FT: West Ham 0-1 Tottenham: Lamela, Lloris resign Hammers to a loss

West Ham United produced another respectable performance in the new Manuel Pellegrini era, but they fell to Tottenham 1-0 at the London Stadium Saturday in their latest crosstown derby.

Erik Lamela’s 44th minute winner was the difference between the two sides, as the Hammers were denied a draw by the tremendous saves from Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. After a solid opening 40 minutes that saw Pellegrini’s side go toe-to-toe with their latest Big 6 foe, West Ham were dealt a double psychological blow when Andriy Yarmolenko suffered what appeared to be a severe injury. His serious discomfort was then followed by Lamela just a few moments later sneaking into the box and finishing a Moussa Sissoko cross to give the visitors the lead.

The Hammers of course did not give up, with Marko Arnautovic once again energetic and a constant threat. But the Austrian star was denied by the brilliant Lloris, as the French No.1 produced an array of top denials to frustrate the home crowd. Lloris denied Arnautovic superbly twice in the second half, preventing the West Ham talisman from a great heading goal and then in stoppage time with a point blink denial.

Pellegrini and company will hope that their latest reputable performance will lead to points in the next outing, when they face off against Leicester City next Saturday?