Pape Matar Sarr delivered the breakthrough in Tottenham’s derby win at West Ham, and he has now explained why he pointed to the bench after grabbing Spurs’ opener.
It was derby day delight for Thomas Frank and his Tottenham Hotspur squad, who secured an emphatic 3-0 win against London rivals West Ham United at the London Stadium.
It was a cagey affair from the off at the London Stadium with both sides looking to start brightly, but as the fixture grew on, it was Tottenham who took a foothold on proceedings, keeping West Ham pinned back for large spells.
Set-pieces played a major role in Spurs’ victory, as the Lilywhites won 13 corners, found the net directly from one and even had another goal from a Cristian Romero header disallowed for a foul inside the box.
Pape Matar Sarr explains his Tottenham celebration vs West Ham
It was a combination of Xavi Simons’ delivery from a corner and a well-taken header by Pape Matar Sarr that led to Spurs’ opener a few minutes after the start of the second half.
Following the goal, the Senegalese international wheeled away towards the bench and pointed in celebration, and now he has explained why.
Speaking to Tottenham’s official channels after the match, Sarr revealed that the gesture was a nod to Tottenham’s set-piece coach, Andreas Georgson.
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He explained: “It is for the coach – he is there, he is there. He spoke about it at half-time. He just told me when the ball arrives there, you will score. It was good timing. I scored – and it is for the coach.”
Sarr went on to detail how the move had been worked on in training before the game and how his connection with Simons played a big part in making it happen.
He added, “We worked on it two days ago. I told Xavi yesterday, if you have the ball, put the ball in and I will score. In the first half, we spoke together, I told him to cross the ball, and it was good timing, when the ball arrived, I headed it in. It was a nice goal, always nice to score in a derby.”
Reflecting further on the result, Sarr highlighted the importance of bouncing back after the disappointment before the international break. “You know, we lost against Bournemouth before we went into the international break and today was special for us to win this game, we did it and we are all happy.”
Thomas Frank set-piece influence clear in Spurs win
West Ham United have struggled to deal with set pieces so far this season, and it was clear that was something Thomas Frank and his coaching staff looked to exploit in this London derby.
Tottenham have not always been the strongest from set pieces, particularly last season, where they struggled to defend dead-ball situations and rarely capitalised on their own set plays in the final third.
Thomas Frank’s Brentford side, however, thrived at both ends of the pitch when it came to set pieces, and it is already clear that he and his backroom team are determined to bring that same edge to Tottenham.