Son Heung-min penalty saves Ange for now, but the writing is on the wall at Spurs | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur battled from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday, but the result has done little to lift the gloom around the club.

Goals either side of half-time from Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson left the Lilywhites with a mountain to climb but Spurs rode their luck to claw level, first netting through a misdirected Pape Sarr cross before Son Heung-min converted a late penalty. Spurs can count themselves even more fortunate given Bournemouth were denied another goal by VAR spotting an Antoine Semenyo offside.

“It is harsh on Bournemouth,” former Spurs defender Stephen Kelly told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Tottenham didn’t learn from their mistakes, somehow they come out with a point from this game. A crazy game – it was so frantic.”

A point does very little for Tottenham, who now trail the top four by a massive 15 points, which is only two fewer than the gap they have over the relegation zone. Even Bournemouth themselves are 10 points clear of the Lilywhites in eighth.

Spurs were once again met with boos at half-time and while the mood lightened slightly at full-time, this draw doesn’t take away from the fact that a huge portion of Spurs fans now want Ange Postecoglou removed from his managerial post.

After all, Spurs were mere minutes away from posting some truly dreadful stats, including an eighth home Premier League defeat of the season, which would be the most a 38-game season in the competition — level with 1996/97. This would also have been Bournemouth’s first-ever league double over Tottenham.

Even with the haphazard comeback, Spurs are posting some ugly numbers:

Europa League or bust for Ange Postecoglou

In reality, most of Tottenham’s league games between now and the end of the season have been rendered meaningless beyond morale and Postecoglou trying to demonstrate he can take the club forward.

The real challenge comes against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, with Spurs hosting the Dutch side following a bruising 1-0 defeat in the Netherlands last week.

Tottenham’s entire season hinges on that match, keeping them in with a chance of Europa League glory and Champions League qualification, especially given they’re out of both domestic cups.

Bournemouth are, objectively, a much stronger team than AZ. However, the evidence of Sunday afternoon’s performance, littered with errors, errant passes and excruciating moments, suggests Spurs face an uphill battle turning their Europa League tie around.

Son’s late penalty may have kept Postecoglou in a job for now, but the sword of Damocles continues to hang over the Spurs boss, who may be packing up his office should things go south on Thursday.