Tottenham Hotspur were beaten for the first time at their new stadium yesterday as Michail Antonio fired West Ham United to a surprise 1-0 victory over their London rivals.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team had won all four prior matches at their new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, Antonio’s clinical second-half strike ended that run as the West Ham winger became the first visiting player to score in the plush arena.
Photo: Reuters
Third-placed Tottenham’s second defeat in their past three English Premier League games put a dent in their bid to finish in the top four.
They hold a three-point lead over fourth-placed Chelsea and are four points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal, with both teams in action today.
It was a frustrating warm-up for Tottenham’s UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Ajax in north London on Tuesday.
Pochettino had insisted that Tottenham’s first European semi-final since the 1984 UEFA Cup was less significant than their top-four challenge, but his team selection told a different story.
Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen was absent with a reported injury as Pochettino made four changes, including resting Kieran Tripper, Victor Wanyama and Fernando Llorente.
Pochettino revealed this week that injured striker Harry Kane hopes to be fit for the Champions League final if Tottenham make it.
The England captain was watching from the stands as his club’s unbeaten start in the new stadium came to an end.
With Son Heung-min suspended for the Ajax first leg, Pochettino had no reason to rest the South Korea forward against the Hammers, and he was swiftly into the action as he raced away for a shot that cleared the bar.
Son should have done better on that occasion and he fluffed his lines again with a low shot that was too close to Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski after Dele Alli’s pass gave him a clear sight of goal.
West Ham finally broke out of their own half when Ryan Fredericks tested Hugo Lloris from long-range, but Tottenham remained on top as Lucas Moura drilled just wide of the far post.
A flowing Tottenham move unlocked the West Ham defense and Son’s blocked effort dropped perfectly for Christian Eriksen, but the Dane smashed his close-range shot straight at Fabianski.
Tottenham found it tougher to maintain any momentum in the second half, with Son’s unsuccessful penalty appeal after being bundled over by Arthur Masuaku made more in hope than expectation.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team were growing in confidence as they scored in the 67th minute.
Marko Arnautovic chipped a superb pass toward Antonio and the winger controlled on his chest in the box before blasting a powerful finish past Lloris.
Celebrating with a bizarre bouncing motion, Antonio staged a joyous jig in front of the West Ham fans and he almost had them on their feet again in the closing minutes when his shot was pushed over by Lloris.
Tottenham looked tired in the closing stages, but they could have denied West Ham their first away win of the year when Vincent Janssen’s stoppage-time header was cleared off the line by Fabian Balbuena.
LIVERPOOL 5, HUDDERFIELD 0
Juergen Klopp on Friday revealed that Roberto Firmino has torn his groin muscle after Liverpool powered back to the top of the league with a 5-0 rout of Huddersfield Town.
Firmino’s injury, sustained in training this week, is bad news for Liverpool as they battle with Manchester City in the title race and prepare to face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
Liverpool boss Klopp remains optimistic about the Brazilian forward’s chances of a quick recovery, but the injury update took some of the gloss off an evening that featured Naby Keita scoring after just 15 seconds for the club’s fastest-ever Premier League goal.
“He trained normally yesterday, but after training he had a small tear in a very small muscle,” Klopp said.
“Apart from the word ‘tear,’ everything is positive, but it is Bobby and he might be ready for Wednesday,” he added. “We don’t know at the moment. Because it’s him, it’s more likely than not.”
Despite the relatively benign diagnosis, Klopp cannot afford to enter such a crucial stage of the season without a full compliment of players.
With Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah also netting twice, it was a comfortable evening for Liverpool on the pitch as they moved two points above Manchester City, who travel to Burnley today.
The latest victory took Liverpool to 91 points — enough to have won the league title in 105 of the previous 119 seasons in English soccer history.
However, with City still having the destiny of the title in their hands, the prospect remains that Liverpool could end the campaign with 97 points and only finish second.
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