James Maddison scores first Tottenham goal in 2-0 win over Bournemouth in EPL

Updated Aug. 26, 2023 9:50 a.m. ET
Associated Press

BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — James Maddison scored his first goal for Tottenham in a 2-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday that maintained Spurs' unbeaten start under Ange Postecoglou.

Maddison put Spurs ahead in the 17th minute with a precise finish and Dejan Kulusevski doubled the advantage with his first goal of the season in the 63rd as Tottenham followed up last weekend's home win over Manchester United with another impressive performance.

The team now has two wins and a draw under Postecoglou while playing the attack-minded style of football that the manager has brought to the club. Though with Richarlison struggling badly up front for a third game in a row and still looking for a first goal of the season — he was taken off an hour into the game — some Spurs fans might still be wondering just how good this team could have been had the club not sold talismanic striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich on the eve of the season.

Tottenham dominated the first half and Maddison — who joined from relegated Leicester in the offseason — opened the scoring when he ran onto a pass into the area from Pepe Matar Sarr and directed the ball inside the far post with a first-time effort.

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Richarlison had a chance to double the lead when he was played through on goal, but after evading one defender, he couldn’t get his feet sorted in time for a shot before the ball was blocked by another.

Bournemouth improved after the break but Tottenham doubled its lead against the run of play when Destiny Udogie exchanged passes with Son Heung-min before pulling the ball back across goal, where Kulusevski slotted it inside the far post.

Heavy rain then further reduced Bournemouth's chances of staging a comeback.

The Cherries have one point from its opening three games after losing at Liverpool last weekend.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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