Europe-chasing Bournemouth were left kicking themselves as they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League after outplaying their hosts on Sunday.
Andoni Iraola's side were deservedly two goals up and set to boost their top-four hopes after Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson netted either side of halftime.
Pape Matar Sarr threw Tottenham a lifeline with a speculative cross that looped over Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Kepa then rashly brought down substitute Son Heung-min in the area with the South Korean converting the resulting penalty in the 84th minute.
Bournemouth, for whom Justin Kluivert had a goal disallowed and hit the post, moved up a place to eighth spot with 44 points, five behind fourth-placed Chelsea, as Tottenham stayed 13th with 34.
A spirited comeback from two goals down by @SpursOfficial to draw 2-2 ⚪
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 9, 2025
What a match!#TOTBOU pic.twitter.com/VDchSu8JVx
If Bournemouth fail to qualify for the first time they will look back at the last few weeks with bitter memories.
They were knocking on the door of the top four only for defeats by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion to cost them and they should have bagged all three points against a Tottenham side booed off by their fans at the break.
Tottenham's disappointing season hinges on Thursday's Europa League last-16 clash at home to AZ Alkmaar when they will need to overturn a 1-0 deficit.
But they will have to play a lot better than they managed for long periods against Bournemouth.
"At 2-0 we had a bit of a mountain to climb," manager Ange Postecoglou said. "It was a chaotic game today and the boys showed a real mentality."
They welcomed back defender Cristian Romero after a three-month absence and handed him the captaincy but his awful pass after 30 seconds almost gifted Evanilson a goal, his shot superbly saved by Guglielmo Vicario.
Vicario saved his side again as another error almost led to a Bournemouth goal.
Bournemouth took the lead in the 42nd minute when yet another misplaced pass by the hosts, this time from Pedro Porro, saw Milos Kerkez surge down the left and produce a sublime cross that Tavernier volleyed in at the back post.
A sensational counter-attack early in the second half saw Kluivert finish in style from Tavernier's cross but a VAR check showed that Antoine Semenya was offside in the build-up.
Evanilson did double Bournemouth's lead with a deft finish from Kluivert's pass and the visitors were cruising.
Impressive substitute Lucas Bergvall struck the post for Spurs before Sarr's errant cross which floated over Kepa's head changed the complexion of the game.
Even then Bournemouth were still the better side but Kepa's eager rush form his goal saw him take down Son who calmly tucked away the spot-kick.