Lys Mousset will have been buzzing before the match with Tottenham last weekend. He had not made a Premier League start in a home match in 2017/18 and the news that Josh King was struggling with a neck injury must have been a surprise to him. Eddie Howe didn't turn to Jermain Defoe, but to Lys and that must have been quite a thrill for him to know his manager was backing him to do the business against one of the best sides in the league.
His glee at getting hold of the ball as early as the third minute from a long pass from Lewis Cook soon turned into a goal scoring opportunity, as Mousset raced towards the Tottenham goal. He could have tried to shoot himself, but was amazingly unselfish in squaring the ball to Junior Stanislas on his left. It must have crossed his mind that it would be great to add to his goal that he scored earlier in the season against Stoke City in February, when he had come on as a sub, but he clearly felt Stanislas would score if he passed to him.
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| Lys Mousset is starting to get his chance. |
The start for Mousset was his second of the season having played 62 minutes against Stoke City in the away match last October. This was a much bigger deal though at Dean Court against a top four team. He could have frozen and become a bit shell-shocked, but there was none of that. In fact, Mousset was one of Bournemouth's best players in the first half hour.
His glee at getting hold of the ball as early as the third minute from a long pass from Lewis Cook soon turned into a goal scoring opportunity, as Mousset raced towards the Tottenham goal. He could have tried to shoot himself, but was amazingly unselfish in squaring the ball to Junior Stanislas on his left. It must have crossed his mind that it would be great to add to his goal that he scored earlier in the season against Stoke City in February, when he had come on as a sub, but he clearly felt Stanislas would score if he passed to him.
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Throughout the game, Mousset charged at the Tottenham defenders but was said to have tired a bit according to Eddie Howe. I thought he looked more active than Callum Wilson for much of the game and Mousset did his running closing down play when Bournemouth didn't have the ball. The intriguing thought I now have is whether Lys Mousset offers something a bit different to AFCB's other strikers? I think he does, because he is very neat and tidy with his close play when trying to play one-two's around players. Where I find he can over do things is when he kicks the ball a bit too far ahead and offers defenders a chance to take the ball off of him, but that will improve I'm sure. As for his shooting, it is very accurate and he does like to make himself available, which is half the battle with some players. He wants to take responsibility and I like him for wanting to make a difference.
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