Bournemouth Pip Tottenham 1-0
Evanilson’s early goal earned dominant Bournemouth a richly deserved victory at Tottenham, whose impressive Premier League start under Thomas Frank came to an unceremonious end.
The Cherries were frustrated to be knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brentford in midweek but were full of energy and invention against Spurs, doing to their opponents what Frank’s side inflicted on Manchester City last weekend.
As they did at home to Wolves last Saturday, Bournemouth took the lead with their first attack of the game as Marco Senesi picked out Evanilson, whose low shot looped off Cristian Romero and over goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
The visitors should have been out of sight early in the second half after creating a succession of opportunities to add to their advantage, but a combination of poor finishing and smart goalkeeping helped keep Spurs in the game.
Antoine Semenyo headed narrowly over the crossbar five minutes after Evanilson’s opener, while David Brooks was denied by the crossbar early in the second half.
The hosts’ first shot on target – a Lucas Bergvall drive from the edge of the box in the 68th minute – flew straight at Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, while Mathys Tel’s sweetly struck volley in second-half stoppage time was the closest they came to salvaging a point they scarcely deserved.
The win moves Bournemouth level on points with Spurs, with both teams having won two of their opening three league matches.
Andoni Iraola’s side have now scored the two fastest goals in the Premier League this season – Marcus Tavernier’s fourth-minute effort against Wolves last weekend and Evanilson’s strike at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Cherries’ relentless high press, their hallmark under Iraola, caused Tottenham all sorts of problems in the early stages, making it impossible for Frank’s team to play out from the back.
The visitors were just as impressive defensively, preventing Spurs from having a single attempt until nine minutes into the second half.
Bournemouth lost captain Adam Smith to injury in the first period, but other than that their only source of frustration was their failure to put the game to bed, despite carving out numerous chances to do so.
Brooks’ tremendous outside-of-the-boot cross appeared to have left Semenyo with a relatively simple finish on 11 minutes, but the Ghanaian’s header went inches over the crossbar.
The Bournemouth onslaught continued early in the second half as Vicario saved brilliantly from Semenyo, before Brooks’ close-range effort struck the woodwork – moments after the Spurs goalkeeper had saved at the feet of Evanilson.
Spurs only began to apply some semblance of pressure late on, but Bournemouth’s new-look defence rarely looked like being breached.
Bournemouth lost a number of key first-team players over the summer, but Iraola’s latest vintage looks capable of disrupting the established Premier League order this season.