Tottenham Momentum Demolishes Bournemouth’s Victory Hopes

Bournemouth crumble under pressure as Tottenham Hotspur claim their second win of the season. James Maddison and Dejan Kuluzevski managed to secure their first goals of the season as Spurs produced another excellent performance to produce a 2-0 victory.

The Tottenham starting eleven was unchanged against Bournemouth as they kept the same squad who were victorious against Manchester United last weekend.

Richarlison maintained his position in the team, despite his goal-scoring drought from the previous campaign trickling into the 2023-24 season; while Pape Matar Sarr was preferred to Danish midfielder Pierre Emile Hojbjerg and academy product Oliver Skipp, after his impressive performance last weekend.

There was speculation around whether James Maddison would make an appearance after an injury scare following the conclusion of the Man United game. However, he trained with the first team on Friday which evidentially was enough to prepare him for the match against Bournemouth.

(Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)

There was an essence of déjà vu in the first half as the Lilywhites proved to be clinical against the Cherries.

Maddison kicked off the scoring at Spurs by receiving a beautifully weighted pass from Pape Matar Sarr, which was carefully slotted into the bottom left corner. Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said in his post-match interview with TNT Sports, “The boys were clear-headed, brave when we needed to be and kept the game really simple and that helped us sort of take control”.

The second half, however, was a different story.

The opening fifteen minutes were worrying moments for Tottenham supporters as Spurs were sloppy in possession, gifting the ball to a threatening Bournemouth. Luckily for Tottenham, the home side were unable to pierce their defence.

Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero showed their quality throughout this period, with the addition of Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie performing well on either end of the pitch, whether in attacking or defensive positions.

The introduction of substitutions breathed life into the lungs of the away team as veterans Ivan Perisic and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg were brought into the contest in the sixtieth minute. Three minutes after their introduction Dejan Kuluzevski, with an assist from Destiny Udogie, put Tottenham 2-0 up.

It seems that the absence of Harry Kane is not proving to be as devastating as Tottenham fans were anticipating.

The Tottenham manager claimed “it’s not about having one threat, it’s about having multiple threats… can we score with our wide players, can we score with our midfield, can we score with our fullbacks” as has been demonstrated in the games against Brentford, Manchester United and now Bournemouth.

(Photo by Robin Jones/ Getty Images)

Postecoglou had high praise for the dynamic of the Spurs midfield as Yves Bissouma, Maddison and Sarr have all provided high-quality performances at the start of this season.

The Australian claims that they are still “getting a better understanding of each other”. This goes beyond just the three starters, with the likes of loan returnee Giovani Lo Celso, Skipp and Hojbjerg.

The highly-anticipated return of Rodrigo Bentancur in the next month or so could be a very exciting circumstance for Tottenham fans to think about. However, this will mean that Pape Matar Sarr could potentially lose his place in the starting eleven if Bentancur can carry on where he left off before his injury.

With the reliance now on other players in different positions, it must be time for Spurs’ Brazilian striker Richarlison to step up and end his concerning goal drought.

It cannot be mistaken that there is an unimaginable amount of pressure on Richarlison’s shoulders as he steps up to a position that was previously occupied by one of the greatest strikers the Premier League has ever seen. Postecoglou encourages Richarlison to “keep working hard” as “that is the story of every footballer”.

Tottenham now must cast their cast their gaze toward their next opponent, Fulham, as the second round of the Carabao Cup commences on Tuesday. Will Postecoglou stick with the same starting eleven or will new Spurs signing Manor Solomon rival Ivan Perisic and Heung-Min Son to make his first start for Spurs against his old club?

Player Ratings:

Vicario – 8, Udogie – 8, Van de Ven – 8, Romero – 8, Porro – 7, Bissouma – 9, Sarr – 7, Maddison – 9, Son – 6, Kuluzevski – 7, Richarlison – 6

Subs:

Perisic – 8, Hojbjerg – 7, Skipp – 6, Lo Celso – 7, Davies – 6