The Cherries pushed Mauricio Pochettino’s team all the way at Dean Court before two late goals added some gloss to the scoreline

For the second weekend in a row, a Premier League manager was left to reflect on Spurs being too good for his team.

AFC Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe felt his players gave everything during their 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, but admitted the visitors had too much quality in the end.

Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner had said similar on March 3 (Saturday) after Mauricio Pochettino’s men had cruised to a 2-0 victory at Wembley Stadium.

Whilst Spurs have plenty to learn in Europe after last Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 exit to Juventus, domestically they continue to impress.

Howe said: “Physically it was very intense for both sets of players. I thought we gave everything to the match, but ultimately they were too good for us.

“The scoreline definitely is an untrue reflection on how the game went. We were well in that right to the end.

“They are one of the best teams in Europe without a doubt so the fact we’ve stretched them and taken them so far I think is a compliment for my team.”

Bournemouth certainly did push Spurs close and it took two late goals for them to add gloss to the scoreline at Dean Court.

Junior Stanislas put the Cherries ahead after seven minutes, but Dele Alli equalised with 10 minutes left of the first half.

Heung-min Son gave Tottenham the lead just past the hour mark and it remained 2-1 until the dying exchanges when the South Korean completed his brace.

Serge Aurier grabbed a fourth for the away side in stoppage time, but Howe was left to reflect on what might have been had Callum Wilson not saw a potentially equalising goal disallowed.

The Bournemouth forward fired home in the 84th minute, but he was penalised for a push on Davinson Sanchez and referee Mike Dean disallowed the effort and gave Tottenham a free kick.

“I think it’s a very, very soft call from the referee,” said Howe. “If there was any contact, it was minimal and at 2-1 down that has a huge bearing on the result.”

Additional reporting by Press Association Sport.