Spurs whiz who won 10 duels was better than Son vs Bournemouth

Tottenham Hotspur bounced back to winning ways in the Premier League on New Year’s Eve as they hammered Bournemouth 3-1 at home.

Spurs came into the match off the back of a bitterly disappointing 4-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last time out and were in need of an immediate reaction.

Ange Postecoglou got exactly that as Pape Matar Sarr, Heung-min Son, and Richarlison all got on the scoresheet to secure all three points on Sunday.

Whilst Son was sublime on the left wing, the real hero of the afternoon for Tottenham was central midfielder Giovani Lo Celso as he caught the eye with an exceptional showing.

Heung-min Son’s performance against Bournemouth in numbers

The Spurs skipper produced yet another exciting performance out wide for the club as he got on the scoresheet for the 12th time in the Premier League this season.

His standout moment came in the 71st minute as the South Korea international raced onto a ball down the left side and brilliantly found the back of the net with a rasping finish.

He also created one ‘big chance’ and made two key passes but was not rewarded with an assist for his creative efforts throughout the match.

However, it was not a perfect performance from the experienced forward as the 31-year-old sensation failed in all three of his attempted dribbles and lost six of his eight duels.

Lo Celso’s performance against Bournemouth in numbers

Whilst Son was, once again, electric on the left flank, Lo Celso was the driving force in the middle of the park with a fantastic display in and out of possession for the side.

The Argentina international played a crucial role in both of the first two goals for the hosts, firstly teeing up Sarr to lash in an excellent opening strike.

He then assisted the second goal with an outrageous flick in behind the Cherries defence to send Son through down the left channel, which allowed the South Korean ace to fire the ball in.

Lo Celso completed 92% (34/37) of his attempted passes and 100% (3/3) of his dribbles to go along with two key passes – both of which were rewarded with assists. This shows that he was creative and forward-thinking without being wasteful on the ball.

The 27-year-old whiz was also almost perfect defensively with a combative performance. He won 10 of his 13 ground duels to make three tackles, one interception, and one clearance, whilst no opposition player completed a dribble past him.

These statistics show that Lo Celso was effective in all of his actions, in and out of possession, throughout the match, which is why he was better than Son, who left a bit to be desired with his wasteful dribbling and how easily Bournemouth beat him in duels.

This allowed him to make an impact at both ends of the pitch due to his ability to cut out opposition attacks whilst also playing a vital role for Spurs on the ball.

The impressive whiz, who was given a match rating of 8/10 by football.london’s Alasdair Gold – who referenced the player’s two assists, was the real hero for Postecoglou as he made telling contributions offensively and remained strong defensively.