West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur’s lacklustre Premier League campaigns continued on Sunday as they battled to a 1-1 stalemate at the London Stadium, a result that did little to lift either side from the lower reaches of the table.
Tottenham, heavily rotated following their Europa League semifinal first leg win over Bodo/Glimt, struck first in the 15th minute when a defensive lapse from Max Kilman allowed Mathys Tel to tee up Wilson Odobert for a simple finish.
However, the lead was short-lived. Just 13 minutes later, Jarrod Bowen brought the Hammers level with a composed finish, capitalizing on a clever ball from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The draw sees Spurs languishing in 16th position, just a point clear of 17th-placed West Ham, whose winless streak in the league has now stretched to eight games since February’s end. Despite their poor form, both London clubs are clear of relegation danger, with the bottom three already decided.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou fielded a largely different XI, opting for eight changes to rest his key men ahead of their trip to Norway.
His decision seemed to pay off early when Tel pressured Kilman into a mistake, creating the opportunity for Odobert to strike.
West Ham appealed for a penalty midway through the first half after Ben Davies appeared to handle Wan-Bissaka’s cross, but a VAR review waved away the claims.
The home fans didn’t have long to stew over the decision. Minutes later, Wan-Bissaka threaded a brilliant pass through the Spurs defence to find Bowen, who coolly slotted the ball between Guglielmo Vicario’s legs for his 10th league goal this season.
Richarlison had a similar opportunity to restore Tottenham’s lead before halftime, but his angled effort drifted harmlessly across the goalmouth.
In the second half, Tel tried his luck with a strike from the right flank, though it lacked the venom to trouble Alphonse Areola.
West Ham carried the greater attacking threat as the game wore on. Bowen and Emerson both went close, while Niclas Fuellkrug headed over from a promising position in the 71st minute.
Bowen nearly snatched a late winner, but Vicario reacted smartly to his flicked header from a James Ward-Prowse delivery.
Ward-Prowse had another chance deep into stoppage time with a trademark free kick, but his effort curled just wide.
After the match, Postecoglou expressed satisfaction with the result and the squad’s fitness.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, we made a lot of changes which doesn’t help the cohesion and fluency but the lads worked really hard,” he said.
