Heung-min Son scored an 84th-minute penalty as Tottenham came from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in an entertaining game in north London.
Goals from Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson either side of the interval put the Cherries in control but Pape Matar Sarr’s fortuitous strike halved the deficit.
With Spurs headed for a third straight defeat, substitute Son was brought down by goalkeeper Kepa and dusted himself off to score from the spot, ensuring Spurs can go into Thursday’s Europa League decider against AZ Alkmaar with some optimism.
Here are three Spurs talking points from the match…
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Some reasons for optimism ahead of AZ decider
There was next to nothing riding on this game for Spurs but, at 2-0 down, it was easy to wonder if the Postecoglou project was running out of steam.
For 65 minutes, the Australian’s side were so sloppy and so easy to play against, making Bournemouth good value for their two-goal lead.
But Sarr’s lucky (or brilliant?) strike gave the hosts a foothold and they rallied encouragingly to rescue a point and avoid a third straight defeat.
While the stadium’s reaction at full-time was decidedly lukewarm, the result felt important for Spurs, keeping the mood from plummeting ahead of Thursday’s crunch Europa League last-16 decider here against AZ Alkmaar.
There were plenty of reasons for concern (and more on that below) but Postecoglou could point to a spirited comeback as evidence that his players are still fighting for him, while the returns of centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven was a huge positive. Dominic Solanke, too, played well on his first start since January 15.
It is now all about Thursday night and overturning a 1-0 deficit to AZ but were some points to build on in this game, as well as plenty to correct.
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Van de Ven and Romero Returns A Boost
Romero and van de Ven both made their first appearances in the Premier League in three months (the Dutchman had a false start against Elfsborg in the Europa League at the end of January) to lift the stadium, and offer Spurs a reason for optimism.
Romero played the first hour of the game before being replaced by van de Ven to a huge reception – shortly before Evanilson doubled Bournemouth’s lead.
There is now seems a good chance the pair could start together against AZ, provided they came through unscathed.
Romero, though, looked incredibly rusty, and nearly gifted Bournemouth a goal inside 20 seconds when his loose pass was intercepted by Evanilson, who drew a smart save by Guglielmo Vicario.
The Argentine grew into the game, and his progressive passing through the lines helped Spurs to occasionally beat the Bournemouth press, which is when they looked most dangerous in the first hour.
Van de Ven, meanwhile, was part of Spurs’ comeback, helping to set the tone with some trademarks bursts forward in possession.
The question with Van de Ven is whether he can remain fit, having immediately returned to the sidelines after one game back.
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Midfield make-up a concern
Postecoglou’s substitutes helped to turn this game back in his side’s favour, with Son, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall, as well as Van de Ven, all contributing to the comeback.
Bergvall was excellent after replacing Yves Bissouma at half-time, finally adding fight and an element of control to Spurs’ frantic, wide-open midfield. He nearly halved the deficit with a long-range strike that came back of the post moments before Sarr’s goal.
Plainly, the Swede and Maddison must start on Thursday but who with? Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended, while Bissouma was dreadful in the first half. More than once, he lost possession in a dangerous area and lacked conviction in the final third.
One solution is to drop Bergvall to No6 and play Sarr and Maddison as the twin No8s against AZ but Postecoglou must ensure his side are less easy to play through than they were against the Cherries.
Now that Van de Ven and Romero are back, another option is to give young Archie Gray a chance in his favoured midfield role.