Tottenham Hotspur’s perfect start to the 2025/26 Premier League season came to an end as they slipped to a 1-0 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth.
Evanilson stunned the hosts in the fifth minute when his strike took a fortuitous deflection and looped in – the first time Spurs have conceded in the league under Thomas Frank.
And despite trailing for the vast majority of Saturday’s encounter, Spurs could not find a way to truly test a resilient Bournemouth defence until Destiny Udogie headed wide on the cusp of full-time.
Indeed, Bournemouth were unfortunate not to add to their lead, with Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson squandering good chances and David Brooks hitting the crossbar.
Following an opening day defeat to Liverpool, Andoni Iraola’s side have now registered consecutive Premier League wins and join Spurs on six points from their opening three matches.
How the match unfolded
The Cherries silenced the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Evanilson took on a shot from a tight angle, with a wicked deflection leaving Guglielmo Vicario helpless.
Spurs were visibly flustered by Bournemouth’s lightning start, and as they struggled to test Djordje Petrovic in the visitors’ goal, Evanilson and Semenyo both saw decent opportunities to extend the Cherries’ advantage pass them by.
Bournemouth almost struck again early in the second half, with Vicario denying Semenyo before the Italian shot-stopper smothered an effort from Evanilson, with Brooks’ follow-up clattering the woodwork.
As Spurs committed more players forward, Bournemouth continued to pose the greater danger, with Marcus Tavernier sending a shot into the side netting.
Spurs’ probing finally resulted in a clear chance deep in stoppage time, but Udogie could not direct his header on target.
Toothless Spurs see their run halted
Frank’s Spurs had enjoyed a dream start to the season, following their opening day win over Burnley with an impressive 2-0 victory at Manchester City last weekend. That performance suggested they would be well-equipped to handle Bournemouth, whose high-tempo press can often mirror City’s.
However, Frank’s hopes of becoming the first Spurs boss since Nuno Espirito Santo to win his opening three Premier League matches came to a shuddering halt as Bournemouth kept the hosts’ in-form attacking trio of Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus quiet.
Frank will be concerned about how easily the Cherries’ new-look backline contained his strike force, and how little Spurs created in attacking positions.
With James Maddison ruled out indefinitely, Spurs will be hoping new signing Xavi Simons can provide that much-needed creative spark, with the Netherlands international watching on from the stands following his move from RB Leipzig.
Having failed to beat Bournemouth last season, Spurs once again came unstuck, with Frank’s men unable to produce the same solutions that troubled City so effectively a week earlier.
Spurs have two weeks to prepare for London derby with West Ham United, but before Monday’s transfer window deadline, Frank may want to see further reinforcements come in to provide additional attacking impetus.
Cherries stand firm after striking early again
Following a midweek EFL Cup exit as they lost 2-0 at home to Brentford, the Cherries would have been eager to get back to winning ways and build some early-season momentum.
They scored in the fourth minute in their win over Wolves last week, and held on for a clean sheet and all three points, with their new-look defence showing their competency after shipping four at Anfield on the opening day, and it was a similar story here for Iraola.
Not only did Bournemouth’s defence make short work of Spurs, neutralising Richarlison, Johnson, and Kudus, but they got in on the act offensively as Marcos Senesi assisted the game’s only goal.
With Bournemouth reportedly looking to further bolster their defensive ranks with the prospective acquisition of Alex Jimenez from AC Milan, Iraola will be aiming for his team to keep up their resiliency when they face Brighton & Hove Albion after the international break.
Club reports
Spurs report | Bournemouth report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: "In football, it goes so quick. We can still find good bits but overall, it's not a good performance.
"I think we looked very strong in three games but it's about being consistent and doing that throughout the season."
Andoni Iraola: "It was a very complete performance. We were very strong from the beginning. We have had more chances and the biggest thing is we haven't scored the second goal. We closed the game well."
Next fixtures
Key facts
Having defeated Arsenal in May (2-1), Bournemouth have won consecutive Premier League games in London for first time since August 2018.
Spurs had just five shots against Bournemouth (one on target), the joint-fewest attempts and lowest Expected Goals against (0.17) the Cherries have ever faced in a Premier League away game.
Eight of Evanilson’s 11 Premier League goals for Bournemouth have come away from home (73 per cent), including seven of his last eight – with all seven being scored in London.
Spurs failed to have a single shot in the first half of a Premier League home game since February 2020 (against Manchester City under Jose Mourinho), while it was just the second time a Frank side has done so (home or away) in the competition (Brentford v Newcastle in February 2022).