Bournemouth 0-2 Spurs | Deki: “I needed that!”
Sun 27 August 2023, 15:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Dejan Kulusevski’s reaction after scoring in our win at Bournemouth said it all, really.
Speaking to us in the summer, Deki described last season as ‘very frustrating’ as injury restricted him to 37 appearances and 26 starts in our 50 matches in all competitions and two goals, the last at Manchester City in February. That followed his storming first six months with us when he racked up five goals and eight assists in 18 appearances.
“I think I can grow so much, I’m still young, I’m 23... I’m always positive,” he told us back in June.
Three games into 2023/24, Deki has provided a goal and assist as we’ve started life under Ange Postecoglou with a draw at Brentford followed by 2-0 wins against Manchester United and now Bournemouth on Saturday.
Deki delivered in style at the Vitality, darting across Bournemouth’s defenders to meet Destiny Udogie’s cut back from the byline and finding the angle to turn the ball across Neto and into the far corner. It was a key goal, as well, allowing us to take control again after the home side’s best spell at the start of the second half.
“I really needed that one, honestly,” the Sweden international told SPURSPLAY afterwards, the sound of his ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme...’ song belted our by out travelling fans probably still ringing in his ears. “I felt so much better after I scored. Now, it’s just time to play, forget about the goal, just play.
“I feel very good, physically, I feel amazing, the coaches are very good, the whole staff is pumping with confidence every day and you know, when you score goals and win games, you feel better. Now we forget about today and move onto Tuesday..."
Deki was referring to our Carabao Cup second round tie against Fulham at Craven Cottage (7.45pm), but we returned to our display on the south coast, where James Maddison’s early goal and Deki’s strike saw us home.
“I thought we did well, and sometimes we could have done better, because we lost the ball sometimes and that gave Bournemouth some energy,” he added. “We didn’t start the second half very well but once we scored the second goal, we controlled the game and created a lot of chances, so a good 2-0 win.
“I think we will improve. We just have to keep working hard, keep believing in ourselves and everyone will score, everyone will assist, and we will win a lot of games.”
