Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Southampton: 3 reasons why Spurs won the game | Premier League 2019/20

#2 Southampton’s inability to take advantage of 10-man Tottenham

Danny Ings got them back into it.

Southampton were 0-1 down when Serge Aurier got his marching orders. After Mauricio Pochettino dropped Moussa Sissoko down into the back four, it created an opportunity for the Saints to make use of their extra man on the field. Southampton had a chance to enforce their authority on the field and dictate the tempo of the game. Unfortunately, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men failed to rise to the occasion.

Their equalizer was a huge slice of luck and a result of Danny Ings’ relentless off-the-ball pressing. However, even though the visitors created a lot of chances in the game, they failed to convert those opportunities. As they piled bodies forward looking for the killer second goal, the Saints left a lot of space at the back. Tottenham took advantage of the gaps and scored the second goal on the counter. Southampton’s inability to take advantage of Serge Aurier’s red card ultimately cost them the game.

#1 The brilliance of the Tottenham Hotspur frontline

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton FC - Premier League

After faltering in recent games, Mauricio Pochettino opted for a front three of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen. The three of them ran riot in the opening stages of the game, pinning the away side back and created quite a few chances. Son Heung-min ultimately laid the pass for Tanguy Ndombele to score the opening goal.

However, things changed after Serge Aurier’s red card. Pochettino must be lauded for keeping his front line intact despite going a man down and his courage was rewarded in the dying stages of the first half. Harry Kane won the ball at the edge of the half-line, nodding it back to Son, and initiating a lightning-fast counter-attack. The South Korean spotted the run of Christian Eriksen in the right-wing, passed him the ball and then sprinted forward to receive the ball back. A sleek interchange between Son and Eriksen finally resulted in the Dane finding Harry Kane in the box. The Englishman scored to restore his team’s lead and helped win the game.

Son Heung-min has been a revelation at Spurs.