Southampton notched a come-from-behind win for the first time this season. Trumping a Tottenham side who have just one win in their last five Premier League games.
The first half was completely dominated by Tottenham. Pretty much in every facet of the game. It was a near miracle the Saints kept the score at 0-1, with Maya Yoshida slamming one off his own post before Christian Eriksen struck his free kick off the bar not a minute later. The back three for Southampton looked lost, and a more clinical Harry Kane could have easily put three points in the bag for the Spurs.
Saints’ fans will be thrilled with their team’s second half performance. Credit needs to go to manager Ralph Hasenhuttl who made two key substitutions after the break. Shane Long and Josh Sims were brought on for Oriol Romeu and Charlie Austin, and it immediately sent Southampton on the front foot.
Nathan Redmond missed two very good chances to score early in the second half. The pace of Sims and Long opened up a few more opportunities for Redmond, but he could not convert, instead just glancing the side netting from six yards out.
Yan Valery and James Ward-Prowse were deemed Southampton heroes again. The former finishing at the far post from a Stuart Armstrong cross to tie the game. Ward-Prowse was awarded a free kick for the second consecutive week following a foul on Armstrong, and claimed his title as best set piece taker in the Premier League.
In a true tale of two halves, there were a lot of solid performances, and the substitutes need to be applauded for their efforts. Without further ado, here are our three key players from the Saints’ 2-1 win over Spurs.