Tottenham Hotspur secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over lowly London rivals West Ham United thanks to a deft first-half finish from Erik Lamela in their Premier League derby on Saturday.
Spurs took the lead just before the break with a glancing header from Argentine Lamela into the far corner of the net after a dribble and cross by Moussa Sissoko from the right.
Tottenham had another chance before the break at a packed London Stadium but central defender Davinson Sanchez’s low shot was well blocked by West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
The home side almost equalised three minutes into the second period but Marko Arnautovic’s fine header from Aaron Cresswell’s cross was tipped over the bar by Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.
West Ham kept pressing and their lively Austria forward Arnautovic again tested Lloris on the hour with a rasping low drive but they could not find a way through the Spurs defence.
The win takes Tottenham up to provisional third place with 21 points from nine games before Saturday’s late match, while struggling West Ham remain in 15th spot on seven points.
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