Tottenham had a point to prove after their painful loss to Arsenal last weekend, and a 3-1 victory over the Saints at Wembley was the perfect way to respond.
Harry Kane opened the scoring within the first ten minutes of the game with a tap in at the near post, a typical striker’s goal. Spurs’ lead was then doubled shortly after halftime as Lucas Moura capitalised on his deflected shot and volleyed the ball into the ground past Alex McCarthy.
Son Heung Min then ultimately wrapped up the three points as Kane drilled the ball perfectly into the path of the South-Korean, who calmly slotted the ball past the Saints keeper.
Charlie Austin provided a consolation goal for the Saints in the 92nd minute with a calm finish past Hugo Lloris after a lofted ball over the top of the Tottenham defence, but it wasn’t enough to make the final encounters interesting as Spurs had already put the game to bed.
One Season Wonder
Harry Kane increased his tally to nine goals for this Premier League season which puts him behind Aubameyang by only one goal. The consistency one the England international has been phenomenal with his lowest scoring season in his last four seasons being 28 goals in 2015/16. The ability of Kane is something that has been recognised on the international stage also, but proving his worth with Spurs has got him zero trophies in the seasons he’s been there.
Is it finally time for the Englishman to go in search of silverware? Tottenham currently are sitting third in the Premier League, which in normal circumstances would be an ideal position to try and win the league. However, Manchester City and Liverpool still remain unbeaten and Spurs’ title hopes look seriously slim. Not only did Kane score but he beautifully assisted Son’s goal, which shows that the man has some serious talent in more than just finishing, which, if the offer is right, may be a lot more beneficial elsewhere for him, and the team involved.
Southampton riddled with bad luck
While Southampton managed to rack up the same amount of shots as Spurs on Wednesday evening (16), they were unable to score until the very last minute of the game. However, they managed to hit the woodwork three times, which is agonising for the Saints as all they need is luck to go their way. The sacking of Mark Hughes is an interesting decision from the Southampton board as watching the way that Southampton play, it doesn’t necessarily seem like they are lacking confidence.
The Saints have also improved on their goal scoring, going from not scoring a goal in six consecutive games, to scoring 3 in their last two. Defensive capabilities are the issue as The Saints have now conceded 29 goals in their last 15 games. Almost averaging two goals a game, which for a side who want to remain in the Premier League, is not good enough.
Lacking a Leader
The Southampton leadership has been fairly handed around this season, with Hojbjerg, Davis and Bertrand all trying their hand at leading the Saints to victory, but to no avail. While Davis has been out due to injury, his reintroduction into the squad may be the boost that the players need. With plenty of experience captaining the Northern Ireland squad, he will be well aware of how to pick a team up when they’re losing.
Virgil Van Dijk has clearly been a huge loss for the saints as his dominance at the heart of defence and ability to captain a side is now widely noticed through his influence with Liverpool. The lack of reinvestment into the squad also did not help Southampton however, and with the dismissal of Les Reed and Mark Hughes, the intentions of the board are slowly becoming more positive, and with plenty of time to save their season, the Saints may just save themselves from the dreaded drop.
The Hasenhuttl factor
The newly appointed manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl, was in the stands as his new team got beaten by Spurs. Recognising the magnitude of work that is ahead of him if Southampton are to stay in the league. Previously managing RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, the Austrian managed to gain promotion and pull his team into second place in the first division, within two seasons. The Bundesliga and the Premier League are classes apart in terms of the quality from all 20 teams, however a breath of fresh air may be exactly what Southampton need.
There were previous rumours of managers such as Moyes and Allardyce sniffing around the job who could maybe rescue the Saints from relegation, but not much more than that. After Mark Hughes saved the Saints last season, he was rewarded with a three-year contract which evidently was the wrong decision from the board. With Les Reed and Mark Hughes both gone, and Cardiff next in the fixtures, maybe this is the Saints time to shine and pull themselves out of the pit which they have dug themselves in to.
