Tottenham made it three games without a win with a disappointing loss away to Bournemouth.
It was a toothless and lethargic performance from the Lilywhites as they failed to impose themselves in any capacity.
Ange Postecoglou’s outfit were fortunate not to lose by a larger deficit with the hosts missing a number of glorious chances.
Spurs deservedly went behind with Dean Huijsen having the freedom of the box to connect to Marcus Tavernier’s corner and nod past Fraser Forster.
The Lilywhites couldn’t muster any sort of clear cut chance in the entire game and Bournemouth had plenty of opportunities to score many more.
Evanilson had a goal disallowed for offside and Ryan Christie clipped the post with a driven effort.
Despite being in the midst of an injury crisis, Spurs performance on an individual and collective was underwhelming to say the least. Here’s the player ratings.
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Tottenham Player Ratings
Fraser Forster – 6
Forster’s strengths and weaknesses were epitomised tonight on the South Coast.
His reaction speed and shot stopping ability is amongst the best in the league, but he doesn’t possess the skill with his feet to fulfil the needs of a goalkeeper in Postecoglou’s system.
Huijsen’s header was low and past the Englishman before he had a time to react. The 6’7 stopper spread himself well to smother a shot from Evanilson, before showing good reactions to throw a wrist at Marcus Tavernier’s effort.
The former Southampton goalkeeper was given a massive reprieve after Evanilson’s goal was disallowed for offside.
Forster had presented the ball straight to Tyler Adams but did well to spread himself to block the shot leading up to the offside effort.
Archie Gray – 5
Gray’s versatility proved crucial after he was switched from his already unnatural position of right-back to play in centre-half following Davies’ exit from the game.
Postecoglou will likely be sympathetic towards the youngster, who was asked to perform roles he has little to no experience in.
Radu Dragusin – 3
The Bournemouth goalscorer Huijsen was left completely unmarked for the opening goal.
The replays suggested the Spaniard was Dragusin’s man to mark with the Romanian letting the Hjusen run straight past him.
His forward passing was poor and failed to break the lines as he consistently lost possession.
Ben Davies – 4
An early yellow card hindered his ability to be aggressive in a challenge and often Bournemouth players bypassed the defender.
His 300th Premier League appearance ended prematurely after he was forced off with a muscular injury.
Destiny Udogie – 2
Postecoglou’s persistence with Udogie is hampering Spurs with the Italian looking out of his depth at times.
Justin Kluivert easily shook off the attention of Udogie to bare down on Forster’s net shortly after the interval.
Udogie was a force to be reckoned with last campaign but this season he looks a shadow of his former self.
Pape Matar Sarr – 3
It was a really sloppy first half showing from Sarr, who just couldn’t seem to play a forward pass.
After only ten minutes of the second half, the 22-year-old was taken off for Son, with Postecoglou adopting a more offensive approach.
Yves Bissouma – 3
Spurs are really missing Rodrigo Bentacnur with Bissouma struggling to perform in his absence.
Bissouma was lackadaisical in possession and was constantly getting caught flat-footed.
He was tasked with being the midfield metronome and failed miserably at helping his side control the game.
James Maddison – 3
Maddison cut a frustrated figure throughout the game with the double pivot of Ryan Christie and Tyler Adams nullifying his threat.
Spurs’ captain on the night missed the visitors’ most presentable opportunity of the night.
After Son had found his darting run with a clever pass, Maddison swivelled before curling a ball wide of the post from close-range.
Dejan Kulusevski – 3
It was a subpar display from the usually impressive Kulusevski.
The Swede often attempted the more ambitious and unrealistic pass, rather than recycle possession around the box.
Surprisingly, he was frequently outmuscled off the ball and couldn’t fashion an opening for a teammate.
Dominic Solanke – 2
It was a performance that lacked any sort of cutting edge from the former Bournemouth striker.
He missed the match on the weekend against Fulham through illness and it didn’t seem as if he had fully shaken off the ailment.
Solanke showed endeavour in the opening exchanges to cause Hjuisen issues but he lacked the pace to advance through on goal.
Simply put, the forward just wasn’t sharp and was an anonymous presence in the second period.
Brennan Johnson – 2
It was a completely non-existent display from Johnson who barely touched the ball throughout the entire 90 minutes
Tottenham’s top goalscorer had a very quiet first game with the majority of the Lilywhites’ attacks being down the right-hand side.
Substitutes
Heung-min Son – 6
The Spurs skipper almost made an instant impact after Arrizabalaga spilled Kulusevski’s shot into his path.
Son tapped into the empty net but the linesman correctly flagged for offside.
The South Korean looked like a man determined to get his side back into contest as minutes later he slipped a clever ball into Maddison.
However, the Englishman missed the target completely from close-range.
Pedro Porro – 4
The full-back was introduced into proceedings after Postecoglou made an enforced change with Davies injured.
Porro connected sweetly with a volley on the edge of the area following a corner, but fellow countryman Arrizabalaga did well to get down.
Aside from his sharp strike, the defender did very little to help his side.
Lucas Bergvall – N/A
The teenager entered the game with Spurs chasing an equaliser and couldn’t make a difference.
Timo Werner – N/A
Werner’s 15-minute cameo was uneventful and unproductive.
The RB Leipzig loanee's decision making was erratic and resulted in his actions proving wasteful.
