Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has called for the side to put on stronger performances after settling with a 3-3 draw against West Ham United in their Premier League fixture on Sunday.
“The game was under control,” he said. “We had Harry Kane to score the fourth when he hit the post, then Gareth Bale to kill the game. This is a game that was in the pocket and we lost two points.”
“We should be stronger. They were lucky but maybe they deserved that luck. We were unlucky but maybe we deserved that.”
Spurs were leading 3-0 when Bale came on as a 72nd minute substitute for his first appearance since joining on a season-long loan from Real Madrid but he suffered a debut to forget as Tottenham capitulated in astonishing fashion.
The Wales star was one of the main culprits as he missed a golden opportunity to wrap up the points before West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini snatched a stoppage-time equaliser.
Tottenham took the lead with just 45 seconds gone when Son Heung-min and Harry Kane combined to create a goal for the seventh time this season.
Kane was the catalyst, dropping deep into midfield before unfurling a majestic long pass that found Son, who cut into the West Ham area and curled his shot into the far corner.
It was Kane’s turn to get on the scoresheet in the eighth minute as he nutmegged Declan Rice and fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Tottenham’s sizzling start featured a third goal in the 16th minute, with England captain Kane heading in from Sergio Reguilon’s pin-point cross for his 10th goal of the season.
Back at Tottenham seven years after leaving for Real in a then world record deal, Bale hopes to prove he is still a world-class talent despite a long spell out of favour with Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
But it was West Ham who were the dominant force after Bale’s introduction to replace Steven Bergwijn.
Fabian Balbuena nodded in from Aaron Cresswell’s cross after 82 minutes and Davinson Sanchez’s headed own goal from Vladimir Coufal’s delivery three minutes later left Tottenham panicking.
Bale should have scored in stoppage-time, but he shot wide after bursting into the area and Lanzini made him pay with a brilliant 25-yard blast into the top corner.
West Ham are the first team in Premier League history to avoid defeat in a game having trailed by three or more goals as late as the 81st minute.
