Lingard guides West Ham to derby win over Spurs

West Ham United claimed fourth spot in the Premier League as goals early in each half by Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard earned them a nervy 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur Sunday.

Their seventh win in their last nine league games moved West Ham two points above Chelsea in their mounting challenge for a Champions League spot while Tottenham have slumped to ninth.

Antonio gave West Ham the perfect start when he fired past Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris in the fifth minute and Lingard doubled West Ham's lead two minutes after the break.

But Tottenham, with Gareth Bale on as a second-half substitute, were given a lifeline when Lucas Moura headed in Bale's corner and they laid siege to the West Ham goal.

Bale lashed a shot against the crossbar and West Ham had another lucky escape in stoppage time as Vladimir Coufal's clearance deflected back off Son Heung-min and struck the post.

Tottenham had 19 goal attempts to the four of West Ham but were unable to prevent a fifth defeat in six league games as the pressure begins to mount on Jose Mourinho.

81 - José Mourinho has earned 81 points after 50 league matches in charge of Spurs, his lowest total at this stage in any managerial stint:

124 points - Porto
126 - Chelsea (1st spell)
113 - Inter
123 - Real Madrid
114 - Chelsea (2nd spell)
95 - Man Utd
81 - Spurs

Dwindling. pic.twitter.com/2EULGc16GG

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2021

While the closing stages were nervy for West Ham, they once again showed that they are equipped to maintain their unlikely bid for the top four finish having flirted with relegation last season.

Manager David Moyes, who returned for a second spell as West Ham manager when he replaced Manuel Pellegrini in Dec. 2019, has forged a steely mentality in his squad and they showed great resolve to withstand Tottenham's late pressure.

Moyes claimed a first win over Mourinho in 16 attempts.

Mourinho played down talk of a crisis, saying his side's performance had warranted more.

Antonio typifies West Ham's spirit and he produced a trademark poacher's goal when Jarrod Bowen's cross caused panic in the Spurs defence and the striker reacted well to fire past Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.

It was his 42nd Premier League goal for West Ham, each from inside the penalty area.

Tottenham’s first 12 Premier League games:

W7 D4 L1—1st in the table

Tottenham’s next 12 Premier League games:

W3 D2 L7—9th in the table pic.twitter.com/wUeRlnPm9P

— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 21, 2021

West Ham wasted a chance soon after when Lingard opted to try and pass to Antonio rather than shoot himself.

At the other end Harry Kane fired over after a jinking run by Erik Lamela, while home keeper Lukasz Fabianski made two decent saves to deny Lamela and Kane.

Mourinho sent on Bale for Lamela at halftime but before he had touched the ball West Ham struck again, Lingard rifling home a shot after linking up with Pablo Fornals. The goal was initially flagged as offside but a Video Assistant Referee check allowed it.

From then on it was all Spurs with Bale showing glimpses of the brilliance that he regularly demonstrated during his first spell at Tottenham before moving to Real Madrid.

The Welshman whipped in a corner for Moura to head home and he was a constant menace as Spurs swarmed in attack.

He also produced some silky touches down the right and when Kane picked him out on the edge of the area, his thunderous shot rattled the crossbar.

But West Ham rode their luck and hung on to a victory that left them nine points above their London rivals, heaping pressure on Mourinho whose side are stuck in a rut.