Tottenham win the London derby
There was plenty of entertainment for Tottenham Hotspur fans as their team returned to competitive action following the September international break.
Spurs won the London derby against West Ham United 3–0, with Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Mikey van de Ven all on the scoresheet. New summer signing Xavi Simons also made his debut, playing 71 minutes and marking the occasion with an assist from a corner for the first goal.
Beyond the bragging rights over their local rivals and the encouraging debut of a star signing, the win was made even more memorable by the fact it came away from home.
Spurs’ first win at the London Stadium since José Mourinho’s time
As FootballInsider247 noted, this was Tottenham’s first win at West Ham’s London Stadium since November 2019, when José Mourinho was coaching the Lilywhites. Goals from Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane secured the victory on that occasion.
With that record in mind, no away wins against West Ham in the last six years, this was another excellent result for Thomas Frank’s side, who have already defeated Manchester City this season. The Bournemouth match was a notable bump, but aside from that, the team have shown signs of improvement in every game since Frank’s appointment.
Another reason this game mattered for Spurs was Daniel Levy’s recent decision to step down as the club’s executive chairman. Since that event, the north London side have faced a degree of institutional uncertainty. Even so, Thomas Frank navigated the situation to deliver another encouraging win.
Now another challenge awaits on Tuesday, as Tottenham begin their UEFA Champions League campaign against Spanish side Villarreal. Spurs will hope the Dane can lead his team to success in that match as well.