West Ham 2 Tottenham 3: AVB amazed by ‘unbelievable’ Bale

Andre Villas-Boas was gushing with praise for Gareth Bale after watching the Tottenham winger inspire his side to victory at West Ham and up to third place in the table.

Bale continued his stunning recent form when he slotted home in the 13th minute to give Spurs the lead.

But Andy Carroll equalised from the penalty spot, before Joe Cole’s neat finish put Sam Allardyce’s side 2-1 up one day after the 20th anniversary of Bobby Moore’s death.

However, Tottenham fought back as Gylfi Sigurdsson poked home, and Bale netted a brilliant 25-yard strike in the 90th minute to give the north Londoners a crucial win in their bid for Champions League football.

“He’s unbelievable,” Villas-Boas said of Bale on Sky Sports. “He’s such a super-talent.

“I think we’ve been able to see him this season in another level and he’s just making the difference in every single game. He’s a tremendous talent.

“Players like this are able to assume the responsibility in these moments.

“[For the goal] you see him receiving the ball in midfield, taking it forward, being fouled, getting up and then just lining up the shot to score the winning goal.”

The victory hoists Spurs up above Chelsea into third in the Premier League table and just five points behind second-placed Manchester City.

And Villas-Boas has called on his side to continue their impressive form ahead of Arsenal’s visit to White Hart Lane on Sunday.

“We just have to keep getting points,” he continued. “We know that the distance is not very big to second place but we just have to continue to be competent.

“We face Arsenal on Sunday and it’s a big opportunity to build a distance to them.

“We’re maybe within grabbing distance of City but our priority at the moment is to establish our position and hopefully get a more comfortable distance to Chelsea and Arsenal.”