It was perhaps the loudest cheer of the afternoon. Tottenham Hotspur were 5-0 up and cruising to a 12th victory in 14 league games when news came through that Manchester City were losing at Leicester. Spurs were now second and suddenly the majority of those in attendance had another reason to make their presence felt. It was a collective roar of delight and, underneath a murky sky, the sound of gathering belief that a club so often mocked for never winning anything really could land the title.

Not that Mauricio Pochettino is getting carried away. He spoke of it being “too early to talk about us being contenders” given the season has only just reached its halfway stage. But what is for sure is that Spurs are in the mix – a point clear of the champions, six behind the leaders, Liverpool, and, arguably, looking as formidable as they ever have under their Argentinian manager.

Tottenham were not actually at their scintillating best here, while defensively they were made to look vulnerable on more than one occasion by Bournemouth. Indeed, had either Ryan Fraser or David Brooks taken the presentable chances that came their way early on the outcome might have been different. But they did not and after 16 minutes Tottenham took the lead through Christian Eriksen, a moment Eddie Howe admitted rocked his players mentally and from which the home side took control. They were 3-0 up by half-time thanks to further goals from Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura, and pulled further ahead after Harry Kane scored his seventh goal in six league appearances against Bournemouth. Son’s second on 70 minutes, a tap-in from close range, wrapped it up and made it 11 goals in two games for a team well and truly on the up.

“We were very clinical and fully deserved this victory,” said Pochettino, “To show the energy we showed is fantastic. I am very pleased. We are in a very good direction this season.”

That much is undoubtedly true and what is particularly encouraging in regards to Tottenham’s pursuit of a first championship since 1961 is the contribution of the squad as a whole. Here there was no Kieran Trippier and Dele Alli from the side who hammered Everton 6-2 yet it made little difference as Kyle Walker-Peters and Lucas Moura came in for them and shone.

Walker-Peters’ contribution was particularly eye-catching. In only his fourth appearance of the season, and first league start, the 21-year-old assisted the opening three goals. The first may have been a simple pass to Eriksen that teed up the Dane for a long-range shot that he converted via a deflection off Jefferson Lerma but the second and third were impressive: a quick interception after Charlie Daniels had made a mess of clearing Toby Alderweireld’s long pass that allowed Son to strike from the edge of the area followed by a perfectly weighted volleyed pass that let Lucas sweep a shot past Asmir Begovic from close-range. “[His performance did] not surprise me,” said Pochettino. “He has amazing qualities and in the future is going to be a very important player for Tottenham.”

Others in white and blue also impressed, including Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks in the heart of the midfield, while from Son came a display that Pochettino called “amazing”. Two more goals from the South Korean, this time operating as a wide-left forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and a further reminder that the 26-year-old will be a big, potentially telling loss for Spurs on his departure to the United Arab Emirates next month for the Asia Cup.

For Bournemouth this was a fourth away league defeat in a row and, while they showed their usual poise and creativity in possession – and arguably should have been awarded a penalty after Juan Foyth collided with Callum Wilson early in the second-half – they were incredibly ragged at the back, seen most starkly in the manner with which Kane ran straight between Steve Cook and Nathan Ake to score. For Howe there was the added setback of Simon Francis having to be taken off on a stretcher in the first half with a knee injury that could be season-ending. “He’s gone for a scan and it doesn’t look good,” Howe added. “Our thoughts are with him and his family.”

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Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christian Eriksen opened the scoring for Tottenham on a chastening afternoon for Bournemouth. Photograph: Alex Broadway/Getty Images

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