Tottenham Hotspur’s penultimate Premier League fixture of the 2018/19 campaign saw us make the trip to Dean Court to face Bournemouth in Saturday’s early kickoff.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino knew that victory and all three points would absolutely guarantee our involvement in the Champions League campaign next season, but there was an element of juggling when it came to the game given the second leg Champions League Semi-Final clash against Ajax and the relative fitness of some players.
It was a pretty bright start but then what could go wrong seemed to. Son Heung-Min was punished for a shove shortly before the halftime break and saw a straight red card and coming on as a substitute, Juan Foyth saw a straight red two minutes later, leaving us reduced to ten men and the hosts had a significant advantage.
It looked like we may have held on for a point, but in stoppage-time, Nathan Ake headed in to send all three points their way and the battle for the top four is wide open again. Playing so long with reduced numbers does nothing for the Ajax clash either but the players have to respond.
Speaking to the BBC following the game, Pochettino said of the match.
“I will respect the decision of the referee. Nothing to say. That is football. Unlucky for us – of course it is difficult to get something positive. We made a massive effort. It is painful to play with two players sent off. We need to move on. We cannot change the decisions. We have ahead two finals. It is in our hands. If it does not happen we will be proud because nobody expected Tottenham to be in the position they are today. No one believed in Tottenham to be in this position in the last week of the competition. What happens will happen and I will feel proud. We are fighting six teams, it is impossible for all six to get the top four, whatever happens I will feel proud and whatever happens in the semi-final I will be proud.”