Richarlison has to restrain Dejan Kulusevski as the Swedish forward fumes at officials after Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham… with fans joking the fiery Brazilian ‘is a changed man’

• Tottenham created a piece of Premier League history after Thursday’s 2-1 defeat
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• Mauricio Pochettino has so much work to do with woeful Chelsea – It’s All Kicking Off

Tottenham forwards Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison were pictured in front of officials at the end of their 2-1 defeat against West Ham on Thursday night, with one of the Spurs stars calming down their team-mate. 

Yet it was perhaps not the player you would expect, with the former Everton forward in fact restraining Kulusevski at the end of the game, with the Swede international seemingly aggrieved with a decision that didn’t go his way. 

Richarlison has a reputation for not shying away from conflict on the pitch, notably caught up in two separate tense instances in the north London derby in January, pushing both Takehiro Tomiyasu and Aaron Ramsdale. 

Yet on Thursday it was Kulusevski left incensed, and it is thought that his fury stems from not getting a foul after feeling he was caught by the arm of West Ham star Lucas Paqueta during a challenge.

The Brazilian left unpunished, with the goal scoring hero against Manchester City just a few days previously picking up a yellow instead.

Richarlison was seen physically restraining Dejan Kulusevski at the end of the game on Thursday

Angry scenes greeted the final whistle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday night

Mail Sport has launched a campaign to stop the abuse of referees at all levels of the game

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Emotions were understandably high in north London on Thursday night again, with Spurs throwing away a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1.

In doing so, they made Premier League history as the first team not to win despite taking the lead in five games in a row. 

Cristian Romero on his return to the side following suspension had given the hosts the lead in the opening 11 minutes. 

Yet the Hammers fought back, and after Jarrod Bowen’s fortuitous equaliser, James Ward-Prowse capitalised on a defensive error to complete the comeback. 

Kulusevski had struggled to make in impact in the game, his attempt to restore parity in the 92nd minute symbollic of his performance. 

Cutting in off the right wing and making for the outside of the box, the Swede tried to wrap his left boot around the ball and send it flying into the top left corner. 

However, he got his lines horribly wrong, instead seeing his speculative effort careen well wide of the mark. 

Football fans on Twitter were quick to see the funny side of Richarlison restraining Kulusevski, however, with one writing: ‘Richarlison calming Kulusevski down, he’s a changed man’

Kulusevski thought he should have been awarded a foul after feeling he was caught by a stray elbow from Lucas Paqueta

Six yellow cards were shown in a fiery London derby clash between Tottenham and West Ham

The Swedish international struggled to make an impact from the right and spurned a late opportunity

Another added: ‘Richarlison doesn’t want smoke unless he can be the one to start it!’

Yet Kulusevski’s actions came in for criticism, with Mail Sport’s Chief Football Writer Oliver Holt calling for a red card for his complaints and attempts at ‘intimidation’, comparing it to Erling Haaland’s similar actions on Sunday.

‘I’d like to have seen Kulusevski shown a straight red for his intimidation of the referee at the end of the Spurs-West Ham game last night,’ Holt wrote on social media.

‘Same should have happened to Haaland against Spurs. Pathetic behaviour.’

Fans were quick to point at the irony of Richarlison calming down one of his team-mates

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