Tottenham 1-0 Bournemouth: Highlights and recap
Tottenham beat Bournemouth 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, Oct. 14. Here are all the highlights from the match at Wembley.
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Tottenham won their first home league match of the season — their first home league win ever since their temporary move to Wembley — eking out a 1-0 win against Bournemouth thanks to Christian Eriksen’s tidy finish early in the second half.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side dominated the ball as expected early on, but created only one clear opening, when Harry Kane fired straight at Asmir Begovic from close range. Spurs’ lack of treat owed much to a disciplined performance from the Cherries, who set up with a back three, which was functionally a back five for most of the match.
They weren’t without an attacking threat, however, as Josh King caused problems for Tottenham in the final third. King’s excellent hold-up play led to Bournemouth’s best chances of the first half, as Junior Stanislas drilled the ball into the chest of Sanchez when unmarked at the top of the box, before Hugo Lloris was forced into an exquisite save from the ensuing corner.
While the first half was reminiscent of disappointing Wembley draws against Burnley and Swansea, Eriksen’s goal early in the second eased the pressure on the home side. Simon Francis was at fault in the build up, allowing Eriksen to break a weak tackle, but it was a wonderfully composed finish from the midfielder.
Kane had the ball in the back of the net 10 minutes later, but was flagged for offside, before failing to finish past Begovic in another one-on-one situation in the 62nd minute. This was the first time in five matches for club and country Kane has failed to score.
The Cherries made a late push to equalize, bringing Jordon Ibe and Jermain Defoe off the bench with 15 minutes to go. The two substitutes combined almost immediately, but Defoe’s shot was saved well by Lloris at his near post.
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Highlights
Eriksen gives Spurs the lead at Wembley! Can they hold it? https://t.co/jlhjugw1rt
— Transfer Man (@_transferman) October 14, 2017
Tottenham moved up to third with the win, and closed the gap to second-place Manchester United to three points. Bournemouth stay 19th, but can take some encouragement from what was a solid performance against one of the league’s best teams.