Spurs boss Postecoglou explains Maddison decision during West Ham win | OneFootball

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou explained why he took James Maddison off at halftime of their 4-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday.

The Hammers took the lead through Mohammed Kudus in the first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Dejan Kulusevski levelled matters with a strike that went in off both posts in the 36th minute.

The hosts stunned their London rivals with three goals in an eight-minute period after the interval. Yves Bissouma put Spurs ahead before an Alphonse Areola own goal extended their lead. Son Heung-min completed the rout on the hour mark.

“We had to fight hard in the first half,” Postecoglou told BBC Match of the Day. “Going a goal down wasn’t ideal but we clawed our way back into it, and it is not easy. West Ham are a big physical side and they have got some speed as well.

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“Second half we were outstanding. We upped the tempo and played some quality football, defended when we needed to and got our finishing right.

“I think we had some chances where we could have scored more but if we keep creating the goals will come. We want to be that sort of side that creates lots of chances.”

Maddison assisted Kulusevski for his goal, but was replaced by Pape Matar Sarr at halftime. Postecoglou confirmed that the decision was a tactical one.

“We needed more running power in midfield and Pape [Sarr] has lots of that, bags of energy and running,” the Australian said.

“He really helped us to get control of the midfield and that gave us a good platform to go forward. Our general play improved from there and we looked dangerous going forward.”

Kulusevski told TNT Sports that the switch was a major factor in turning the tide in their favour. “It’s hard to do both things [attack and defend] all the time and it was good to get Pape in, he changed the game for us.”

The result moved Spurs up to seventh in the Premier League table with 13 points from eight games.

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