Football

Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur player ratings

August 26, 2023 4:10 pm

  • Spurs pick up their second win on the bounce as James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski hit the target.
  • Bournemouth barely managed to trouble Ange Postecoglou’s men.
  • Spurs move to the top of the table with seven points to their name.
Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur player ratings
Photo by Icon sport

Bournemouth Player Ratings

  • Neto 5.8/10: Made some crucial saves, but might feel he should have done better to stop the second goal.
  • Milos Kerkez 6.7/10: Didn’t contribute to the attack much, but performed his defensive duties well.
  • Lloyd Kelly 6.8/10: Dealt well with Richarlison. His long balls, however, did not have the desired impact.
  • Illia Zabarnyi 7.4/10: Did pretty well to play out of the press of the Spurs frontline. A cool and composed centre-back performance.
  • Max Aarons 7.1/10: Will regret leaving an abundance of space for Udogie to run into in the build-up for Tottenham’s second goal. Other than that, he was one of the best attacking outlets for the Cherries.
  • Justin Kluivert 6.4/10: Had some sporadic moments of brilliance, but nothing more than an average performance overall.
  • Joe Rothwell 6.4/10: Struggled to win the midfield battle against his Tottenham counterparts.
  • Philip Billing 7.3/10: Dropped deep to create chances and was a regular threat to the heart of the Spurs defence.
  • Ryan Christie 6.4/10: Had one of the best chances for Bournemouth to score. An average midfield display.
  • Antoine Semenyo 5.4/10: Was largely ineffective against Udogie. Lost most of his ground battles.
  • Dominic Solanke 6.1/10: Had only one shot to show for his 90-minute outing. Not an excellent centre-forward performance.

Substitutions

  • Lewis Cook 6.5/10: Played almost the entire second half. Made some good recoveries and interceptions.
  • Hamed Traore 5.9/10: Could not produce the intended effect after coming on.
  • Jaidon Anthony 6/10: Did well to keep possession with some decent passing.
  • David Brooks 6.3/10: Tried to produce some attacking flair late into the game, but it was too little too late.
  • Kieffer Moore: Came on in the 86th match. Did not impact the game substantially.

Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings

  • Guglielmo Vicario 8.2/10: Did not have to do much throughout the game, but sprung into action when required.
  • Pedro Porro 7.5/10: A relatively quiet day in the office, but did his job well.
  • Cristian Romero 8/10: Patrolled the Spurs box superbly. Was excellent in winning aerial and ground duels.
  • Micky van de Ven 7.7/10: Was almost as impressive as Romero in the Spurs backline.
  • Destiny Udogie 7.8/10: Most of Bournemouth’s attacks came from his side, but he provided the assist for the second goal.
  • Dejan Kulusevski 8.2/10: A stellar all-round performance. Scored the second goal that essentially won the game for Spurs.
  • Pape Sarr 7.7/10: Was excellent in progressing the ball.
  • James Maddison 7.8/10: Was the nucleus of the Tottenham midfield throughout the game. Crafted some great chances and opened the scoring for the away side. Denied a brace as Neto brilliantly stopped his shot from going into the back of the net.
  • Yves Bissouma 8/10: Anchored the Spurs midfield very well. Dominated the middle of the park.
  • Heung-Min Son 8/10: Another brilliant show of attacking display. Did not get his name on the scoresheet, but was a constant menace.
  • Richarlison 6/10: Would be disappointed not to score.

Substitutions

  • Ivan Perisic 5.9/10: Picked up a yellow after coming on. Won some good tackles.
  • Pierre-Emile Hojberg 6.9/10: Ended the brief resurgence Bournemouth enjoyed at the start of the second half. Provided more stability to the Spurs midfield.
  • Oliver Skipp: Did not do much.
  • Giovani Lo Celso: Did not do much.

Tottenham started strong at the Vitality Stadium and their endeavours yielded the opening goal of the contest. Making his presence felt in the middle of the pitch for the Lilywhites, James Maddison picked up his debut Spurs goal to put his side ahead. He skillfully received Pape Sarr’s precise through-ball and confidently dispatched it beyond Bournemouth’s goalkeeper to break the deadlock.

The North Londoners attempted to build on the momentum and double their lead immediately. Heung Min-Son expertly manoeuvred through the Bournemouth defence, skilfully delivering the ball to Sarr. The attempt from the Senegal international, however, landed in the secure hands of Neto.

Throughout the first half, the Cherries faced difficulties penetrating the Tottenham box. Their midfield play was commendable, yet they lacked the critical touch to breach the Spurs defence. The home side’s first serious attempt came in the 41st minute when Antoine Semeneyo stole the ball from Yves Bissouma and played it swiftly to Ryan Christie, who forced Vicario to stretch and deflect the ball away.

At halftime, Bournemouth’s manager Andoni Iraola must have felt a sense of relief as his team managed to maintain a narrow deficit. The situation could have been worse had Richarlison not missed yet another chance for Tottenham to secure a two-goal lead.

Bournemouth had a better start to the second half. They put together some good attacks from the left flank with Semeneyo at the heart of the action, but it was Tottenham who got the next goal against the run of play.

Iyenoma Udogie cleverly exploited the space on the left flank, surging forward to deliver a precise square pass into the Bournemouth box. Dejan Kulusevski expertly met the ball and confidently slotted it into the net, leaving no room for error. Bournemouth could not recover from the shock of a second goal and the visitors had no problem in seeing out the rest of the game.

Man Of The Match: Dejan Kulusevski

The Swedish international has produced an excellent performance. Regularly raided the opposition half, tracked back, and helped his team regain possession. Scored the second goal for the Lilywhites.

Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!