team.
Tomas Soucek
He made plenty of clearances, but with this team still conceding headed goals and from corners so easily, and the Czech midfielder sitting deeper and not making it into the opposition box, his influence is being judged in the middle third. He does not shine there, and a sloppy bit of control and poor decision to challenge highlighted why you don't want him involved there.
Mateus Fernandes
Worked hard and had an influence across the pitch, and had this been on merit, he would not have been subbed off. However, it seemed he was protected by the manager and given a bit more rest once the game was gone. He is arguably too important in attack right now to be sacrificed to hold a deeper role, but the team also need more energy and his ability in there.
Crysencio Summerville
Didn't have a great influence in attack before being taken off on the hour. The speed in the attack, and just into this team in general, is appreciated and makes some difference, but a compact game saw him achieve little.
Lucas Paqueta
Missed the best chance the team had, and probably could have fed Summerville for an easier chance instead, but was lost in the shuffle as West Ham struggled to make anything stick further forward. He does need to play higher up the pitch, but the manager probably needs to find a way to get him and Fernandes both in midfield, rather than one out wide or up front.
Jarrod Bowen
Generally, the threat was with Bowen or it wasn't there at all. He didn't shine, particularly, and could have done a little more with half an opening in the second half, but he's comfortably the best player.
Substitutes
Luis Guilherme(Fernandes 61') Had one chance to run at and beyond Romero and was halted, and otherwise was anonymous.
Soungoutou Magassa
(Summerville 61') Good that he got onto the pitch and some time in a new league, and didn't look physically out of place in any way, but there's not much he could grasp in this dead game.
Callum Wilson
(Paqueta 68') 20 minutes running around a match that had ended, you'd have sympathy for him being forced into this game if the appearance fee hadn't netted him a nice earner.
Andy Irving
(Ward-Prowse 90+') Seemed to be waiting for 10 minutes to get on, and then got a few minutes of stoppage time play.
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos, James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen.Goals: None.
Booked: None booked. 0 0 0 0 0 0.
Sent Off: None sent off. 0 0 0.
Tottenham Hotspur: .
Subs not used: .
Goals: .
Booked: .
Sent off: None.
Referee: .
Attendance: 0.
Man of the Match: .