Tottenham Hotspur picked up three points with Rodrigo Bentancur’s stoppage-time goal in yesterday’s away game. Spurs were two goals down against Bournemouth. But they completed their comeback just minutes before the final whistle.
Throughout the game Tottenham Hotspur dominated the game but the score was in favor of Bournemouth. Antonio Conte’s defenders were unable to compete against Bournemouth’s attackers, and were trailing until the 56th minute.
Yesterday’s 3-2 victory helped Tottenham retain their third place in the league table. Right now, they are just three points behind league leaders Manchester City.
On the other hand, Bournemouth have suffered three defeats in a row and are currently in the bottom half of the table.
Tottenham Hotspur match day activity
Conte took a risk and benched some of his regular players. But he soon regretted his decision, as the opponent destroyed his defense. Eric Dier and Bentancur, both players, started the match from the bench. Lucas Moura also came off the bench to add some attacking power in midfield.
In the first half, Kieffer Moore scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute with an assist from Tavernier. Before the half-time whistle, Bournemouth led the scoring with a goal.
In the second half of the match, the situation worsened for Spurs. Moore scored again in the 49th minute with a header after a brilliant cross from former Tottenham player Adam Smith. But things began to change when Sessegnon scored in the 57th minute after a long pass from Hojbjerg. But the excessive number of corner kicks really changed the whole dynamic of the Spurs game. As his last two goals came from the corners in the 73rd and 92nd minutes of the game.
Tottenham Hotspur deserved to win this game. Even though they were behind in the game most of the time. Those of Conte had almost 69% of the possession. They had a staggering 19 corners in the game. Both the winning goal and the equalizer also came from the corner. They were not daunted in the attack with 7 shots on goal from 23 shots.
Both coaches in the post-match interview
Conte walked through the tunnel during the winner’s goal celebration, but returned to the pitch only a few minutes later. During the post-match interview, the coach revealed the reason. He spoke: “I came back when I found out that the goal was regular. I thought in my mind and in my heart that if something happens then I could have a heart attack because in two days I will score and then be cancelled, I said, under [the tunnel].”
Bournemouth caretaker manager Gary O’Neil also revealed his thoughts on the game. He spoke: “They put everything in and got nothing out. The nature of that is hard to accept, so I’m really disappointed for the group.”
O’Neil believes the substitutes changed the game for Tottenham. As he added: “When they bring in Lucas Moura, Perisic, Bryan Gil, Bentancur and they keep bringing in world-class players off the bench, you think it’s complicated. We have lost against Tottenham and that is never a disgrace”.
Tottenham Hotspur’s next match will be vital as they take on Marseille on Wednesday to seal their fate of qualifying for the next round of the Champions League.
