Tottenham moved within one point of the Champions League places after an impressive victory over in-form Bournemouth in North London.
Giovani Lo Celso was the architect of the win for Spurs, as the Argentina international laid on the opening two goals. Pape Matar Sarr scored the first for Ange Postecoglou’s side inside nine minutes, before further goals from Son Heung-min and Richarlison sealed the result in the second half.
Alex Scott’s first goal for Bournemouth pulled one back late on, though it was little but consolation for the Cherries who saw their four-game winning run come to an end.
“Every week is a battle and we had to battle today,” Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said to Sky Sports.
“At the same time I thought we played some decent stuff as well. After Brighton I said these players have given everything they’ve got and it is a credit to them. We’ve not been able to rotate but we’re still putting in performances and effort like we are today.
“We’re trying to build something. I’m at pains to keep repeating myself but we’re trying to build a team that plays a bit differently and has some resilience and you can only gain that through tough times. Some of that is self inflicted with suspensions but we’ve had a a lot of injures. We haven’t wanted to make excuses and we’re still in there and fighting.
“We’re three points off the top so if that is the difference between having a great season and where we are I’ll take it. When you’re trying to build something you will undoubtedly come up against some challenges. I am seeing progress. Sometimes it is not tangible and not football or results, sometimes it is just the team growing. There was more growth today.”
Spurs have reportedly submitted an offer to sign Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin and Postecoglou spoke on the importance of building in the January transfer window.
“We need to try and use every window we have at our disposal to keep building the team and squad. i’ve said before that one window isn’t going to build this team, two windows isn’t, but we have to keep building.”
