Bournemouth’s Evanilson scored in the fifth minute to give the Cherries a deserved 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, bringing Thomas Frank’s promising start at Spurs to a sobering halt.
Frank, who had kicked off his tenure with an impressive victory over Manchester City last weekend and recently welcomed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig, saw his side struggle to find rhythm in just his fourth match in charge.
Despite his solid record against Bournemouth, winning seven of his last ten encounters, including two last season, the Danish manager watched his team produce a lackluster performance.
Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side dominated proceedings, with David Brooks a constant threat, proving their resilience despite a challenging summer of departures.
The atmosphere inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was electric before kickoff, with fans eager to see new signing Simons in action.
Spurs nearly scored in the opening minute when Pape Matar Sarr’s effort-cum-cross was blocked by Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. But the early promise quickly faded as Bournemouth took a shock lead five minutes in.
Marcos Senesi’s alert vision picked out Evanilson, who broke free from Cristian Romero and curled a left-footed shot past Guglielmo Vicario after a deflection.
Djed Spence, recently called up to the England squad, had inadvertently left Evanilson unmarked, and the forward came close to doubling his tally moments later.
Bournemouth continued to press, with Antoine Semenyo heading over a Brooks delivery and Brooks forcing Vicario into a sharp save from a clever free-kick.
An injury to former Spurs defender Adam Smith allowed Frank a brief opportunity to regroup his team, but Bournemouth remained dominant, with Micky van de Ven and Vicario both making crucial interventions to deny Tavernier and Evanilson.
The half-time whistle drew a smattering of boos, yet Bournemouth maintained control after the break.
Vicario kept out Semenyo’s header, and a tense sequence in the 49th minute saw Senesi go down under slight contact from Mohammed Kudus, only for play to continue as Vicario blocked Evanilson and Brooks’ follow-up struck the crossbar.
Spurs’ Richarlison was fouled moments later by the already-booked Semenyo, but referee Simon Hooper withheld a second yellow.
Frank responded with substitutions, introducing Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert in the 54th minute. Spurs’ first on-target effort came in the 69th minute when Bergvall’s shot from Richarlison’s setup was comfortably saved by Petrovic.
Destiny Udogie soon entered the fray, but Odobert’s 12-yard strike sailed over after a deflected cross.
Despite mounting pressure in the closing stages, including Mathys Tel volleying wide in seven minutes of added time, Spurs were unable to find an equalizer.
A final free-kick opportunity saw Udogie head wide, handing Thomas Frank his first league defeat as Tottenham manager.