West Ham United had probably started preparing their second complaint in 24 hours when 13 minutes of time added on for stoppages threatened to hand Tottenham Hotspur a relegation lifeline.
But the sense of injustice at being denied an equaliser against Arsenal by VAR and Tottenham’s failure to make 13 long minutes count against Leeds United can now be used as fuel in their bid to survive.
Spurs may have pulled a point further clear of them and the relegation zone with a draw, but West Ham will have been buoyed by a result that keeps them very much in the race to stay up.
They might also think all the pressure is now on Tottenham. That is certainly how it felt when anxiety gripped the Spurs stadium once again after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had equalised from the penalty spot for the visitors.
Incredibly, it was Leeds and not Tottenham who almost snatched a dramatic winner in stoppage time as substitute Sean Longstaff saw Antonin Kinsky tip his shot on to the underside of the crossbar.
Kinsky also made a superb late save to make sure of all three points against Wolverhampton Wanderers and the goalkeeper will be one of the club’s unlikely heroes if Tottenham stay up. Crucially for West Ham, however, that is still a big if.
West Ham can now use their battling defeat by Arsenal as proof to themselves that they can still get out of trouble. Tottenham, however, looked like a team who still needed to be convinced they could get over the line as players collapsed to the floor at the final whistle on Monday night.
Roberto De Zerbi has done an excellent job restoring confidence within his Spurs squad in recent weeks and will believe that he can lift them again for one last push. The return of James Maddison, following more than a year out with injury, will also lift spirits after he made a late appearance from the bench against Leeds.
James Maddison made his long-awaited return to the Spurs team but could not swing a win – Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images
“We deserve to stay up and we fight until the end,” said De Zerbi. “When you fight relegation, you need to stay strong not with the legs but with the head.”
Spurs have a two-point advantage, but has there been another momentum swing that favours West Ham? We will begin to find out when the Hammers travel to Newcastle United on Sunday knowing that even a point will pile more pressure on their London rivals.
Chelsea will lick their lips at the prospect of sending the relegation fight to the final day and the Spurs fans will know only too well that their side have won only once at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League era, in 2018.
It was Chelsea who ruined Tottenham’s title hopes in the “Battle of the Bridge” in 2016 and, 10 years on, sending them closer to the Premier League trapdoor would be even sweeter for their fans.
Which takes us to a potential final-day decider. Leeds showed at Tottenham that, despite being safe from relegation, they will be no pushovers for West Ham at the London Stadium.
But the east London side may yet have an ace up their sleeve in the shape of the club’s former manager David Moyes, who will take his Everton team to Spurs on the final day.
Moyes is already a legend at his former club for winning the Europa Conference League and he really could become West Ham’s “Moyesiah” by winning on the last day at Tottenham.
Everton are sixth in the Premier League away table, while Spurs are second only to Burnley at the bottom of the home table and remain winless at their £1.5bn stadium in the League since December 6.
Tottenham still have their fate in their own hands. But West Ham now have a siege mentality and unexpected hope to take the relegation fight to the wire.
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