Mitrovic suffers penalty misery; Sheffield, Fulham open accounts with draw

LONDON: West Ham ruined Gareth Bale’s Tottenham return with a stunning late fightback from three goals down to rescue a thrilling 3-3 draw, while Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic endured a penalty nightmare in a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United yesterday. Tottenham were leading 3-0 when Bale came on as a 72nd minute substitute for his first appearance since joining on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. But Bale suffered a debut to forget as Tottenham capitulated in astonishing fashion.

The Wales star was one of the main Tottenham culprits as he missed a golden opportunity to wrap up the points before West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini snatched a stoppage-time equalizer. Tottenham took the lead with just 45 seconds gone when Son Heung-min and Harry Kane combined to create a goal for the seventh time this season.
Kane was the catalyst, dropping deep into midfield before unfurling a majestic long pass that found Son, who cut into the West Ham area and curled his shot into the far corner. It was Kane’s turn to get on the scoresheet in the eighth minute as he nutmegged Declan Rice and fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Tottenham’s sizzling start featured a third goal in the 16th minute, with England captain Kane heading in from Sergio Reguilon’s pin-point cross for his 10th goal of the season.

Having crushed Manchester United 6-1 in their last game before the international break, Jose Mourinho’s side looked odds on for another emphatic victory. Back at Tottenham seven years after leaving for Real in a then world record deal, Bale hopes to prove he is still a world-class talent despite a long spell out of favor with Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane. But it was West Ham who were the dominant force after Bale’s introduction to replace Steven Bergwijn.

Fabian Balbuena nodded in from Aaron Cresswell’s cross after 82 minutes and Davinson Sanchez’s headed own goal from Vladimir Coufal’s delivery three minutes later left Tottenham panicking. Bale should have scored in stoppage-time, but he shot wide after bursting into the area and Lanzini made him pay with a brilliant 25-yard blast into the top corner. It was just the third time in Premier League history that a side has avoided defeat despite trailing by at least three goals going into the 80th minute.

Mitrovic misery
At Bramall Lane, Fulham’s Mitrovic fired over with his second half penalty after Jack Robinson handled. On-loan Leipzig winger Ademola Lookman put Fulham ahead in the 77th minute with a superb solo effort, beating two men before firing into the roof of the net. But Serbia international Mitrovic was penalised for a high foot on Robinson in the 85th minute following a VAR check and Billy Sharp made him pay as he drove his penalty down the middle.
Mitrovic is the first player to commit the unwanted penalty double in the same Premier League game since Mikel Arteta for Arsenal against Fulham in 2012. Fulham at least moved off the bottom of the table after taking their first point at the fifth attempt, following last season’s promotion from the Championship. United also avoided defeat for the first time in five games this season. Alexis Mac Allister’s first Premier League goal gave Brighton a dramatic 1-1 draw at rivals Crystal Palace.
Palace took the lead in the 19th minute when Tariq Lamptey was harshly adjudged to have pulled down Michy Batshuayi in the penalty area. Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha sent Brighton keeper Mat Ryan the wrong way from the spot for his fourth goal of the season. But, after a poor clearance from Palace defender Joel Ward, Argentine substitute Mac Allister fired home via a slight deflection from the edge of the area in the 90th minute. Brighton had defender Lewis Dunk sent off for a two-footed lunge on Gary Cahill in stoppage-time. — AFP