Four things you may have missed as West Ham beat Tottenham Hotspur

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Michail Antonio inspired West Ham United to a vital 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium.

David Moyes’ side came into the contest having failed to beat any fellow London clubs this season, but they always looked to be the most likely to win against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

The East Londoners took home the bragging rights after Antonio capped off another fine individual performance with a goal.

In a game of very few chances, Antonio looked the most likely to hit the back of the net, and it was the Jamaican who finally broke the deadlock.

He wrestled Harry Kane out of the way, before converting Aaron Cresswell’s tantalising out-swinging corner into the net from close range.

Once again, Spurs looked blunt and devoid of creativity in the final third, with Kane’s powerful header at the end of the first half which provoked an excellent save from Lukasz Fabianski, being the only real chance, they created.

Daily Star Sport looks at four things you may have missed as West Ham United beat Tottenham Hotspur.

Harry Kane higher up

Where will Tottenham Hotspur finish this season? Comment below

Kane’s regular habit of dropping deeper to find the ball, has regularly been blamed for his less than impressive start to the season.

He finally broke his Premier League goal duck with a classy finish in Spurs’ 3-2 away victory to Newcastle in the previous game-week, and he did so by charging in behind the defence.

With Santo opting to deploy Spurs in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Kane’s placement at the spearhead of the North Londoners, forces him to stay as high as possible.

He was regularly pitted against Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna at the London Stadium; getting up close and personal in a way rarely seen this season.

With Son, Lucas Moura, and Tanguy Ndombele encompassing the England captain, Kane is now concerning himself with getting into dangerous areas.

Kane’s goalscoring record is often like London busses – when one arrives, many more follow straight after.

This was perfectly evident on Kane’s first chance of the match, when Sergio Reguilon’s looping cross was met on the head by Kane, and Lukasz Fabianski just about clawed it away to safety.

Earlier in the season, it may have been Kane putting in the cross, rather than getting on the end of it – this is a good sign for Tottenham and for England.

Santo’s finally decided on his first eleven

Considering Santo’s very late appointment, not to mention a pre-season disrupted by constant speculation about Kane’s future, it was no surprise the Portuguese boss was constantly chopping and changing his first eleven.

However, he deployed the same starting eleven for the third consecutive Premier League match.

Eric Dier and Cristian Romero both seem to complement each other as a central defensive partnership, while Oliver Skipp and Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg both combine to provide a strong protective screen for the defenders.

Santo looks to have finally found the perfect central foundations to his side, and with Kane and Son continuing to lead the line for Tottenham, Santo looks to have finally found his feet, and his strongest team.

West Ham one of London's top dogs

Tottenham Hotspur may have enjoyed the lions share of possession, but for the most part of the game, it was Moyes’ side who were in control.

Santo’s side came into the contest just one point above the Hammers, however, the East Londoners had scored more goals and conceded less than Spurs.

Antonio is the third highest goalscorer in the division, while Declan Rice is one of the most valuable players in the whole division.

There have not been many times in recent Premier League history, where West Ham and Spurs have looked so equal on paper and on the pitch.

It is remarkable to think Moyes took over the Hammers when they were 17th in the Premier League table – last season Chelsea were the only London club to finish above them.

Moyes has worked wonders with the current crop of claret and blue, and if they can maintain consistency and battle on all fronts, surely it will not be long until they are considered one of the big boys in London.

Antonio comes out on top vs Romero

Not even Lionel Messi can prepare you for the multiple challenges Michail Antonio throws up at you.

Christian Romero trains with the little Argentinean every international break, but even he struggled against West Ham’s Jamaican diamond.

With five goals and three assists in seven Premier League appearances, Mohamed Salah and Jamie Vardy are the only players above Antonio in the Premier League golden boot awards.

At times, Antonio dominated the summer signing, whether it was by pinning him down to hold the ball up, winning everything in the air, and spinning off the former Atalanta man to get passes in behind.

However, the direct running and dribbling ability of Antonio is perhaps the aspect of his game which has improved most.

Very few players conjure up more challenges and more variety than Antonio, and the cultured Argentine will be hoping he does not have to face Antonio many more times this season.

Fornals squares up to Fornals

Maybe it was the frustration from his battle with Antonio, but Romero needlessly got himself a yellow card in the 60 ^th minute.

After the former Atalanta star fouled Pablo Fornals he bowed over the Spaniard and appeared to say something which upset him.

Fornals immediately jumped up and got in the face of the £42m man, before both players were separated by their teammates.

After they were split apart, Kane and Dier took Romero to the side and appeared to give him some words of wisdom.

They almost resembled a father and an uncle taking their misbehaving child to the side for a telling off.

Whether it was for his comment or for the foul, Romero was given a yellow card, meaning he had to play on the edge of a sending off for the final half an hour of the match.

• West Ham FC
• Tottenham Hotspur FC
• Premier League

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