Tottenham Hotspur player ratings vs Bournemouth: Three 7s and lots of 6s as Spurs fight hard for win

A hard-fought 3-1 win for Spurs over Bournemouth was made all the sweeter by Arsenal's loss to Fulham in west London - but things could have been very different.

It was an exciting Spurs midfield experiment that lined up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a New Year's Eve clash. An Yves Bissouma suspension and James Maddison's injury leave big gaps, but in came a returning Rodrigo Bentancur and, in a more advanced position, Giovani Lo Celso.

It was the third midfielder, Pape Matar Sarr, who found the early breakthrough in the ninth minute, slotting home from the edge of the box. He was clearly distressed as he was applauded off after half an hour with an injury that could imperil his Africa Cup of Nations dreams.

Spurs rode their luck for much of the first half - blocks, saves and woodwork to the rescue, with flashes of threat on the break at the other end.

The second half followed the same pattern - good pressure and chances for Bournemouth but no end product. Spurs threatened on the break, and Richarlison missed a golden opportunity early on.

With the rain coming down, things would have got very nervy, were it not for Son finding a finish under pressure when through on goal.

Suddenly Spurs were confident on the ball and able to dominate the game. And on 80 minutes Richarlison, never slowing his effort, finished neatly from a low Brennan Johnson cross.

The three-goal advantage gave Ange Postecoglou the chance to give run-outs to Alejo Veliz, Bryan Gil and the rarely seen Eric Dier, with Skipp and Hoijbjerg already on earlier in the half.

The manager will have been disappointed to see the clean sheet lost to a tidy finish from Spurs fan Alex Scott. The young Guernseyman had it in the net once again right at the close, but it was ruled out for offside.