Bournemouth are in real danger of being dragged in the mud that is the relegation battle but their latest stalemate as they faced high-flying Tottenham Hotspur was the latest anecdote of how wrong that perception is right now. The Cherries hosted the Spurs at the Vitality Stadium; with the latter being the only undefeated side so far in the Premier League and made them toil incessantly to bag a point. Of course, there were no goals but action were aplenty and a brief tactical analysis of the game has been chalked out which is as follows.
Chaotic Callum Had the Will Son!
Eddie Howe’s attacking arsenal had Callum Wilson up front, who was a serious threat to Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier. He was given the license to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, as he constantly bothered Spurs’ defense with his aggression, touches, and runs. His movements off the ball involved allowing the likes of Jordan Ibe and Jack Wilshere to surge in as he afforded himself as an option for them.
Spurs Were In Dilemma
The Spurs’ attack was in a miserable state owing to the fact that Mauricio Pochettino failed to impose his tactical nous in a proper manner. Against Bournemouth who are generally quite watchful, employing Vincent Janssen ahead of Heung-min Son could have been a better venture as the Dutch striker’s willingness to work, set up commendable build-up play and finding spaces were likely to make a better impact.
The Cherries kept pressing the Spurs’ attackers relentlessly and closed down their midfield, as a result of which Son was a dead wood more often than not. Also, Son was double marked and whenever he received the ball, he wasn’t far away from making inaccurate passes and undesirable movement which eventually brought no good to the north London outfit.
Spurs Lacked Width
Spurs’ game revolved around 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 but interestingly, all the attacking players of the Lilywhites tend to contend themselves at the vicinity of the central space between the opposition’s defence and midfield. They weren’t inclined to stretch Eddie Howe’s defensive unit, as a result of which they weren’t flamboyant and standing up against them wasn’t a huge bother for the home side.
The Arter-Gosling/Dembele-Wanyama Duo
The central defensive duo of Harry Arter and Dan Gosling dictated the game for Bournemouth. A tactically sound move from Howe came with the way the couple demolished the moves from Spurs almost every time they attempted to launch forward. Together, they registered 12 important tackles and 7 interceptions, most notable of which were the ones not letting Dele Alli and Eric Lamela unite as a threatening force.
On the other side, Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama kept the midfield sector boiling with their attempts to build up a play to hit Bournemouth. They kept passing the ball up the field, but unfortunately, the Cherries were too hard to be cracked down on Saturday. Frankly speaking, the goalless draw was unarguably a very apt result, considering what came from both the sides.
