Tottenham player ratings at Bournemouth: No Kane, no problem for Spurs

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BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – MARCH 11: Serge Aurier of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his sides fourth goal with Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on March 11, 2018 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

Tottenham took off without Harry Kane

There’s no question in anyone’s mind that Harry Kane is the best player at Tottenham. For at least one match though, Spurs’ intensity and quality picked up significantly when the English talisman limped off the pitch.

Tottenham may not have deserved a 4-1 win at Bournemouth yesterday, but there can’t be any debate that Spurs played better without Kane. Mauricio Pochettino will rightfully worry if he needs to craft game plans without Kane for the long haul, but in this match it turned out to be a positive for Spurs.

The real advantage came due to Heung-Min Son’s pace at the top of the Tottenham attack. I’m not suggesting he’s a better player than Kane, but his foot speed gave Bournemouth fits. The talented Korean was the better type of striker to play against Eddie Howe’s high press.

In fairness, Tottenham’s advantage in the match really began when Pochettino moved Christian Eriksen back into the midfield three alongside Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama. The stylish Dane really pulled the strings after moving to the deeper position.

Without further delay, let me take you through each Tottenham star’s player ratings on the day. Plenty of Kane’s teammates really picked the club up in his absence.

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