Ange Postecoglou was pleased with Tottenham’s fight in a “chaotic” 2-2 Premier League home draw with Bournemouth, but acknowledged they must improve for Thursday’s crucial Europa League tie with AZ Alkmaar.
Spurs entered this fixture following a lacklustre display in a midweek 1-0 defeat in the Netherlands and looked set for another loss when Marcus Tavernier gave the Cherries a deserved half-time lead.
Cristian Romero’s return after a three-month absence only contributed towards an anxiety-ridden atmosphere as he misplaced early passes and, when Evanilson doubled Bournemouth’s advantage after 65 minutes, the ground threatened to turn toxic.
Ange''s post-match reaction 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/7RWMt8qzbP
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 9, 2025
Pape Sarr’s cross-cum-shot provided Tottenham with a fortunate lifeline two minutes later, which they gratefully accepted before Son Heung-min won and then converted an 84th-minute penalty.
It earned Spurs a point which does little for their faltering league campaign, but lifts spirits before the visit of AZ on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 clash.
“Chaotic game, for sure. We added to the chaos and it was a little bit self-inflicted, especially in the first half. Just with the ball, we were really careless with our passing,” Postecoglou said.
“At 2-0 down, it would have been very easy, particularly with the atmosphere as it was, for the boys to just let the game get away from us, but credit to them, they found a way to get back into the game and we got something out of it.
“I don’t think it was a case of being open because we were throwing men forward, we just kept giving the ball away. We certainly need to be better in the way that we execute that part of our game (for Thursday).
“You can imagine the noise around if the players didn’t respond. Thursday is obviously a massive game for us.
“At least from that perspective – and even for the players themselves – we’ve obviously got a challenge on Thursday night but they overcame a fairly big challenge today and hopefully we show the same kind of mindset.”
Premier League goal number 127 for Son Heung-min 🇰🇷#TOTBOU pic.twitter.com/0H1GaXE251
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 9, 2025
Romero’s first appearance since December 8 was followed by a pointed social-media post where he thanked the medical staff of Argentina and not Tottenham on his X account.
Micky van de Ven also returned for his first league fixture in three months and lifted a noticeably nervous crowd, which Postecoglou conceded may well respond positivity on Thursday if his team can provide a strong start in a win-or-bust fixture with AZ.
Postecoglou added: “I can’t sort of dictate to people how they sort of interact, but AZ’s crowd certainly helped them on Thursday night and we need our crowd to get behind the boys on Thursday to make it an atmosphere where maybe we lose some of that nervousness and anxiety within our game.
“The reality is, we as a team have to respond irrespective of the atmosphere and one may follow the other. If we start the game strong, it’ll get the place nice and loud, which will help us.”
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a missed opportunity after his side could have finished the weekend two places higher in sixth.
“Yes, I think we are disappointed,” Iraola said.
“Before coming here, it is probably not the worst result a point here, a difficult opposition and a difficult stadium to play, but considering how the game has gone, our performance, definitely the feeling of losing two points.”
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender