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Mourinho lifts Tottenham Hotspur on debut; Manchester City, Liverpool keep title race alive

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Tottenham Hotspur's Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho interacts with Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane (R) and Tottenham Hotspur's English midfielder Harry Winks (L) at the final whistle during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at The London Stadium, in east London on November 23, 2019. - Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United 3-2. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)


Mourinho starts with a win

Jose Mourinho had a tricky first day at the office as Tottenham Hotspur conceded two second-half goals but managed to win the game 3-2 against West Ham at the London Stadium.

Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane were on the scoresheet for the visitors as they registered their first away league victory since January.

Son opened the scoring for the night when he took full advantage of West Ham goalkeeper Roberto’s awful mistake and gave Spurs the lead in the 36th minute.

Right at the edge of the first half Son fired a low cross into the box from the left which found Moura. The Brazilian did not make any mistake and extended the lead for the tourists.

Tottenham started the second half with the same intent and within four minute captain Kane scored the third of the night and made up for Moura’s horrible miss a minute before.

However, goals from Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna in the 73rd minute and 96th minute respectively saw the home team restoring some pride.

But it was all too late as Mourinho heaved a sigh of relief in the sidelines after final whistle was blown.”It was very, very important. Eleven months without music in the away dressing room, without a smile, without happiness and they did it,” the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss was quoted as saying by AFP.

“That’s where I belong (on the touchline), that is my natural habitat. I just love it. When things go in your direction, winning is the best feeling,” he added.

City recovers early scare

Manchester City made a comeback in the first half and sustained the lead, after conceding an early goal against Chelsea, to win 2-1 in front of their home crowd at the Etihad Stadium.

City were under tremendous pressure after losing their last league game against Liverpool and falling behind in the title race.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have been the best tourists of the league this season and were in the middle of a seven-match winning streak away from home before facing City.

The Blues’ French midfielder N’Golo Kante gave them the lead in the 21st minute. It was a long ball from the back that defied the resilience of City’s backline and Kante was at ease as he rolled it past the home team goalkeeper Ederson.

The party was not to last long as the season’s most successful midfielder Kevin De Buyne saw the back of the net within 8 minutes to equalise for the Blues of Manchester.

However, the moment of the day came in the 37th minute when Riyad Mahrez produced a moment of individual brilliance to take the lead for Manchester City. The winger dribbled past two Chelsea players and smashed the ball between the legs of another to beat Kepa Arrziabalaga.

The second half saw both the team trying hard for another breakthrough and at some moments Chelsea came real close but failed to equalise.

Liverpool extend lead at the top

Table-toppers Liverpool registered yet another win and had again put on display their knack for scoring last-minute winners. Roberto Firmino scored the deciding goal in favour of the Reds in 85th minute as they extended their lead at the top by eight points.

The European Champions who are looking more determined than ever to win their first league title in 30 years, took the lead in 49th minute after playing a goalless first half against Crystal Palace.

Palace defended hard to resist the Jurgen Klopp-managed side from extending their lead. In the 82nd minute, Wilfried Zaha gave Palace the equaliser.

“We are not out there to show we invented football. We have a job to do to get results. We did that again. I have no problem that we were not brilliant today. You just have to make sure you are ready to fight for the result and we were that from the first minute,” Klopp was quoted by AFP.

In other matches, Leicester City beat Brighton 2-0 and Arsenal played a 2-2 draw against Southampton. Wolves and Norwich City also registered win against Bournemouth and Everton respectively.

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