Post-match interviews
Son-Heung min
“It’s a big honour to score four goals in the Premier League. They were four amazing assists from this guy, I think he deserved man of the match today. We’ve been working together for five years now and we know what we like. We work so hard to have a good relationship on and off the pitch. I hope there are many more to come.”
Harry Kane
“We knew there would be space in behind; we talked about it before the game. One of the passes I didn’t even look really, I just put it into the space because I knew he’d be running in behind. I’m proud of him for his first Premier League hat-trick.”
Harry Kane is the seventh player to get four assists in a Premier League game, after Dennis Bergkamp, Jose Antonio Reyes, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, Santi Cazorla and Dusan Tadic.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) September 20, 2020
Full time: Southampton 2-5 Spurs
Peep peep! That was a surreal game. Southampton were much the better team in the first half, but Son equalised in injury time and Spurs were devastating in the second half. Son scored four goals, all made brilliantly by Harry Kane, who then added the fifth for close-range.
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90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
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90 min That penalty award is an absolute mess. The law will surely change soon.
GOAL! Southampton 2-5 Spurs (Ings 90 pen)
Danny Ings smashes the penalty straight down the middle for his second goal of the game.
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89 min: Penalty given! What a shambles.
88 min The referee is going to look at the VAR screen. The ball came off Winks and hit Doherty’s arm, so it’s quite similar to the one that was given against Leeds last weekend.
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87 min Djenepo appeals for a penalty when the ball deflects onto the hand of Doherty. VAR are looking at it but I think the deflection will mean it isn’t given.
86 min Ward-Prowse’s free-kick is comfortably held by Lloris.
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84 min Harry Kane, who has played magnificently, is replaced by Steven Bergwijn.
83 min As ruthless as Spurs have been, Southampton’s defending has been hideous.
After creating the first four, Harry Kane goes back to his first love: scoring goals. Lamela’s shot was pushed onto the post by McCarthy and Kane reacted quickest to tap it into the empty net.
GOAL! Southampton 1-5 Spurs (Kane 82)
It’s five!
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80 min Shane Long replaces Che Adams, who did a lot of good things but also missed important chances.
80 min Doherty is booked for fouling Djenepo.
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79 min Football never ceases to surprise. Spurs were hopeless for the first 45 minutes and now they look like they are going to score every time they attack.
78 min A front three of Son, Kane and Gareth Bale suddenly looks pretty darned exciting.
76 min Kane plays another spectacular through ball, this time to Lamela. McCarthy just beats him to the ball 30 yards from goal.
75 min Son almost gets in for a fifth goal! Eventually the ball comes to Lamela, whose shot is blocked by Bertrand.
Southampton’s high line has cost them again. Lo Celso played a simple pass to Kane just past the halfway line. He moved towards the right wing and then reversed another stunning pass/cross to Son at the far post. He took it down on the chest and half-volleyed past McCarthy from close range. That’s a brilliant goal.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-4 Spurs (Son 73)
Four goals for Son, and four assists for Harry Kane!
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71 min Son misses a one-on-one before being flagged offside. It was a bad miss; I suspect he thought he was offside and lost concentration.
71 min Tella shoots wide from 25 yards. Southampton haven’t really got behind Spurs since half-time.
70 min Son almost gets in again, this time from a pass by Lamela, but his touch is slightly too soft and that allows Walker-Peters to make a goal-saving tackle (probably).
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68 min Another change for Southampton: Nathan Tella replaces the impressive Stuart Armstrong.
68 min Stephens is booked for a late tackle on Lo Celso.
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67 min Spurs have scored with all three shots on target.
66 min Harry Kane, who remains such an underrated passer, has made all three goals for Son.
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The goal was made again by Kane, who turned on the halfway line and played a quite brilliant reverse pass over the Southampton defence. Son surged into space, as he has all afternoon, and drove the ball through the legs of McCarthy. What an adorable player he is.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-3 Spurs (Son 64)
A hat-trick for Son!
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64 min A half chance for Adams, who runs onto a loose ball and drives just wide of the far post. Lloris had it covered.
61 min Erik Lamela replaces Lucas Moura, who was pretty anonymous.
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59 min “Why are Southampton persisting with this high defensive line?” asks Gary Naylor. “Ralph Hasenhuttl is watching isn’t he?”
It’s the way they play! I agree that it’s asking for trouble against Son though.
58 min Armstrong shoots over from 15 yards after good play from Djenepo, though the flag then goes up for an offside half an hour earlier. That new directive doesn’t work.
57 min “The elements of a classic kit: simple, you know from a mile away who it is,” says Mary Waltz. “Best examples. Peru’s sash, Finland’s offset cross, Croatia’s checkerboard.”
Then you have Arsenal/Real Madrid/AC Milan/PSG’s Fly Emirates logo...
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56 min Lloris makes an important save from Armstrong, though the flag then went up against Ings.
55 min A Southampton change: Will Smallbone replaces Romeu, who was in danger of getting sent off.
54 min Kane tries to score from the halfway line but screws it miles wide. McCarthy was a long way off his line, so you can see why Kane went for it.
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50 min Ward-Prowse’s long-range shot is held by Lloris, falling to his left.
49 min Apparently Bertrand was booked towards the end of the first half, not Ward-Prowse.
49 min Armstrong cuts inside from the right and drives over the bar. Southampton must feel like they’ve been mugged.
That was an emphatic finish. Lo Celso pushed a good ball into Kane, who turned and eased it beyond the defence for Son. His first touch took Stephens out of the game, and the second was a clinical finish with his left foot.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-2 Spurs (Son 47)
Son has scored either side of half-time!
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47 min An early chance for Southampton. Armstrong dances into the area on the left and picks out Adams, whose crisp sidefoot from the edge of the area is too close to Lloris.
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half.
Spurs have made a half-time change: Tanguy Ndombele, who did brilliantly in the build-up to Son’s equaliser, has been replaced by Giovani Lo Celso.
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Replays show that Son’s goal took an important deflection off the stretching Bertrand. I’m not certain Son’s shot would have been on target, though it is officially his goal.
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“Mourinho is essentially the Portuguese George Graham,” says Daniel, “and Spurs have already been so desperate they hired the actual George Graham. Spurs have poisoned their own well.”
“Nothing in Mourinho’s past suggests he is a good fit for this Spurs team and there is a good chance that he can no longer successfully manage a top team,” says Gerry Scott. “It is worth remembering how all over the place Poch’s Spurs team were, really for the entirety of 2019. I think the Champions League final disguised the fact that the project had long run its course.”
“Not a fan of the sash,” says Marie Meyer. “They look like beauty pageant contestants. Due to a very unfortunate USMNT shirt, Landon Donovan is forever known as ‘Miss America’ in this household.
Half-time reading
Half time: Southampton 1-1 Spurs
Peep peep! The match is level after two excellent goals from Danny Ings and Son. Southampton have been much the better side but the timing of that equaliser will smart.
That came out of nothing. Ndombele did very well in midfield and found Kane on the left. He curled a first time pass around the defence towards Son, who took it in his stride and rifled it past McCarthy from a tight angle. I thought McCarthy could have come for Kane’s cross, but he decided to stay where he was and Son beat him with aplomb.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Spurs (Son 45+2)
Son equalises on the stroke of half-time!
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45+2 min Ndombele is booked for fouling Adams.
45+1 min Three minutes of added time.
45 min “Tottenham,” says Gary Naylor, “look like 11 blokes who met in the car park on a Sunday morning for a bit of a kickabout at lunchtime before going to the pub to watch Chelsea v Liverpool.”
44 min Ward-Prowse is booked for blocking Doherty.
43 min “Jose took an inconsistent team that always played exciting football, hovered or were in the top four, and turned them into a joyless, turgid mid-table team,” says Mary Waltz. “Yeah, he is a genius.”
While I don’t think this will end well, it’s only fair to point out that we are only one and a half games into the new season.
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42 min Kane tackles Walker-Peters fairly but with feeling. As Jermaine Jenas says on BT Sport, that’s the tackle of a very frustrated man.
40 min “Southampton are having it all their own way in the middle,” says Matt Dony. “Tottenham look like they’re trying to play like good guys. Perhaps their coach could address that problem at half time? Maybe give them some suggestions on how they should behave instead?”
Does he do that a lot on the Amazon documentary?
39 min Djenepo plays in the overlapping Bertrand, whose cross is crucially claimed by the diving Lloris. Adams is then booked for stopping Lloris launching a counter-attack.
36 min Spurs started quite well but they have looked lifeless in the last 20 minutes or so. At the moment they bear almost no resemblance to the team that charmed everyone from 2015-19.
34 min “Always good to see a sash,” says Charles Antaki. “Southampton’s reproduces Peru’s second strip which reversed the classic Cubillas red-on-white. Or nearly; the angle is too steep. Harrumph.”
33 min There’s an argument Lloris shouldn’t have been beaten from such a tight angle. I’m not so sure - Ings’ finish was so fast and precise.
That was a majestic two-touch finish from Danny Ings! Walker-Peters, near the halfway line, clipped a precise long pass over Dier’s head towards Ings. He took it beautifully in his stride and then, from a very tight angle, rattled an instant shot into the far corner.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Spurs (Ings 32)
Brilliant goal!
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29 min Ings scurries dangerously into the area but then overhits a simple pass to Ward-Prowse on the left. After a slow start, Southampton are dominating the game.
29 min The lively Djenepo runs across the line of the penalty area and belts a shot that is blocked by Winks.
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27 min: Another Kane goal is disallowed! But this might be overturned by VAR.
26 min: Djenepo hits the outside of the post! Ward-Prowse’s free-kick was headed away by Kane at the far post. It came to Djenepo, who whistled a low shot from 25 yards that hit the outside of the post and went behind. I think Lloris had it covered, though I’d like to see it again.
24 min “What is Dier doing?” says Yash Gupta. “He was literally in goal when Davies blocked the shot, shambolic.”
He did say he wanted to play further back this season.
23 min Both teams look dangerous going forward and less than secure at the back.
20 min A brilliant run from Djenepo leads to an almighty scramble in the Spurs area. Adams’ close-range shot is blocked almost on the line by Davies, and then Ward-Prowse’s follow-up is put behind for a corner.
Both teams have had a goal disallowed now. Adams flipped a great pass over the defence towards Ings. Lloris came out of his area, panicked and headed the ball onto Ings’ elbow. Ings picked up the loose ball and finished very confidently but replays confirmed it hit his elbow.
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16 min: Ings has a goal disallowed for handball!
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14 min It’s been a good start from Spurs, who look sharper than they did against Everton last week.
12 min McCarthy makes an excellent one-on-one save from Son, who was flagged offside after the event.
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12 min “Why does everyone just shrug when a player is offside as Son was for the goal?” says Gary Naylor. “With his pace and a high pressing defence, he could be a yard off his marker, never mind half a step, and still be first to the ball. They know VAR will ping them if they’re a toenail off, so why don’t they give themselves a chance?”
Force of habit, I suspect, like bowlers who push the front line. You’re right though.
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11 min Adams should probably have scored, but it was still a spectacular save from Lloris.
10 min: Great save from Lloris! Hojbjerg fouls Armstrong 25 yards from goal on he left. Bertrand’s free-kick hits a Spurs defender and falls perfectly for Adams, 10 yards out. He smashes the ball towards goal and Lloris throws out his right hand to make a brilliant reaction save.
8 min Southampton are struggling to play at their usual tempo, which can only be a fitness issue. At their best they are very uncomfortable to play against.
6 min That was such a smart finish from Kane, not that it counted for anything in the end.
5 min Romeu is booked for a foul on his old teammate Hojbjerg.
NO GOAL! Southampton 0-0 Spurs
Son was fractionally offside, and that’s the end of that. Mourinho’s face is a picture.
Son’s cross from the left was slightly overhit, but Doherty kept it alive by heading the ball back into the middle. Kane reacted superbly, twisting his body to crack a volley that went through McCarthy.
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This might be VARed - they are checking whether Son was offside.
GOAL! Southampton 0-1 Spurs (Kane 3)
Spurs score with their first attack!
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1 min Peep peep! Southampton kick off from right to left.
The players are out on the pitch. It’s a nice September day in Southampton, perfect for association football.
Jose Mourinho’s pre-match thoughts
[What difference can Gareth Bale make?] “Today, nothing, because he’s not here. The only thing that matters for me today is to try to get the result we want. [Is Dele Alli unfit?] No. We have a huge squad, with numbers that are very difficult to manage. I don’t like it and it’s not easy for me to pick 18 players. We have too many players for some positions and some of them are paying the price for this.”
Pre-match reading
Team news
Dele Alli isn’t even on the bench for Spurs. He’s not injured, unless you count wounded pride.
Southampton (4-2-2-2) McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu; Armstrong, Djenepo; Adams, Ings.
Substitutes: Forster, Vestergaard, Vokins, Smallbone, Long, Obafemi, Tella.
Spurs (4-3-3) Lloris; Doherty, Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Hojbjerg, Winks, Ndombele; Lucas Moura, Kane, Son.
Substitutes: Hart, Alderweireld, Aurier, Lamela, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Bergwijn.
Referee David Coote.
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Preamble
He’s back! And he’s not playing! Gareth Bale’s signing was not registered in time for him to take part in Spurs’ trip to Southampton today, though he has still dominated the pre-match chatter. It’s almost a shame there’s a football match to get in the way of more talk about what Bale might achieve when he starts playing in football matches for Spurs again.
Both teams started the Premier League season with 1-0 defeats, Southampton at Crystal Palace and Spurs at home to Everton. A strong-looking Southampton side was then beaten at home by Brentford in the Carabao Cup, while Spurs edged past Lokomotiv Plovdiv in their Europa League qualifier. Ralph Hasenhuttl and Jose Mourinho have both bemoaned their teams’ fitness levels, and neither can really afford another defeat today. In the Premier League you’re never far away from a perceived crisis, with or without Gareth Bale.
Kick off 12pm.
