AFC Bournemouth 0 - 0 Spurs

AFC Bournemouth 0 - 0 Spurs

Tottenham miss chance to go top at Bournemouth but escape red cards

For Tottenham Hotspur the overriding emotions at the final whistle were ones of frustration and no little relief. They remain the only unbeaten team in the Premier League but a chance was missed here to go top for a few hours at least, through a combination of their own bluntness and a display from Bournemouth that brimmed with energy and organisation. Heading back to London, Mauricio Pochettino and his men will also reflect on the fact that things could have been a whole lot worse had they had two players sent off here, as could well have been the case.

Erik Lamela was fortunate not to collect a second yellow card on 40 minutes for a lunge on Dan Gosling while late on in the contest, Moussa Sissoko, on as a substitute, struck Harry Artur with an elbow that enraged the midfielder and the majority of those in attendance. The referee, Craig Pawson, had a clear view of the first incident and a somewhat obstructed view of the other but in either case will surely feel that he should have taken firmer action. For Bournemouth, it was a case of what might have been but they can nevertheless take great encouragement from their display here and a fourth successive game without defeat.

Pochettino made two changes to the Tottenham team that drew with Bayer Leverkusen in midweek. Kyle Walker returned in place of Kieran Tripper while Moussa Dembélé came in for Vincent Janssen, which meant Son Heung-min being shifted to a more advanced position.

Bournemouth’s side also contained two change to that which started the 6-1 thrashing of Hull here last week. Joshua King replaced Junior Stanislas, who was ruled out with a calf injury, while Gosling replaced Andrew Surman, who was ruled out just before kick-off by illness. The midfielder had started each of Bournemouth’s eight league games before this contest, one of eight players to do so.

That late absence was a disruption for the hosts but it did not prevent them from beginning brightly, pressing aggressively high up the pitch and passing the ball with intent and zip. And it was Bournemouth who had the first chance of the game when Charlie Daniels hit a low shot from by the six-yard box that looked to be heading in only for Hugo Lloris to thrust out a leg and deflect the ball on to the bar. For the second time in four days, the Frenchman showed remarkable reflexes and further enhanced that view that it is he, rather than David De Gea, who is the Premier League’s best goalkeeper.

Tottenham were struggling to build momentum yet they almost took the lead on 17 minutes when Lamela clipped the bar with a shot from just outside the area following incisive buildup play involving the Argentinian and Dele Alli. Artur Boruc was then forced to save Christian Eriksen’s deflected drive 10 minutes later as the visitors finally began dominating possession.

But the hosts were not rattled and continued to largely frustrate their opponents, which could seen in the tackles made by Alli and Danny Rose on Adam Smith and King respectively that led to them being two of four Tottenham players booked by the interval. Lamela was one of the other visiting players booked and he was lucky to still be on the pitch come the start of the second half after his tackle on Gosling, which occurred right in front of Pawson.

Tottenham began the second half brightly and were soon dominating possession and territory, forcing Bournemouth back and Callum Wilson, a willing runner and aggressive presence as the hosts’ lone striker, to become increasingly isolated. At times there were eight men in red and black stationed in and around their penalty area in order to fend off attacks from their opponents.

Dembélé had become the chief architect of Tottenham’s near relentless pressure with Alli also playing an important role, yet neither could force a clear cut opening and it came as no surprise when Pochettino replaced the largely anonymous Son with Janssen on 61 minutes in an attempt to finally break open Bournemouth.

They could not do so, however, and instead the most notable incident of the closing stages was the melee that broke out by the near touchline during which Artur could not hide his fury with Sissoko for an off-the-ball incident that could lead to the France international receiving a retrospective suspension.

Guardian