Tottenham suffered a thrilling 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday night, and despite being unbeaten in their last three games, the visiting side were unable to shake off their ‘Doctor Tottenham’ label against a side they hadn’t tasted a win since October.
Matthijs Tell benefited from consecutive starts within the first five minutes. Following a deft backheel from Xavi, the young Frenchman cut in from the left and fired a low shot into the bottom right corner of the goal. The hosts equalized in the 22nd minute when Evanilsson broke free in front of Tottenham captain Cristian Romero and headed in Marcus Tavernier’s cross.
Nine minutes before half-time, Bournemouth took the lead as Spurs’ defense looked even more lackluster. Tavernier’s cross from the left reached Marcos Senesi at the far post, who connected it and Junior Crupi slotted it into the goal.
Substitute Richarlison nearly leveled the score with a header that hit the post with 20 minutes remaining. A penalty was awarded shortly after Micky van de Ven’s long run ended when he fell down inside the box, but referee Darren England, after consulting with a monitor, ruled that the Dutchman’s leg appeared to have caught the defender’s and there was no foul.
However, in the 78th minute, Palinha’s superb overhead kick from a corner resulted in an equalizer.
Spurs almost sealed the victory with a header from Van de Ven, but Djordje Petrovic made a great save. But it was Antoine Semenyo who sealed the victory, firing a low shot from outside the box in stoppage time in what is expected to be his last game for the club before moving to Manchester City.
Here are Spurs’ player ratings for this match…
Guglielmo Vicario
Evanilsson’s accurate header and Crupi’s close-range effort had nothing to do with it, and although Semenyo’s shot found the bottom corner, Vicario’s kick was subpar. 5.
Pedro Polo
Bournemouth’s equalizer was caught out of position on the left, giving Tavernier enough time to cross. He was back in his usual team and couldn’t get anyone close enough to score the second goal.
In the second half, he received a yellow card for a late tackle on Evan Wilson. It was a challenging night for him. 4.
Cristian Romero
Midway through the first half, he sent a header over the crossbar from a corner kick. The host side lost Evanilsson for the equalizing goal.
Although their defense was weak in the first half, they improved significantly in the second half, creating some crucial tasks and proving to be a formidable presence inside Bournemouth’s box during set pieces. Almost set up Tel for a late equalizer. 7.
mickey van de ven
We made a few careless passes in the first half. He thought he had won a penalty in the second half, but VAR intervened and suggested he may have tripped the defender rather than the other way around.
His objection earned him a yellow card. Petrovic made a great save from a header in the final 10 minutes. 6.
Jed Spence
They tried to create a chance from the left side, but were unable to connect with Tavernier’s cross, resulting in their second goal. There were some sloppy touches in the second half of the run. 6.
Joan Parinha
It was a solid performance until he equalized with a nice overhead kick. 7.
Rodrigo Bentancur
At times he covers others well, but equally he has very poor possession of other players, especially in the first half, giving the home team the ball in dangerous areas. He got better as the second half progressed, and was substituted with an injury with five minutes remaining. 4.
Lucas Bergvall
He took a long shot early on, but the goalkeeper recovered it on his second try. Around the 30th minute, he curled a shot that hit the top of the crossbar.
Although he worked hard, he appeared to have injured his groin due to an awkward twist, and he left the game while pounding the ground repeatedly in frustration. 6.
Xavi Simmons
When he returned after missing three games, he immediately contributed with a backheel assist on Tell’s run. The match started well but lost momentum after Bournemouth scored two goals in the first half. 6.
matistel
He got off to an energetic start, cutting inside and firing a low shot into the top corner just five minutes into the match. He was Spurs’ standout player in the first half, attacking consistently down the left and causing problems for Bournemouth.
They had some threatening set-pieces in the second half and had some late chances, but they were too exhausted to take advantage of them. 7.
Randall Kolo Muani
He received very little service and did little with the ball. 3.
sub
Wilson Odbert
He provided a forward momentum in place of the injured Bergvall. 6.
Richarlison
The header hit the post, creating problems for the Cherries. 6.
archie gray
He replaced Bentancur in the final stages. Not applicable.
