Tottenham hopes of title charge rest on defensive improvement as West Ham collapse continues bizarre season

For 80 minutes of this wild London derby, a Tottenham title tilt under Jose Mourinho suddenly seemed a tantalising possibility.

With Gareth Bale a spectator from the bench, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son issued a timely reminder the Welshman is, for now, only the third most exciting component of Spurs’s attack.

The imperious Kane scored twice and set up Son, as Spurs picked up where they left off after the 6-1 demolition of Manchester United by racing into a 3-0 lead over West Ham inside 16 minutes.

When Bale was finally introduced for his second coming after 72 minutes, joining Kane and Son in the front three, it felt like a show of strength, a shot across the bows for anyone still doubting Mourinho’s new-look Spurs.

By the end, Bale’s introduction only resembled another act of Tottenham hubris, as the hosts collapsed.

David Moyes romped onto the pitch in celebration after West Ham pulled off one of the great comebacks through Manuel Lanzini’s screamer in the final minute of stoppage-time.

Mourinho was at a loss to explain the result. It was not complacency, fatigue nor the distraction of the Bale sideshow, he said. He accused his side of not being mentally strong enough but declined to repeat the claim when asked about it in a subsequent interview.

“Football, I prefer to say football happened,” concluded the stunned Portuguese.

Spurs and West Ham have form at producing the inexplicable, and Sunday's game bore resemblance to Mourinho’s first match in charge, when his new side raced into a 3-0 lead over the Hammers, only to be pegged back to 3-2.

Another record-breaking encounter was, however, part of a wider pattern of bizarre results this season, with the alien conditions and scheduling seemingly having sounded a death knell for elite defending and game-management.

Mourinho also dismissed accusations about his side’s defending, but long before Fabian Balbuena headed home in the 82nd minute to begin West Ham’s comeback, Spurs were shaky at the back, with Davinson Sanchez the obvious weak link.

The Colombian, who played left centre-half, was particularly jittery at dealing with balls from the right, so it was no great surprise when he headed Vladimir Coufal’s cross into his own net to make it 3-2.

While no one should doubt that Kane, Son and Bale can lead a title charge, Tottenham’s hopes of mounting a genuine challenge rest on improving defensively.

In this regard, they are not alone. Having conceded seven against Aston Villa, Liverpool have now lost Virgil van Dijk to a knee injury and the Dutchman could be sidelined for the rest of the season. Manchester City have already conceded five in a humbling defeat to Leicester this term.

Chelsea’s shambolic back line is showing no signs of improving under Frank Lampard, the Blues also slipping to a frustrating 3-3 home draw in stoppage-time this weekend against Southampton.

With Spurs having thrashed United 6-1, Arsenal are the only member of the ‘big six’ yet to be on the end of an embarrassment, despite a 3-1 loss to Liverpool, in the opening matches of the campaign, but questions always abound about the Gunners’ defensively solidity.

So far, Liverpool have shipped 13 goals, United 12, Chelsea nine, Spurs eight, City seven and Arsenal six, while front-runners Everton have conceded seven. Only Villa, with two goals against in four outings, have shown the defensive nous traditionally required for a title assault.

For Mourinho, the issue remains one of balance. He could shore-up his defence by switching to a back three but it would leave one less space in the front six, where Kane, Son, Bale, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg feel like must-picks.

Eric Dier, who missed Sunday's game with a hamstring strain, for Sanchez would be an improvement but he has not looked wholly convincing for club or country since reverting to centre-half.

For all the focus on Bale, another Wales international, Joe Rodon, may in time prove just as important to the Spurs manager.

The left-sided centre-half joined from Swansea on Friday and, while Bale joins an attack that is already flying, Rodon will compete for a place in a defence in need of improvement.

In this barmiest of seasons, the top prizes may simply come down to which of the top sides can be least shambolic at the back.