Jose’s joy: Mourinho makes winning return but Spurs made to sweat at West Ham

Jose Mourinho made a winning start to life as Tottenham manager as his team beat West Ham 3-2 in their Premier League encounter at London Stadium.

Spurs ran out winners thanks to first-half goals from Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura, while Harry Kane added a third in the second half.

However, they were forced to survive a later scare as West Ham threatened a comeback when Michail Antonio scored with 15 minutes to play and Declan Rice saw a late goal ruled out by the VAR for offside. 

The hosts did eventually pull another goal back through Angelo Ogbonna deep into injury time, but it was too little too late as Spurs secured a first away win in the Premier League since January, and first win of any kind in the league since the end of September.

It also meant Mourinho won his first match in charge since taking over from Mauricio Pochettino in the week, as the Argentine was sacked after more than five years at the North London club.

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Mourinho signaled in the week how happy he was to be back in the managerial hotseat, almost one year since he was sacked by Manchester United, also vowing that he was “humble” and had used his time off wisely.

Breezing into London Stadium Mourinho cut a relaxed figure and was almost given the perfect start inside the first three minutes, only for Harry Kane’s goal to be ruled out for offside.  

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It was South Korean star Son who scored the first goal of the Mourinho reign, collecting a pass from Dele Alli and finding space before firing a shot through West Ham ‘keeper Roberto on 36 minutes.  

Mourinho responded by punching the air in delight, and it was not long before he had to wait for the second goal of his reign, when seven minutes later Son turned provider, latching onto a smart pass from a grounded Dele Alli to square the ball for Lucas Moura, who poked the ball home at the back post inside the six yard box.  

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The flick from Dele Alli in the build-up was innovative, and came after Mourinho had implored him to step up and “be the real Dele” by finding the form that had deserted him in recent months.

Spurs picked up where they left off soon after the break as Kane met a Serge Aurier corss to head past Roberto, with questions again being asked of the hapless Hammers ‘keeper.

The goal moved the prolific Kane up to third on the list of Spurs’ all-time top scorers, while Mourinho was seen laughing on the touchline in delight at his team’s performance.

However, there were signs of work to do for Mourinho as his team conceded when substitute Michail Antonio fired in from a Mark Noble pass with just over quarter of an hour left.  

The Hammers scented an unlikely comeback when midfielder Declan Rice turned in from a corner inside the last minute, but it was rightly ruled out for offiside by the VAR.

Ogbonna did add a second in the 96th minute when fired in a low shot after a corner, but it was more comfortable for Spurs than the scoreline suggested as they moved all the way up from 14th to sixth, level on points with Sheffield United in fifth but with the rest of the teams in a tight mid-table yet to play. 

Manuel Pellegrini's West Ham lie in a lowly 16th, five points above the relegation zone.