Bentancur completes turnaround in stoppage time at Bournemouth - on-the-whistle report

A superb second-half recovery saw us come from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth in dramatic fashion thanks to Rodrigo Bentancur’s stoppage-time winner at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

A brace from Kieffer Moore had put the home side in control and we were looking shaky until Ryan Sessegnon pulled a goal back in the 57th minute before Ben Davies headed home from a corner to level it up. It was all Spurs for the final stages and we eventually found the winner when Bentancur – who came off the bench on 58 minutes - smashed home through a crowded six-yard box to give us three points that had seemed quite unlikely at one stage.

The home side made a bright start, Moore heading onto the roof of the net and Marcus Tavernier forcing Hugo Lloris into a low save, both inside the opening four minutes, and they went ahead following a swift counter midway through the first half. Dominic Solanke held the ball up on half-way, hooked it round for Tavernier breaking down the right and his low cross was turned home with a first-time finish from Moore.

Lloris was alert 10 minutes later, quickly off his line to smother at the feet of Tavernier on the edge of his area but we finished the half on top, creating a number of chances. Oliver Skipp’s drive was pushed away by Mark Travers and moments later Heung-Min Son’s teasing ball into the box flicked off the head of Adam Smith, Travers was beaten but it hit the post. The last kick of the half saw Son’s 25-yard effort saved by Travers.

The second period started the same as the first, and this time the Cherries found the back of the net even earlier, just four minutes gone when Moore outmuscled Emerson Royal to get on the end of Smith’s cross and power a header past Lloris. But we were back in the game eight minutes later, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sliding a magnificent pass through for Sessegnon, who beat Travers with a left-foot finish into the far corner. That changed the momentum of the contest and we started to force Bournemouth back, levelling it up with 17 minutes remaining when substitute Ivan Perisic sent over a deep corner which Travers missed and Davies was there to head home.

We continued to dominate at that stage, Son bringing a smart save out of Travers before smacking a free-kick straight into the wall and Hojbjerg curled just over. And our dominance was finally rewarded two minutes into injury time when Bentancur met Son’s corner with his head, the ball hitting a Bournemouth defender but then falling for him to power home past Travers, to the delight of our players, staff and fans alike!

'This win was vital'

Antonio Conte told SPURSPLAY after the game: "The feeling, for sure, is positive. Also, (even) if we didn’t take the three points, I’ve seen a good reaction from my players. This is very important. They showed me great character, great desire, great will. I think, honestly, that sometimes we lose a bit of confidence in our potential, in the way that we are good. At the end, for us, it was vital, this win, especially after two losses."

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

Highlights on SPURSPLAY

Match data

Goals: AFC Bournemouth – Moore 22, 49; Spurs – Sessegnon 57, Davies 73, Bentancur 90+2.

Yellow cards: AFC Bournemouth – Smith, Cook; Spurs – Sessegnon, Kane.

Referee: Anthony Taylor.

Venue: Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth.

Weather: Light cloud, moderate breeze, 19 degrees.

Attendance: 10,430.