Ange Postecoglou claimed Tottenham and Bournemouth’s dugouts were “wishing others a fulfilled year” after a late scrum on the touchline.
Spurs led 3-1 in second-half stoppage time when substitute Alejo Veliz ordered a knee injury. The simmering tension between the dugouts exploded and the furious Australian coach, Giovani Lo Celso, and the Cherries’ coach, Shaun Cooper, were all reserved.
But after his side, who finished the game with 10 men having used all their substitutes before Veliz left, moved within one point of Arsenal and 3 behind leaders Liverpool, a smiling Postecoglou insisted: “I’m fine. We just all wanted another “Happy New Year”. It is ok. Just a little bit of excitement in the game. I was more involved with Alejo because we were looking to get him off the field, and aside from my physical access to the court and his training, he wasn’t really going to fall.
“So we were shouting at him and I think the Bournemouth staff thought we were looking to make a substitution, but we knew we didn’t have one. It was just a matter of knocking it down.
Cerezas coach Andoni Iraola accused Véliz of wanting to waste time, but admitted: “Sometimes you play the game like that – it’s general – and you have to settle. When you win the game, you have to play as little as possible. ” . We would have done the same.
Argentina’s Veliz and Senegal’s Pape Matar Sarr, who could miss the Africa Cup of Nations due to a hamstring strain, have added to Tottenham’s injury woes. But Postecoglou said: “We’re 3 places off the top, so if that’s the difference between having a smart season and where we are, I’ll settle for it. When you’re looking to build something, you certainly face challenges. (. . . ) I’m seeing progress. “
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Postecoglou saw Sarr open the scoring after an assist from Rodrigo Bentancur, before captain Son Heung-min doubled his side’s lead with a sublime left-footed strike. Richarlison returned home to close out his team’s points.
Alex Scott scored a consolation goal for the Cherries, but, in fact, Iraola’s team missed a number of missed opportunities. For Spurs, the result was the best reaction to Thursday’s 4-2 defeat at Brighton.
It is claimed that the new blouse “builds on more than a century of tradition” and is a further update to the iconic kit that has given Spurs the nickname Lilywhites. There’s a sophisticated yet unique trend running through the new blouse that is said to have been encouraged through “the colourful music scene and urban culture of the Tottenham district”.
And with Arsenal’s defeat at Fulham, the gap between the two north London rivals is just one point. But even though Postecoglou’s side lead Liverpool by just three points, the Reds can widen that gap when they host Newcastle on New Year’s Day.
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