Jose Mourinho praises West Ham after Spurs collapse on Bale's return

Tottenham Hotspur fans must be enraged by the way the hosts played during the final 10 minutes of Sunday's game against West Ham United in the Premier League.

West Ham was trailing behind by three goals for the majority of the match. In fact, the scoreboard showed 3-0 in favour of the Spurs up until the 82nd minute on the clock. Despite such a dominating position, the hosts eventually drew the game 3-3, thanks to an epic comeback by West Ham.

Gareth Bale came in as a substitute in his first appearance for Tottenham since his return to the Premier League from Real Madrid. The 31-year old Welsh international missed a massive chance during stoppage time. Had he scored, it could have been an incredible climax and Bale would have instantly turned into a hero.

After the game, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho praised West Ham for their efforts during the last minutes. The 57-year old Portuguese also said that the visitors were lucky.

According to BBC, Mourinho said, "It is easy for me to praise West Ham. They were losing 3-0 for the majority of the game. The game was controlled, they didn't have chances and then late in the game, they score and increased their belief. They were lucky but maybe they deserved that luck. We were unlucky but maybe we deserved that. Harry Kane hit the post, it could be 4-0. Bale can score the fourth and kill it. We should be stronger."

It's almost certain that the Tottenham players will be fuming with themselves for their late collapse. The entire match showed a lot of positives for the hosts, except that they failed to cross the finishing line on a satisfactory note. Harry Kane played a key role in the match by scoring two goals. Before that, Son Heung-min scored the opener in the very first minute of the match.

By the 16th minute, Tottenham was leading 3-0. Mourinho might have expected his boys to score at least a dozen goals in total. But all the good work was wasted in the end, courtesy of poor tactics and even worse execution during the final minutes of the match.

As a result of the draw, Spurs are now in sixth place with eight points in five matches. On the other hand, West Ham United are eighth with seven points to their name.