Tenacious Giovani Lo Celso ready to take centre stage for depleted Tottenham

Giovani Lo Celso returned to the side and produced a match-winning display as Tottenham staggered over the line to earn a scrappy and hard-fought 3-1 win over Bournemouth, which moved them to within a point of fourth-placed Arsenal.

An exhausted and depleted Spurs finished the game a man down after one of their five subs, Alejo Veliz, was the latest of Ange Postecoglou's squad to succumb to injury and with a patched-up team on the field, including Emerson Royal, Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Bryan Gil.

Pape Sarr, who opened the scoring with a crisp 20-yard strike in the first half, was earlier forced off on the half-hour with a suspected muscle injury. Both Sarr and Veliz left the pitch in tears, suggesting their injuries may be serious.

With so many key players missing, Spurs were inevitably not at their best for long stretches but dug deep to keep Bournemouth at bay after Sarr's goal, with Destiny Udogie outstanding defensively.

Heung-min Son's breakaway goal gave them a cushion and the previously-wasteful Richarlison made it 3-0.

In the circumstances, this was a hugely important result for Spurs, who now do not return to Premier League action until January 14 and may have some of their injured stars, like James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, available again by then - not to mention some new signings.

In the meantime, they are only set to be further depleted, with Son, Yves Bissouma and Sarr now set to depart for international tournaments - although the latter's Africa Cup of Nations is now in doubt.

The Senegal midfielder looked devastated and was comforted by the returning Rodrigo Bentancur and Son, as he trudged off the field, his shirt over his face.

(To be parochial, a minor muscle injury would not be the worst thing for Spurs if it rules Sarr out of the tournament, given Senegal are expected to go deep but it would obviously be devastating for the 21-year-old.)

It was, therefore, crucial that Lo Celso played the way he did, the Argentine influential in all three of Spurs' goals, with each demonstrating his varied skillset.

The tenacious midfielder set up Sarr's strike by winning the ball with a slide tackle before making Son's clincher with a brilliant first-time pass with the outside of his left foot.

He was also involved in Richarlison's clincher, winning a free-kick to relieve the Bournemouth pressure before Emerson and Brennan Johnson worked the ball to the Brazilian.

Bentancur's unexpected return, six weeks ahead of schedule, was a welcome surprise, given the whole stadium a lift, but Lo Celso was the story of the game, producing his best performance in a Spurs shift for years.

Provided he can stay fit, Lo Celso will surely be an important player for depleted Spurs in January, when Dejan Kulusevski - suspended against the Cherries - will have to move back into the front three to cover for Son.

Lo Celso showed here that he can fill the create void for Spurs at No10, at least until Maddison is back in contention.