Son Heung-min shines as Tottenham disappoint in 3-2 loss to Bournemouth

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scores his side's first goal against Bournemouth in a Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min struck again on Saturday, opening the scoring for Tottenham Hotspur in a difficult 3-2 loss to Bournemouth.

Son, who scored his Premier League century last week, was back on the board in the 14th minute with goal No. 101. Ivan Perisic picked out the Korean forward on the run, allowing Son to wrong foot Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto and find the back of the net.

Son continued to play well, later nutmegging a defender to set up Harry Kane for what should have been another goal. But while Son was looking more confident than he has for most of the season, the rest of the Spurs squad was not.

Bournemouth tied things up in the 38th minute and then pulled ahead in the 51st. Spurs erased that lead with a goal from Arnaut Danjuma in the 88th, only for visiting Bournemouth to find the winner in injury time.

The reaction at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was predictable. With no manager, an increasingly low chance of finishing in the top four and a loss at home to a side battling relegation, the end of Spurs’ 2022-23 season is looking decidedly less positive than last minute.

Boos and jeers directed at the Spurs players by their own fans were audible throughout the game but turned on Chairman Daniel Levy at the end of the game with far more aggression than usual.

Son may have redeemed himself with goals in the last couple of weeks, but the long and painful drought this season will not be forgotten quickly. His partnership with Kane, long the backbone of the Tottenham offense, has not been productive for some time and Spurs seem to be struggling to improvise an alternative.

Speaking after the game, interim manager Cristian Stellini addressed the disappointing performance.

“My assessment is that today we played two different games,” Stellini said. “We played a good game until we scored and after we conceded the second goal. What is in the middle is not the mindset we have to use because we started the game well. When we scored we dropped.

"We dropped again. We have to change this type of mindset. We have said many times that we need to continue to go strong and try to keep the ball in their half of the pitch. We did this only when we were 2-1 down.”

Spurs will be back in action next Sunday as they face Newcastle United on the road. The London club has seven games left this season to turn things around, with the final game to be played against Leeds on May 28.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]