Tottenham 2-3 Bournemouth: Player ratings as Cherries earn win in stoppage time
By Sean Walsh
FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM - Tottenham missed the chance to move level on points with third-placed Newcastle after losing 3-2 against relegation-battling Bournemouth.
A back-and-forth game went the way of the Cherries, who scored a stoppage time winner having been pegged back late on by their former winger Arnaut Danjuma.
The hosts dominated the opening period with Dejan Kulusevski twice having shots blocked, before Son Heung-min gave them the lead with 14 minutes on the clock. Clement Lenglet's ball over the top found Ivan Perisic, and he selflessly cut the ball back for the South Korean to sweep home.
Harry Kane went close to adding Spurs' second with their next attack, with his speculative drive from 25 yards trickling narrowly wide of Neto's post.
At the other end, Bournemouth spurned a great chance to draw level. Matias Vina managed to wrestle away from Pedro Porro and tee up Ryan Christie, but his shot sailed into the stands.
Tottenham's search for a second saw Son lead a counter attack, skipping past Chris Mepham and forcing Neto into a great save to deny him from close range.
Son then turned provider for Kane with a clever pass between the lines, but the striker's first-time strike went straight at Neto and Bournemouth survived.
Marcus Tavernier, who was being carved apart at wing-back to this point, forced Hugo Lloris into his first save of the afternoon with a wicked strike from distance which was heading for the top corner.
And Bournemouth found an equaliser shortly before the break. Davinson Sanchez's relaxed pass played Porro into an aggressive Cherries press and the Spaniard was caught in possession, with Dominic Solanke quickly slipping Vina through to dink over Lloris.
Just after the interval, Bournemouth found themselves ahead. Tavernier managed to turn Sanchez inside-out, with the Colombian's desperate toe-poke allowing Solanke to ghost in and finish.
The atmosphere turned mutinous, with home fans calling for chairman Daniel Levy to depart and singing the name of former manager Mauricio Pochettino. Sanchez, brought on as a substitute shortly prior to the first goal, was booed off in place of Arnaut Danjuma.
Neto produced fairly routine stops to deny Danjuma and Oliver Skipp just after the hour mark as Tottenham looked to claw their way back into the contest.
A cross from Porro was perfectly placed onto the head of Kane, but he was just unable to steer the ball into the top corner.
Romero was then caught napping and forced into a mistake by Jaidon Anthony, who brought a fine stop out of Lloris.
For the third time in his Spurs career, Richarlison was denied a Premier League goal due to an offside in the build-up.
But in the second-to-last minute of regulation time, Tottenham had the ball in the net through Danjuma. Richarlison flicked on a long throw from Perisic and the former Bournemouth winger lashed in a superb half-volley, with VAR clearing Kane of offside while off the ball.
A roaring home crowd thought they had found a winner when Richarlison headed inches wide from a late corner.
Instead, they saw their side concede the latest of goals when Dango Ouattara scored deep into added time. Solanke held the ball up well and slipped through his strike partner, who kept his cool and picked out the far corner.
Tottenham player ratings (3-4-3)
GK: Hugo Lloris - 5/10 - Twice dinked. Harsh to suggest this was more about his goalkeeping and less about the good finishing, though.
CB: Cristian Romero - 4/10 - A reliable defender but sometimes caught out with his stray passing and relaxed mannerisms.
CB: Eric Dier - 4/10 - Looked far less sharp than Solanke in the key duel.
CB: Clement Lenglet - 6/10 - His beautiful ball over the Bournemouth defence set up the opening goal. Withdrawn later in the first half through injury.
RM: Pedro Porro - 3/10 - Dribbled into trouble way too often in the first half. A reliable creator after the break but the damage had been done.
CM: Oliver Skipp - 4/10 - Outmuscled by Lerma in the midfield battle.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 4/10 - Outclassed by fellow Dane Billing.
LM: Ivan Perisic - 7/10 - One of his better Spurs performances, linking up well with Son.
RF: Dejan Kulusevski - 5/10 - Set the tempo when the hosts were on top but then had to face several double-teams and was snuffed out of the game.
LF: Son Heung-min - 8/10 - Looked back to his old self, darting in behind and frazzling the Bournemouth backline.
CF: Harry Kane - 4/10 - Failed to stamp his authority on the game. A little lucky that he wasn't punished for kicking out at Mepham.
Substitutes
Davinson Sanchez (36' for Lenglet) - 1/10 - Came on, was at fault for two goals, hauled back off.
Arnaut Danjuma (58' for Sanchez) - 8/10
Richarlison (77' for Skipp) - 6/10
Manager
Cristian Stellini - 3/10 - Promised attacking football. Only utilised it when losing. Threw it away.
Bournemouth player ratings (3-4-3)
GK: Neto - 8/10 - Came up with several important saves.
CB: Chris Mepham - 7/10 - Burnt a fair bit by Son and Perisic early on but recovered well.
CB: Jack Stephens - 7/10 - Managed to pin down Kane.
CB: Lloyd Kelly - 9/10 - The chief reason Spurs had little luck breaking Bournemouth down. An outstanding, imposing display.
RM: Marcus Tavernier - 6/10 - Exposed for his defensive frailties early on but fought back and battled hard.
CM: Jefferson Lerma - 8/10 - Brought superb energy to the engine room. A top performance.
CM: Joe Rothwell - 7/10 - Shuffled across the pitch plugging gaps.
LM: Matias Vina - 8/10 - Made Porro's life hell in his 49 minutes on the pitch, scoring the equaliser.
RF: Ryan Christie - 6/10 - Got back to help Tavernier when he was clearly drowning.
LF: Philip Billing - 6/10 - Tucked into midfield a fair bit and his height advantage came in handy.
CF: Dominic Solanke - 9/10 - Two clever assists, a delicious goal. Job done.
Substitutes
Adam Smith (49' for Vina) - 6/10
Jaidon Anthony (66' for Christie) - 6/10
Marcos Senesi (79' for Billing) - 5/10
Dango Ouattara (79' for Tavernier) - 8/10
Manager
Gary O'Neil - 8/10 - A tremendous team performance from back to front.