MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 05:19:42| >> :120:58666:58666:

Match Analysis: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Southampton

Sports Mole casts an analytical eye over Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 victory against Southampton.

Tottenham Hotspur put a disappointing run of results behind them on Sunday by claiming a 1-0 victory over Southampton at White Hart Lane.

Southampton headed to London full of confidence following a run of six successive wins in all competitions, but Christian Eriksen's strike late in the first half ensured Mauricio Pochettino was successful against his former side.

Below, Sports Mole takes a look at the key talking points from the game.

Match statistics

TOTTENHAM
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 45%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 15

SOUTHAMPTON
Shots: 7
On target: 3
Possession: 55%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 9

Was the result fair?

If you asked three different people the same question, they'd probably all give you different answers. However, it always felt like one moment of quality would decide the game. When Spurs did get their noses in front, they looked comfortable at the back and handled the pressure impressively, so it's difficult to argue that they didn't deserve the win.

Tottenham's performance

Perhaps not the most aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but it was the kind of display which will give Pochettino a lot of pleasure. At times this season the team have struggled to adapt to his high tempo, pressing style, but the signs were promising this afternoon as they ensured the visitors were always under pressure when in possession of the ball. After going ahead, they looked a threat on the break, and defended well when Southampton did enjoy a spell on top.

Southampton's performance

After enjoying such an impressive start to the season, this defeat will be hard to take, but Southampton really were not that bad this afternoon. They matched Spurs in most areas, and were only guilty of lacking a cutting edge in the final third of the pitch. For the first time in this campaign, Graziano Pelle was unable to make an impact, and that was a key factor in the loss. Ronald Koeman won't be panicking, but he will be frustrated that his players found it difficult to produce a response.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Christian Eriksen: It was a real team effort from Spurs, with the likes of Ryan Mason and Younes Kaboul impressing, but Eriksen made the key contribution with an excellent finish five minutes before the interval. The Dane always looked a threat when he did find space, and he was at the heart of most of his side's attacks.

Biggest gaffe

Southampton didn't create many opportunities to claim a draw, but when they did, it was a brilliant chance. Sadio Mane was the guilty offender late on as he miscued an effort wide from close range after Ryan Bertrand had picked him out with an inviting cross.

Referee performance

Mike Jones fought the urge to get his cards out early when both Bertrand and Danny Rose made poor tackles, but it was a pretty good afternoon for the man in the middle.

What next?

Tottenham: Pochettino takes his players to the home of the champions after the international break when Manchester City host Spurs on October 18.

Southampton: Koeman will be hoping for a response from his side when they take on Sunderland on the same date.

ID:180913: cacheID:180913:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5701:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Erik Lamela of Spurs in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at Boleyn Ground on August 16, 2014
Read Next:
Team News: Ten changes for Spurs
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Munar
Borges
10am
Navone
Popyrin
10am
Vukic
Daniel
10am
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
10am
Davis
Sherif
10am
Putintseva
Yuan
10am
Stephens
Trevisan
10am
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
11.30am
Altmaier
Landaluce
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
11.30am
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
11.30am
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
12pm
Osaka
Minnen
12pm
Vekic
Siegemund
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool33228375324374
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves33127144653-743
12Fulham34126165054-442
13Bournemouth33119134860-1242
14Crystal Palace3399154256-1436
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton33108153448-1430
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3337233188-5716


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!