Richarlison defended himself for missing an ‘open goal’ as eagle-eyed pundit slams Tottenham striker a ‘foul’

Richarlison again missed a golden opportunity for Tottenham – but Stuart Pearce claimed he should have been awarded a penalty.

The Brazilian striker, who has scored just one Premier League goal for Spurs since joining last year, looked set to double the visitors’ lead in the 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

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James Maddison had broken the deadlock in the 17th minute, with the midfielder then gloriously finding Richarlison’s run later in the first half.

Receiving the ball in the box, he cut inside defender Lloyd Kelly, but swelled his shot after rounding Neto, Joe Rothwell blocking his effort.

Illia Zabarnyi then pushed the ball away from inside the penalty area, with fans wondering how Richarlison failed to find the back of the net.

Although replays showed he should have won a penalty for Ange Postecoglou’s side after Kelly appeared to inadvertently handle the ball as it slid which prevented Richarlison from getting it off his feet properly .

Discussing the incident in talkSPORT comments, Sam Matterface said: “Richarlison still can’t score with an open goal.”

He continued: “Richarlison had a one-on-one, was there a handball when Kelly slipped?

“He got around keeper Richarlison and he still couldn’t get away.”

England legend Pearce remarked: “Postecoglou is on the touchline and calls for a handball.

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“Richarlison just handled the ball through Lloyd Kelly’s legs and his swinging arm as he slid across the floor just caught the ball with his hand.

“But I’m surprised the ball didn’t end up in the back of the net.”

He added: “What I’m going to do, I’m going to play devil’s advocate here.

“If he hadn’t put his hand on the ball and slowed his momentum, Richarlison would have simply followed the natural movement of the ball and slid it off with his left foot.

“Instead he slowed it down and at the end he was over the ball and had to adjust his feet, and that probably stopped the goal.”

Richarlison then missed another effort from close range, as he headed towards the side netting at the far post.

He was finally removed on the hour mark for Ivan Perisic.

Luckily for Spurs, Richarlison’s misses didn’t impact the final result as Dejan Kulusevski scored in the 63rd minute to claim back-to-back Premier League wins.

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