Three takeaways from Spurs’ derby win against West Ham

Spurs moved into a UCL spot from Sunday’s win against West Ham. Let’s talk some takeaways from the game.

• By
  
  Ryan Ratty
  
• on February 20, 2023 9:01 pm

It was a near-perfect weekend for Tottenham Hotspur after they dispatched West Ham in a home London derby. In the race for top 4, Tottenham benefitted from losses by Newcastle, Brighton and even Chelsea — who, despite their record, still have the ability to go on a strong run of form. There have been countless times in the past where Spurs have had a lot go their way only for them to be the architects of their own demise. Against West Ham, a side that recently found a decent run of form thanks to a new, solid defensive shape, Spurs faced a tricky opposition that has been known to up their game against Lilywhites in the past.

Without Antonio Conte at the helm, it was once again Cristian Stellini in charge of the side as he looked to right the ship after a midweek loss in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Stellini opted to rest Son Heung-min and Ivan Perišić down the left-hand side while also going with Emerson Royal at right wingback, a position of never-ending debate and speculation. The match started off extremely cagey, but an uptick in progression and aggression in the second half led to a number of good chances for the home side. In the end, it was a meaningful three points as Spurs jumped the Magpies into fourth place while also thwarting any chance of a letdown performance. Outside of Emerson’s continued good run of form, let’s discuss three takeaways that caught my eye from the performance.

The midfield duo of Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

All season long, Tottenham’s primary midfield duo has featured Højbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur. In large part due to the way Conte has wanted his side to operate, the duo has often been overrun and has lost second balls due to their being outnumbered in midfield. Out of the two, Bentancur has been the more creative option while Højbjerg has played more as a clean-up player by reading and breaking up play.

In Milan, with Højbjerg being suspended for the match and Bentancur out for an extended period of time, Spurs went with Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr in the Champions League. The performance of the squad was pretty poor, but the midfield duo were the primary bright spots as the moment and spotlight did not seem to be too big for either of them. On Sunday against West Ham, Stellini went with Skipp over Sarr on Sunday, perhaps because Skipp was the more experienced of the two. Paired with Hojbjerg, Skipp played in Højbjerg’s traditional role whereas the Dane became more advanced.

We have seen in Danish national games that Højbjerg can be a more progressive number eight. However at…