A brace from Harry Kane and another classy goal from Christian Eriksen handed 10-man Tottenham a nervy 3-2 win against West Ham at the London Stadium.
The Hammers had started the brighter side but were behind midway through the first half when Kane got his first of the day from Dele Alli’s cross.
The England international had his second within four minutes after pouncing on a rebound and the game looked over when Eriksen got Spurs’ third shortly after the break.
Javier Hernandez gave the home side hope by reducing the deficit with 25 minutes to play and Serge Aurier’s needless red card for two bookable offences revitalised West Ham.
Cheikhou Kouyate’s powerful header five minutes from time set-up a grandstand finish but Spurs hung on to register another London derby win.
Star man – Christian Eriksen
Kane may get the plaudits but Eriksen was at the heart of everything that Spurs did well against West Ham.
The Dane was a level above his team-mates during a slow start at the London Stadium and he punished Andy Carroll’s generosity by pouncing on his loose pass to release Alli for Kane’s opener.
Eriksen possesses the ability to freeze defences and his inch-perfect through ball for Alli summed up his game. Kane looked to be the most obvious pass on but Eriksen waited for play to develop and slipped in Alli, who supplied the perfect cross for Kane.
For Kane’s second goal, Eriksen again had a hand to play. West Ham sloppily gave the ball away in their own half and Eriksen released Vertonghen with a clever flick. The Belgian’s through ball found Alli and his rebounded effort fell kindly to Kane to make it 2-0.
Eriksen got the goal he deserved shortly after the restart when he slotted home a loose ball from just inside the 18-yard box and Pochettino will be hoping he can continue this great form with Real Madrid and Liverpool to come in the coming weeks.
Failed to impress – Serge Aurier
He was brilliant on his debut against Dortmund but Aurier showed the erratic side to his game against West Ham.
The Ivory Coast international arrived in north London with a reputation for rashness and he displayed it with a needless red card for two bookable offences in the second half.
The full-back was unlucky with his first offence but stupidly went flying in on Carroll to get his marching orders with 20 minutes to play.
His dismissal put serious pressure on Spurs and Pochettino will be thankful that his side escaped unpunished.
What surprised us? – Andy Carroll on the bench
He made a mistake for Kane’s opener but Carroll’s absence from the starting line-up was peculiar.
The former Newcastle forward has played a big part in West Ham’s recent upturn in results and he allows the Hammers to play to their strengths.
Carroll was introduced midway through the first half after Michail Antonio limped off but the likes of Davinson Sanchez had already settled into the game and it would have been interesting to see how the Colombian would have dealt with such a unique threat from the start of the game.
What didn’t surprise us? – Kane scoring in a London derby
It’s been a slow start to the season by Kane’s extraordinarily high standards.
The England forward had four goals to his name before today’s trip across London but had scored in just one of Spurs’ five league matches. But Kane’s critics should know by now to write him off at their own peril and he responded to criticism in the only way he knows how today by scoring goals.
Luck has been in short supply for Kane in front of goal so far this season and he missed a gilt-edged chance midway through the first half from just inside the six-yard box. Replays showed he was offside but it was a miss that summed up Kane’s start to the season.
Kane made amends less than five minutes later when he headed home Alli’s inch perfect cross after fine play from Eriksen and he grabbed his second after pouncing on a rebound from Joe Hart.
The 24-year-old failed to score in his first five matches against West Ham but he now has seven in his last six against the Hammers.
Kane now has 21 goals in 29 appearances against London opposition and only Thierry Henry has a better goals-to-minutes record.
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