Bournemouth bring Tottenham back down to earth with deserved win

LONDON :The first clouds appeared on Tottenham Hotspur's new dawn as Bournemouth gave them a stark reality check with a 1-0 Premier League victory that flattered the hosts on Saturday.

Two wins from two league games after a rather unfortunate loss on penalties to Paris St Germain in the UEFA Super Cup represented an impressive start for new manager Thomas Frank.

Friday's signing of Dutch playmaker Xavi Simons added to the wave of optimism apparent in the streets of north London before kickoff on a fresh late summer day.

Victory over Bournemouth to make it three wins out of three would have put Tottenham top of the formative table.

But from the moment Evanilson's deflected effort stunned the hosts in the fifth minute that never looked likely and had Bournemouth headed back to the south coast without three points it would have been daylight robbery.

Andoni Iraola's side were better in every department and at one point early in the second half had managed 16 goal attempts to Tottenham's one. That stat ended 19-5 in Bournemouth's favour after a futile late rally by Spurs.

There were boos at the final whistle from the home fans, which seemed frankly ridiculous despite a poor display.

Frank's side, despite beating Burnley at home and Manchester City away, are clearly a work in progress as they move on from the trauma of last season when they finished 17th.

Bournemouth, who threatened to qualify for Europe last season before fading, have managed to retain their best players over the summer and looked like a well-drilled outfit.

Their relentless pressing gave Tottenham no time to build and up front, the quartet of Antoine Semenyo, Marcus Tavernier, David Brooks and Evanilson led Tottenham a merry dance.

Evanilson fired them in front when