Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Southampton: 3 reasons why Spurs won the game

When Tottenham Hotspur hosted Southampton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, Spurs knew very well that they could no longer afford to slip up in the Premier League. Mauricio Pochettino’s men were already on a woeful run of three games without a win and had won just one of their last five games. Spurs were 7th in the table and were dangerously slipping out of the title race.

Pochettino wanted a response from his team, after exiting the Carabao Cup in midweek at the hands of Colchester. The Argentinean had a near-fit squad for the tie, even though he was still missing long term absentees Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso. Pochettino named his team carefully, keeping in mind that his former team had won the same number of games as Tottenham this season.

Tottenham Hotspurs Starting XI: Huge Lloris; Serge Aurier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose; Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele; Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen.

Tottenham was the better team in the opening stages and took the lead through Tanguy Ndombele in the 24th minute. Spurs were hit with a bolt from the blue when Serge Aurier picked up his second yellow card of the game and was given his marching orders in the 31st minute.

To make matters worse, the Saints got back into the game when Danny Ings forced Hugo Lloris to make a mistake and went on to score the equalizer in the 39th minute. However, Harry Kane put his team back in the lead four minutes later and it proved to be the winning goal of the game. Here are three reasons why Tottenham won the game.

#3 Resolute defending from Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton FC - Premier League

After Serge Aurier headed back to the dressing room, Mauricio Pochettino decided against making a defensive substitution. The Argentinean opted for Moussa Sissoko in the right-back position and it helped Spurs stay compact at the back.

In addition to the Frenchman, the rest of the backline also played their hearts out and defended with their lives at times. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld were rock-solid at the center of the backline, while Danny Rose admirably mixed hardcore defending with adventure in the opposition third. There was nothing they could do about Southampton’s equalizer, but after Spurs had reinstated their lead, the backline displayed resolute defending to help their team earn all three points.

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

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

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.