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 kept 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 moved Bournemouth level on points with Spurs, with both teams having won two of their opening three league matches.
