Matchday Live: West Brom v Tottenham
By Ryan Wrenn
Final Thoughts
Perhaps it would be best to keep this short.
That was a near disastrous half, and it’s hard to say what would have hurt more: the loss or the injury to Toby Alderweireld.
The centre-back collided with Jan Vertoghen and seemed to injure something in his knee. An attempt to stand only send him tumbling to the ground once again. Eric Dier came in for him, but Tottenham fans will be anxiously awaiting word on how long he’ll be out.
West Brom, to their credit, figured that relying on Foster was only going to get them so far. They did well to tighten up and keep Janssen to bottled up to bring in his teammates. The performance of Tottenham’s attacking mids suffered as a result.
Sissoko looked especially plodding. His value is clear in matches against teams like Manchester City, but here his lack of pace and inability to create chances are a bit of a liability.
It seemed fitting that Chadli would score — from a set piece, thereby sustaining Tottenham’s record of not conceding in open play. The Belgian declined to celebrate, and was substituted shortly thereafter.
With so little time left in the match, it appeared as if Tottenham would suffer their first loss of the season. And then, Alli turned up.
A cross bounced around the box, finding it’s way to Alli who deftly send it in near the post.
Next: Will Mousa Dembele Lose His Starting Spot at Tottenham?
Tottenham continued to press for a winner deep into extra time, including a close call when Eriksen nearly sent the ball into West Brom’s top corner from a free-kick.
The match would end 1-1…again. Tottenham simply could not build on a great first half. Pochettino, et al will take small comfort from the fact that Tottenham remain the only unbeaten team in the Premier League.