Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham: VAR dominates frustrating stalemate for Spurs

Tottenham were once again left to rue a controversial VAR decision after a dismal goalless draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Jose Mourinho's men began the day in 10th position knowing that a win against relegation-threatened opponents would lift them back into contention for a European qualification spot.

With one eye on the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday, Mourinho chose to rest Heung-min Son and brought in Jan Vertonghen for Eric Dier, who was handed a four-game ban by the Football Association on Wednesday.

Bournemouth, who had the worst form of any team in the Premier League and four points from safety, played with confidence from the off and did not give any indication that they were a team in crisis with 10 defeats in their last 13 games.

That was until Tottenham won a corner with just five minutes gone. Steven Bergwijn whipped in the corner and Harry Kane fell to the ground, appealing furiously for a penalty. VAR checked the incident and it seemed obvious that a spot-kick would be awarded. But to Spurs and Mourinho's fury, referee Paul Tierney pointed for a goal kick.

One might have expected a team that felt wronged to respond with a goal borne purely out of frustration. But the incident appeared to give Bournemouth a lift, if anything, and the hosts dominated for large periods of the first half.

Only Erik Lamela went close to testing Aaron Ramsdale, who did not have a single save to make. But up the other end, Hugo Lloris had to be on hand to deny Junior Stanislas' low effort just before the break.

Mourinho had seen enough of what could only be described as an abject display from his side and made a double change at the interval, sending on Tanguy Ndombele and Heung-min Son for Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso.

The game was disrupted when Adam Smith - who had already been heavily winded after blocking Harry Kane's free-kick - suffered a serious-looking head injury shortly after the break after colliding with Ben Davies. The full-back required extensive treatment from medical staff on the pitch and was given oxygen following the clash before he was stretchered off.

Neither side managed to conjure up a clear-cut opportunity with Spurs in particular struggling to find Kane. But in the final minute of normal time, the hosts thought they had made the breakthrough only for VAR to come back and haunt them. Callum Wilson looked to have scored a stunning overhead kick but it touched the arm of Joshua King on the way through and VAR disallowed the 90th-minute effort.

Spurs had 12 minutes of added time to find a winner, owing to Smith's injury, but Bournemouth nearly stole all three points when Harry Wilson broke through on goal, but Lloris made an important stop to deny the Welshman.

That was the best (legal) chance either side had in the entire game and Spurs could count themselves fortunate to leave the South Coast with a point, even considering the controversial VAR decision.

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