ANGE POSTECOGLOU had to be held back during a heated row as Tottenham beat Bournemouth.
The Spurs boss clashed with the Cherries bench in stoppage time on New Year’s Eve.
His side sealed a 3-1 victory in their final match of 2023 thanks to goals from Pape Matar Sarr, Son Heung-min and Richarlison.
However, the game was not without flashpoints, though, with staff from both clubs clashing late on.
The row erupted after Bournemouth refused to put the ball out of play when Spurs’ Alejo Veliz went down injured.
Their decision to keep playing prompted a furious reaction from the home side’s bench.
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Postecoglou was booked for his part in the heated scenes, along with midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and Bournemouth coach Shaun Cooper.
Addressing the incident after the match, he explained: “We were just wishing each other Happy New Year. It’s alright. Just a little bit of emotion in the game.
“I was more concerned with Alejo because we were kind of trying to get him off the field, and apart from my physically going on the pitch and dragging him off he wasn’t really going to go down.
“So we were just shouting at him and the Bournemouth staff, I don’t know what they thought, maybe that we were trying to make a substitution but we knew we had none. It was just about getting him off.”
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Tottenham bounced back from their midweek loss at Brighton to claim their fourth win in five Premier League matches.
The win also saw them close the gap on the top four to just a point after rivals Arsenal lost.
Mikel Arteta’s side were on the wrong end of a comeback as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Fulham.
Spurs are now within touching distance of the Gunners and just three points behind league leaders Liverpool heading into 2024.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
