James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski guide Spurs to emphatic away victory as Ange Postecoglou continues his strong start in charge
- England star James Maddison opened the scoring with his first Tottenham aim
- Dejan Kulusevski added a second to deflate Bournemouth’s comeback hopes
- Ange Postecoglou watched on as his aspect recorded back-to-back victories
As this sport entered its ultimate 10 minutes, Son Heung-Min turned to these followers who made the journey south and tried to orchestrate slightly further noise. It wasn’t an formidable request – there’s extra to shout about at Tottenham now than there was in a superb whereas.
These are very early days, after all. And there are vital holes that require filling, which is most obvious in the house left by Harry Kane and the difficulties Richarlison has skilled in his spot.YE
But these points tackle much less urgency and weight when a workforce is successful and extra so when it’s successful effectively.
For some managers who’ve handed by way of this membership of late, there are few strains of distinction to be discovered there, and naturally that may be a matter of style, however Spurs have all the time aspired to fashion and it could appear they’ve rediscovered slightly of the enjoyable stuff below Ange Postecoglou.
This wasn’t fairly the exhibition of swagger they supplied in opposition to Manchester United, simply as it wasn’t the form of win that carries the identical booming echo – United are United and, respectfully, Bournemouth are Bournemouth.
But it was spectacular, each for the sustained creativity of the primary half, which they led by way of James Maddison, and then in the resilience they confirmed early in the second earlier than Dejan Kulusevski made all of it secure.
Those are completely different sorts of expertise, the kind that show if a squad has the gears for various challenges, and on the premise of restricted proof it could appear there are promising dimensions to what Postecoglou is constructing.
So far it’s best expressed in the ahead motions and it ought to be stated that in Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr the Australian is coordinating one of the watchable midfield models in the division. All three have been wonderful, simply as they have been in opposition to United, and that significantly applies to Maddison, whose £45million price ticket is ageing higher by the sport.
‘There wasn’t anybody happier than me after we acquired him,’ stated Postecoglou. ‘He’s that inventive pressure for us. He works laborious, he wins the ball again, presses. For him to placed on a efficiency like that’s credit score to him. And I feel there’s extra to come. He’s going to hold bettering. If we acquired him in the discount bin, that’s nice for us.’
Maddison had been a doubt for this one, primarily based on the sight of him leaving the United sport per week in the past with a protecting boot on his proper foot, however having managed just one coaching session all week he dominated giant chunks of the match right here.
With the brand new regime wanting velocity, urgency and dynamism, Maddison supplied all of these qualities. Indeed, it could possibly be stated his messiest contribution in the primary half was his end for the aim, which was a greater showcase for the opposite key cogs, particularly Sarr, whose threading of a move between Illia Zabarnyi and Lloyd Kelly was very good.
From there, Maddison was rewarded for a intelligent run behind the road, even when there was the whiff of a scuff in the brushed shot throughout Neto.
In some methods, the aim was typical of what Postecoglou is constructing. There was endurance in its creation, with Bissouma rotating passes between Pedro Porro and Sarr, earlier than that sudden injection of velocity when Sarr escalated the transfer into an unstoppable menace. Playing like that, springing from sedate to lethal, Spurs have turn into delightfully entertaining once more and Maddison is on the coronary heart of it.
Beyond the aim, he virtually made a second with a surging 40-yard run and throughball for Richarlison – the Brazilian was caught between ideas and botched his contact – and his wider defensive contributions helped when Bournemouth scented alternative.
That utilized as a lot to the tip of the primary half, when Ryan Christie and Philip Billing went shut, as it did the start of the second after they managed a stable 10 minutes of strain.
In these more durable moments, Bissouma and Maddison each put a superb shift in, and it additionally required some defensive substitutions from Postecoglou to stem the momentum.
Credit to Bournemouth for that passage of play – they swarmed with their assaults, simply as they tried to blanket Tottenham with their urgent. Clearly, Andoni Iraola has imprinted an id on this aspect, however such depth comes at a price, as a result of it was notable how they succumbed to fatigue in opposition to Spurs, simply as they did at Liverpool.
That left them weak to a second aim, which got here on 63 minutes when Destiny Udogie superior up the left and carved with his approach to the byline by way of a one-two with Son Heung-Min. Upon receiving the return ball he discovered Kulusevski on the close to put up and the latter’s end successfully killed the competition.
Postecoglou, who turns 59 on Sunday, managed a good grin when that went in. ‘We always put birthday celebrations on hold depending on the result,’ he stated. ‘I’m sure my wife is now scrambling to arrange something for tomorrow.’
