Spurs first-half player ratings vs Bournemouth – Set pieces haunt Postecoglou yet again
It’s time for Spurs vs Bournemouth player ratings, as the first half of Premier League action on the South Coast has come to a close. After an uninspiring first-half display from Spurs, the score-line lies in the hosts’ favour at 1-0.
Spurs’ inconsistency issues
Tottenham‘s troubles with inconsistency as of late has amplified over recent weeks, as the Lilywhites have struggled to overcome an out-of-form Roma side, as well as ten-man Fulham at home. These results came just a week after Ange Postecoglou‘s men dismantled the champions away from home, putting four past Ederson in what was a historic victory for Spurs at the Etihad.
Spurs will be hoping to steady the ship tonight with what would be an important win against a strong Bournemouth side. Although Postecoglou stresses the importance of focusing on one game at a time, he would be foolish to not have at least one eye on Chelsea at the weekend.
The Cherries are in a similar rut in terms of form, although they did undo Wolves last weekend, winning 4-2 away from home. They have already beaten Manchester City and Arsenal at the Vitality this season, and will be looking to add Spurs to the list tonight.
Over the duration of the first half, we’ve analysed each Spurs player’s individual performance, rating them on a scale of 1-10. Let’s take a look at our Spurs vs Bournemouth half-time player ratings.
How the Tottenham players rated in the first half vs Bournemouth
Fraser Forster: Despite his 6’7 frame, Forster was unable to deal with the corner which led to the opening goal. He made a big save just prior to that after sloppiness from Dragusin, as well as a huge stop to deny Tavernier late in the half, but it wasn’t enough to go into the interval with the clean-sheet still intact. 6.
Archie Gray: It’s a landmark occasion for the 18-year-old as he makes his first Premier League star. The midfielder, who has been preferred to Djed Spence and Porro tonight, will be eager to impress. He played in an advanced role in possession, but kept it simple, combining with Kulusevski to try and create something. Defensively, he wasn’t troubled. 6.
Radu Dragusin: Perhaps should’ve been keeping an eye on Huijsen for the Bournemouth goal, and the Lilywhites were made to pay as the teenage centre-back headed home. It seems that for every few Dragusin mistakes, there’s a goal conceded. Poor. 4.
Ben Davies: The Welshman marks tonight as his 300th Premier League appearance, but will be disappointed to have conceded in such cheap fashion. He didn’t manage many disruptions to Bournemouth attacks either. 5.
Destiny Udogie: Misjudged the flight of the corner which led to Bournemouth’s opening goal. Looked like he didn’t even know Huijsen was there. Also, he was rather ineffective going forward. Another lacklustre performance so far from Destiny, which seems to be becoming a theme this season. 3.
Yves Bissouma: The Mali international battled hard throughout the first-half, and he needed to as the hosts posed a substantial physical challenge. In transition, Biss struggled to deal with the rapid Bournemouth counter, and will be disappointed with his first-half performance. 5.
Pape Sarr: It was a sub-par display from all of the Spurs team, but particularly Sarr, who would’ve been hoping to have been more effective in the midfield tonight. He was ran past in transition on multiple occasions, failing to put his usually energetic running to use. 4.
James Maddison: Captaining the side tonight, Maddison faltered in his favoured number 10 position, as he struggled to create anything real for Tottenham. Despite the odd outburst of pace or skill, he was largely ineffective throughout the half. 5.
Brennan Johnson: Spurs’ top goalscorer started on the left-hand side with an eye on adding to his goal tally which has already reached double-digits this season. The Welshman was kept quiet in the first forty-five, but we know full-well his ability to pop up and score even in his quietest displays. 4.
Dominic Solanke: Solanke returns to the Vitality for the first time since departing the Cherries last summer, and the Spurs striker blazed an early one-on-one over the bar; a chance he would surely wish to have back! Outside of that, he had the odd chance but struggled to get into the game enough to make an impact. 5.
Dejan Kulusevski: The Swede was very intricate with the ball in and around the box, perhaps favouring the higher-risk, higher reward passes rather than simple, safe ones, which was refreshing to see. They didn’t always come off, though. The lack of real chances created by any of the front line is a worrying thought to be honest. 6.
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