Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth

Tottenham Hotspur are back to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at home to Bournemouth, thanks to goals from Pape Matar Sarr, Heung-min Son, and Richarlison. 

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from the match:

Bentancur?! Is That You?!

Spurs fans across the world were handed a nice shock this afternoon when Rodrigo Bentancur arrived with the squad… and was then named in the starting XI too! Weeks ahead of schedule with his return from injury, the Uruguayan is going to be a huge boost for Tottenham with Bissouma and Sarr leaving. What’s more, he created a goal within 9 minutes of being on the pitch.

Making Up Ground – 

With another win under their belt, and another defeat for Arsenal, Spurs are now just one point behind the Gunners in the table. In fact, Tottenham are only three off the league leaders, Liverpool, albeit having played an extra game. Whatever way you look at it, 2023 is ending in a far more exciting place than it started.

Man of the Match – 

A special mention has to go to Giovani Lo Celso today. Maddison injured. Bentancur only just returning to fitness. Kulusevski banned. The creative gauntlet fell to the Argentine this afternoon, and boy did he pick it up. Assisting two of Tottenham’s goals, including a slide tackle to free up the ball for Pape Matar Sarr and an audacious outside-of-the-boot pass to set Sonny away, Lo Celso’s moments of magic defined the Spurs win today. I would be surprised if he wasn’t handed a regular spot while the other midfielders are away.

Waving Goodbye To Spurs Trio

Heung-min Son, Yves Bissouma and (hopefully) Pape Matar Sarr have played their final Premier League game for Spurs before flying off to the Asian Cup and AFCON respectively. Sarr was forced off injured today but hopefully, it is nothing serious. Tottenham could be without the trio for around a month, but fortunately there aren’t too many fixtures in January.

Time To Step Up

With Sonny leaving for South Korea duty, some of his fellow Spurs forwards really need to step up over the next few weeks. It will be interesting to see whether Postecoglou names a front three of Johnson, Kulusevski and Richarlison, or whether the likes of Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso, or Alejo Veliz can earn some minutes. Whatever the case, this is a chance for someone to become a hero, and hopefully not for Spurs to suffer a slump.

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