Bournemouth 0-2 Tottenham: James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski guide Spurs to emphatic away victory as Ange Postecoglou continues his strong start in charge

As this game entered the final 10 minutes, Son Heung-Min turned to the fans who had made the journey south and tried to orchestrate some extra noise. It wasn’t an awkward request; there is more to cheer about at Tottenham now than there has been in a long time.

These are, of course, very early days. And there are significant gaps to be filled, most evident in the cavernous space left by Harry Kane and the difficulties Richarlison experiences in place.

But these issues take on less urgency and weight when a team wins, and even more so when it wins well.

There are few accolades to be found for some managers who have been at this club lately, which is of course a matter of taste, but the Spurs have always strived for style and it seems they have rediscovered a bit of the fun . things under Ange Postecoglou.

This wasn’t quite the display of swagger they offered against Manchester United, just as it wasn’t the kind of win that brings the same flourish: United is United and, respectfully, Bournemouth is Bournemouth.

But it was impressive, both for the sustained creativity of the first half, which they spearheaded through James Maddison, and for the resilience they showed in the second half before Dejan Kulusevski made it all safe. Those are different kinds of skills, the kind that show if a team has the equipment for different challenges, and based on limited evidence, it seems there are promising dimensions to what Postecoglou is building.

So far this is best reflected in the forward movements and it must be said that with Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr he coordinates one of the most outstanding midfield units in the division.

All three have been excellent, as they were against United, especially Maddison, whose £40 million price tag keeps getting better from the game.

If there are concerns, and judging by Postecoglou’s various sighs and puffs on the sidelines, there were a few, but they mostly orient themselves to the point of the spear. Once again Richarlison was substituted early and again it was because as a lone striker he looks a bit lost.

An unsuccessful one-on-one match in the first half highlighted his problems, which appear to extend to a lack of confidence and positional and technical insecurities in the role.

Over time that will become more and more important, but for now the Spurs are hovering after taking seven points from nine, six more than Bournemouth, which is better than their numbers suggest.

If they had taken chances at the end of the first half and at the start of the second, the outcome might have changed, but the story of this game is best told by a statistic: when they played outside, they created the Spurs 17 chances and nearly 60 per half. cent of property. They were good value for the win.

For Postecoglou, this was achieved with the same starting eleven that beat Manchester United, which was both logical and a relief after Maddison was seen wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he left Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a week ago.

Now that his fitness was up to par, he was the maestro of Tottenham’s attack here, not only because of the goal that put Spurs ahead, but also because of the role he played in the machine.

With the new regime demanding speed, urgency and dynamism, he had all these qualities, both on the counter and from the start.

You could even say his sloppiest contribution in the first half was his goal, which set a better example for the other key cogs, especially Sarr, whose pass between Illia Zabarnyi and Lloyd Kelly was superb. From then on, Maddison was rewarded for a smart run behind the line, even if there was a hint of abrasion in the brushed shot over Neto.

In some ways, the purpose was typical of what Postecoglou is building. There was patience in its creation, with Bissouma rotating passes between Pedro Porro and Sarr, before that sudden burst of speed as Sarr escalated the move into an unstoppable threat. Playing like this, from gentle to deadly, the Spurs are a joy to watch.

Not that it was always easy – Bournemouth didn’t create much until the final stages of the half, but they pressed high and hard, which is Andoni Iraola’s style, and often it worked – in the first few minutes they squeezed Tottenham in a moment of discomfort and the concession of a corner kick. The downside, of course, is that holes appear in the blanket and that’s what happened, leaving them exposed to sharp counters from Bissouma and Maddison.

Those are the scenarios where Maddison comes into his own and the opening phase here was an exhibition of the waves and acts of creativity that have made his name. The example of this was the chance he created for Richarlison at 1-0, when he launched a 40-yard sprint at half-time, getting into Max Aarons before spying the corresponding run from Tottenham’s lone striker.

A pass was sent between Kelly and Milos Kerkez, but Richarlison was confused by too many touches and not enough clarity of thought.

The Spurs were clamoring for a penalty on that move – Kelly seemed able to act as Richarlison pushed his way past him – but the biggest takeaway came from the Brazilian. Replacing Harry Kane is next to impossible, but Richarlison looks far from natural in his response to the assignment.

Without a second goal for Postecoglou’s side, Bournemouth had a door to push against, and twice they had good chances late in the first period, with Ryan Christie scoring a save from Guglielmo Viacario before Philip Billing went narrowly wide in stoppage time.

Their threat extended into the second half, requiring Postecoglou’s call-up to replace Richarlison with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but it was soon 2-0. Destiny Udogie was the central part of the attack, as it was his advance to the left that drew in Bournemouth’s back-line, and he capitalized by playing a one-two with Son Heung-Min, before finding Kulusevski at the near post . His finish effectively killed the game.