Dele Alli continued his impressive revitalisation under Jose Mourinho as he scored twice in Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Bournemouth.
Alli, whose poor form and injuries over the last few months had seen him dropped from the England squad, has rediscovered his star quality since Mourinho arrived at the club and bagged a goal in each half.
His brace made it three in three games, as well as two assists, and he has been the figurehead of a Spurs resurgence under Mourinho.
Moussa Sissoko also scored his first goal in over two years as Tottenham won their third successive game under the Portuguese, who has brought the feelgood factor back.
Harry Wilson’s late double skewed the scoreline and gave Bournemouth hope of an unlikely comeback, but Spurs were not to be denied back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since April.
They are now just six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who they still have to play twice, and there is a real belief that the Champions League places are not so far away.
Bournemouth’s slide down the table continues, however, and they have just one win from their last eight games.
Having found his side 2-0 down after 20 minutes against Olympiacos on Tuesday night, Mourinho will have been hoping for a more stress-free start but had it not been for goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga they would have been behind inside the opening 10 minutes.
First the Argentinian scooped away Arnaut Danjuma’s shot before parrying Diego Rico’s long-range effort.
Spurs eventually woke up and a lightning quick break saw Son Heung-min close in on goal, but he dragged his shot wide.
The hosts were in front by the 20th minute, though, as Alli continued his fine start under Mourinho.
He was the beneficiary of some fine work from Toby Alderweireld and Son, whose perfect touch from the defender’s long ball allowed Alli to roll the ball into an empty net.
Spurs thought it was 2-0 five minutes later when Davinson Sanchez fired home a loose ball from a corner, but the ball accidentally hit his hand in the build-up and it was chalked off.
There was another handball in the box shortly before half-time, this time from Cherries skipper Steve Cook as he handled Alli’s cross, but VAR somehow decided not to review it and the visitors escaped.
Howe’s side could not handle Alli’s movement and they fell 2-0 behind five minutes after the restart.
It was another brilliant ping by Alderweireld, whose pinpoint ball was controlled by Alli, who held off the opposition defence to clip home.
Alli had the chance to complete a hat-trick when a surging breakaway, led by Sissoko, saw the ball fall to him at the far post, but he curled over.
Spurs were not to be denied a third, though, and in the 69th minute the crowd were treated to a real collector’s item.
Son was played in down the left and he picked out Sissoko, who acrobatically hooked the ball in from close range for his first goal since October 2017.
Mourinho has found he has no problems at the top of the pitch, but at the other end they have still looked suspect and they were denied a clean sheet by a fine goal.
Wilson curled in a beautiful free-kick off the underside of the crossbar in the 79th minute to give the visitors hope.
They got a second deep into stoppage time when Wilson swept home a second, and only a brilliant tackle by Jan Vertonghen to deny Callum Wilson stopped them from taking a point.
The two late goals, which also happened at West Ham last week, will be a concern in what has otherwise been a perfect week for Mourinho.
