That amazing turnaround
Tottenham Hotspur just never do things the easy way. Looking on course for a third successive Premier League defeat after Kieffer Moore doubled the scoreline with a powerful header four minutes after the restart, Antonio Conte's men rallied and somehow came away with three vital points.
Not only needing the win to get back on track in league with others closing in on them, but they also needed the victory to boost confidence going into Tuesday's crunch Champions League showdown vs Marseille. It certainly did not appear that the team would be leaving the south coast with all three points going on their first-half display.
Second best to begin with and falling behind to a well-taken finish from Moore after Bournemouth capitalised on some shoddy defending, Spurs never looked like restoring parity and did little of note to worry Mark Travers. Even when they did hit the woodwork towards the end of the first half, it came from Marcos Senesi inadvertently heading Son Heung-min's cross against his own post.
READ MORE: Every word Antonio Conte said on why he went down the tunnel after goal and what he told players
Seeing Oliver Skipp test the goalkeeper at his near post with a powerful drive after Emerson Royal teed him up, Spurs' first half was summed up by the Brazilian's attempt on the turn just inside the box. Not only did it go over the crossbar, but it also went over the Steve Fletcher Stand. Something that the squad will no doubt have a laugh over the coming days, it was no laughing matter for the Lilywhites at half-time with Tottenham heading for a repeat of their previous two league fixtures.
Conte still believed even when they went 2-0 down, telling football.london exactly that in his post-match press conference. Two nil is a funny scoreline in football, though, as the momentum immediately shifts once a team reduces the deficit and the other side starts to panic.
That is exactly what happened at the Vitality Stadium following Ryan Sessegnon's low finish that kissed the post and went in after a sublime through ball from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Sixteen minutes later, they were level after much pushing and probing, with Ben Davies rising highest to nod home an excellent delivery from substitute Ivan Perisic.
There was only ever going to be one winner after that, with Spurs having to wait until the second of the five allotted minutes of injury time to take the lead for the very first time. Heading home a vital goal in midweek against Sporting CP, Rodrigo Bentancur was in the right place at the right time to find the net after his initial header was blocked before falling kindly back into his path.
The celebrations were unsurprisingly wild on the pitch, in the dugout and also in the away section as the brilliant travelling faithful left with a win to talk about. Usually bouncing about all over the place when the team score, this time Conte went down to the tunnel and waited for the goal to be given, fearing a repeat of Harry Kane's controversial disallowed goal in midweek.
"I came back when I knew the goal was regular," he joked in his press conference. "I thought in my mind and my heart I can have a heart attack because in two days to score and then have a goal disallowed. I said I go down and then stay calm, and then I wait for the decision of the referee."
The celebrations continued at the full-time whistle, with fans noticing Hojbjerg's intense moment with Conte when the Spurs boss was with the referee and his officials. Grabbing the Italian on the shoulder and shaking him before flashing a massive smile on his face, Conte immediately turned around, embraced his midfielder and gave him a massive hug before later going back for more as they celebrated the vital win. It really did mean that much to both.
Speaking to the media after the game, the Spurs boss opened up on his team coming from behind and what exactly he told his players at the break.
"I don't want to think which we would be my mood if we lose this game," the 53-year-old told football.london. "I have to be honest, and also, after the first half, my feeling was positive. The only situation that I ask of my players is that we are to show more personality and take more responsibility because this game was on us.
"I think in the second half, despite conceding the second goal, we started to play nasty, with a will and desire to hurt the opponent. To not only move the ball and show 'look, we are good and so nice' but in an effective way.
"I think we created many chances to score, and at the end, we won the game in a difficult stadium because Bournemouth is a really good team. It is not easy to play against them because when they play with these two strikers, it is very difficult to put pressure because every time you put pressure, they play a long ball.
"They had a good combination between the two strikers, but in the end, I think it was vital for us this win, especially after two losses in the Premier League, and now this win has to give us enthusiasm and passion to go into Marseille and to play a final. This game will be a final for us to go to the next round of the Champions League."
Everyone connected with Tottenham may have had one eye on the Marseille fixture going into the Bournemouth encounter, but now they can fully focus on what could be a pivotal night for the football club. One thing for certain is that they must be on it from the off, or else this time, they could be really made to pay.
Others are not taking their chance
Saturday's incredible turnaround will have done little to change Conte's mind that more has to be done in the transfer market to improve the squad. Making a total of six changes as players such as Davinson Sanchez and Yves Bissouma came into the side, the boss needed to bring on his key stars in the second half to get the job done.
A huge opportunity for others to make their case ahead of the Marseille game, but they simply did not take it. Sanchez had a game to forget and was hooked not long into the second half as Eric Dier replaced him. Looking unconvincing throughout, the Colombian had a big role to play in Bournemouth's opener after racing across to try and help out when Marcus Tavernier was running through, thus leaving Moore in acres of space to finish beyond Hugo Lloris.
Clement Lenglet, who also came into the side, really should have done better in the lead-up to the strike after Dominic Solanke turned him easily to play in Tavernier. However, the Frenchman responded brilliantly after that and demonstrated to Conte that he is more than capable of playing in the middle of defence instead of Dier if required.
Emerson also had a bit of a nightmare defensively in the second half after opting to lead with his foot when trying to get on the end of Adam Smith's inch-perfect cross for Moore's goal rather than going with his head to try to challenge the powerful frontman. There was only ever going to be one winner in that contest.
Another player to be replaced in the second half was Bissouma. Earning a round of applause from his manager in the first half after winning the ball on the edge of the area with some good play before getting his cross all wrong, the summer signing again failed to have a telling impact on the side and paid the price with an early exit.
Having near enough his best XI in mind, those coming into the side really need to take their opportunity with both hands to give Conte the competitive squad that he requires. Saturday just demonstrated that more has to be done in the transfer market in both January and the summer to get the squad up to the required standard to compete at the top so that the levels don't constantly fluctuate when he opts to swap things about.
Thankfully he had his substitutes to bring on.
Substitutes make their mark
Conte had seen enough in the opening 45 minutes and immediately changed things up at half-time. Six players were sent out to warm up, with Lucas Moura going through his paces on the pitch in his full Tottenham kit.
Skipp was the unfortunate man to make way as the Brazilian was introduced. Impressive in his hour against Newcastle United six days earlier, the England U21 international couldn't quite have the same impact on proceedings this time around, but he at least forced Travers into action, which was more than the front two could manage.
Bissouma could quite easily have been hooked at the break instead of Skipp after once again struggling to catch the eye, but it actually wouldn't be long until he was replaced 13 minutes later. Seeing Lucas cause Bournemouth a few issues with his direct running, Conte's next substitutions proved decisive, with Bentancur helping them gain control in midfield and Dier more than playing his part on the right of defence as he pushed on and showed his ability on the ball by putting in some tempting crosses.
Initially set to bring on Perisic at the same time as the aforementioned duo, the Croat was told to sit down by Conte immediately after Sessegnon's goal before coming on five minutes later. Spurs had struggled with their set pieces in the first hour of the game, but the introduction of Perisic gave them the quality on the ball they had been crucially missing.
His delivery from corners was bang on the money, and it caused Bournemouth major issues when they were trying to defend. Bryan Gil, Spurs' final sub of the day, also deserves credit in what was his first Premier League appearance of the season.
Given six minutes to try and help the Lilywhites over the line, he showed plenty of energy and desire when Spurs needed it most. Bryan has proved to be a very good player to bring on in the past two matches, and a few more appearances may be on the way ahead of the World Cup as a result.
As frustrating as it was to see Tottenham struggle but eventually get out of jail, thankfully, they had the players on the bench to make a real difference when it mattered most.
Kulusevski injury boost
Without Dejan Kulusevski through injury since September's international break, the Swede's return to the Tottenham squad may indeed come on Tuesday evening in the south of France. Once again not available for the contest through injury, the 22-year-old was present at the Vitality Stadium with the rest of the squad, as were injured duo Richarlison and Cristian Romero, who also missed out on selection.
Prior to the Tottenham matchday squad coming out to warm up, Kulusevski was on the pitch in his training kit and going through his own drills between the 18-yard box and touchline. It was certainly a welcome sight for the Tottenham fans in attendance, as his absence has been felt massively over the past month.
It was quite an intense warm-up the attacker was going through as he was spotted running from the halfway line to the end of the pitch and back with a stopwatch in hand. He did this numerous times and appeared to be running freely and having no problems whatsoever.
An update will come on Kulusevski's fitness on Monday evening when Spurs hold their pre-match press conference in France. Whether he can play a good amount of minutes in the game or come on for 15-20minutes or so, having him on the bench is a must for Tottenham, even if not 100 per cent fit, given the importance of the match.
After all, he could prove to be the difference if Spurs are crying out for a moment of magic late on.
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