Bournemouth squander two-goal lead to draw at Tottenham

LONDON : Europe-chasing Bournemouth were left kicking themselves as they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League after outplaying their hosts on Sunday.

Andoni Iraola's side were deservedly two goals up and set to boost their top-four hopes after Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson netted either side of halftime.

Pape Matar Sarr threw Tottenham a lifeline with a speculative cross that looped over Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Kepa then rashly brought down substitute Son Heung-min in the area with the South Korean converting the resulting penalty in the 84th minute.

Bournemouth, for whom Justin Kluivert had a goal disallowed and hit the post, moved up a place to eighth spot with 44 points, five behind fourth-placed Chelsea, as Tottenham stayed 13th with 34.

If Bournemouth fail to qualify for the first time they will look back at the last few weeks with bitter memories.

They were knocking on the door of the top four only for defeats by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion to cost them and they should have bagged all three points against a Tottenham side booed off by their fans at the break.

Tottenham's disappointing season hinges on Thursday's Europa League last-16 clash at home to AZ Alkmaar when they will need to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

But they will have to play a lot better than they managed for long periods against Bournemouth.

"At 2-0 we had a bit of a mountain to climb," manager Ange Postecoglou said. "It was a chaotic game today and the boys showed a real mentality."

They welcomed back defender Cristian Romero after a three-month absence and handed him the captaincy but his awful pass after 30 seconds almost gifted Evanilson a goal, his shot superbly saved by