West Ham came back from three goals down with under 10 minutes to go to rescue a point in an astonishing comeback against Tottenham.
Manuel Lanzini’s brilliant long-range strike in injury time levelled the scores after Spurs had taken complete control in the opening 16 minutes through two goals from Harry Kane and one from Son Heung-min.
Fabian Balbuena’s header began West Ham’s fightback, with Davinson Sanchez’s own goal giving even more hope with five minutes to go.
Gareth Bale, on as a substitute in his first appearance since his return to Spurs from Real Madrid, missed a great chance in stoppage time before Lanzini lashed the ball in off goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ fingertips to cap an incredible climax.
West Ham improved markedly in the second half, but when Kane hit the post with 12 minutes to go there was no sign that the final result would be anything other than another win for Spurs.
The result sees Spurs remain in sixth place, while West Ham move up two places into eighth.
Spurs looked irresistible in the opening stages, carrying on in the same vein from their 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Kane’s sublime pass from inside his own half set up Son’s opener after only 45 seconds when the South Korean bent his shot around Balbuena and into the bottom corner.
Son then assisted Kane for the second after just eight minutes, the Spurs skipper’s excellent close control being followed up by a shot lashed past Lukasz Fabianski.
And when Kane then nodded in from a nicely floated cross by Sergio Reguilon, the hosts looked set to move up into second place ahead of the Sunday night Leicester v Aston Villa match.
The impressive Kane was even heavily involved at the other end, making an excellent block to deny Vladimir Coufal’s shot just before half-time.
But Spurs looked to ease off in the second half, and the introduction of Bale with 18 minutes left should have injected some much-needed urgency.
However the Spurs defence, barely tested before the break, creaked and then collapsed when it finally came under pressure at the crunch.
Faced by a daunting scoreline before a quarter of the game had gone, West Ham dug deep and didn’t collapse completely as might have been expected after Spurs’ opening onslaught.
But when Pablo Fornals somehow headed over from two yards out with keeper Lloris not in the picture, it seemed to suggest that David Moyes’ side would leave north London empty-handed.
But Moyes, back in the technical zone after a spell away with coronavirus, then saw his side go onto the front foot even after the introduction of Bale suggested that Spurs were closing in for the kill.
Balbuena’s goal jangled the hosts’ nerves, and when Sanchez diverted Coufal’s cross into his own net it was the away side who scented blood.
Lanzini’s brilliant shot, his first goal since May 2019, gave West Ham a draw that sees them putting a poor start to the season behind them with seven points from their last three Premier League outings.
Jose Mourinho had been coy about the prospects of Gareth Bale making his first appearance since his return from Real Madrid, saying the Welshman would “probably” play against West Ham.
But instead of Bale, Mourinho opted for Steven Bergwijn to line up alongside Kane and Son in Spurs’ front three.
Bale lining up alongside Kane and Son makes Spurs a tantalising prospect – in attack, at least.
Instead, Bale may have to wait until Thursday to make his first start for Spurs since 19 May 2013 when they take on LASK in the Europa League.
The Welshman’s very first touch after coming on was at a free kick, but he looked rusty as he drove it tamely at Fabianski.
The 31-year-old will look more ruefully at the chance he had to seal the win while Spurs were wobbling at 3-2, but his shot curled just wide and left West Ham with a slight chance that they eventually seized upon.