Son Heung-min’s late penalty has capped a Tottenham fightback against Southampton, which handed interim head coach Ryan Mason victory in his first match in charge.
Former Spurs midfielder Mason, the 29-year-old Premier League’s youngest coach. He has replaced Jose Mourinho following the sacking of the Portuguese on Monday.
He started by winning his position after Gareth Bale scored the perfect equalizer. Later, the VAR intervention saw the Son change after Moussa Djenepo played badly for Harry Winks, who was in the penalty area.
By the time Bale was eliminated at the hour. The management was second only to the Southampton team when Danny Ings looked into the corner of James Ward-Prowse.
With Harry Kane missing and undoubtedly in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. The Spurs have been out for a long time and are seemingly affected by their turbulent days. Mourinho left less than 24 hours after the club announced they would join the new European Super League.
Chairman Daniel Levy has since expressed regret over the “anxiety and frustration” caused by the proposal, which has already collapsed after his conviction.
Signs of the outbreak appeared just before the start of the match. When teams of Spurs fans gathered outside their club stadium demanding Levy. And the owners of the ENIC team leave the club.
Despite the turmoil and poor start to the week. The result moved Tottenham to sixth place – two points apart from the top four – and the Saints sit 14th in the table.
Tottenham Spurs are back
Having been knocked out of the Europa League and scoring just five points in the last 15. Spurs came into the game needing a win to boost their hopes of finishing in the top four.
While they ended up getting a result that suggested a quick return to their management change, there was no urgency in the first half. Mason will know that the same violence will be severely punished against Manchester City this weekend.
Only Hugo Lloris’ good performance prevented strangers from being left behind within three minutes. With the French goalkeeper criticizing Mohammed Salisu’s head and responding favorably to Che Adams’ safety following.
Kane’s absence also meant a clear lack of leadership and a low level. However, Bale restarted the first XI for the first time in more than a month.
Lucas Moura’s wild effort explained that 45-minute absence just before the break that flew well over the bar and ensured. The Spurs finished the first half without registering a shot in the top flight home game for the first time this season.
They improved after the break and looked to find the winner after 75 minutes when Son drove home Sergio Reguilon.
However, the VAR review concluded that Moura hid the view of Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy instead of offside. Still, Son and Spurs should not have been ruled out if South Korea made a mistake in the penalty area over time.
The saints fail in the end.
While Southampton looked frustrated during Sunday’s Leicester City defeat, they quickly dismissed any comments they might have about the FA Cup semi-finals.
Filled with the power and benefiting from the five changes made by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, the Saints took over early.
Nathan Tella’s running and crossing from the left set the tone, and they should have been rewarded with an opening goal from Salisu or Adams.
James Ward-Prowse, who played with his side forward at every opportunity. He was the busiest player on the field as he covered about 12km. At the same time, Kyle Walker-Peters and Stuart Armstrong were also active.
But the evening that had begun promising began to go awry after Ings was seen flexing his muscle trying to shoot Lloris.
Seeing Southampton’s top goal scorer limping was Spurs’ invitation to move on. And manage the game and finally take all three points.
‘You are important for many reasons – they said
Tottenham interim manager Ryan Mason told Sky Sports: “It’s amazing – they’re proud of the boys. They were very strong and brave, especially after the first 20 to 30 minutes. Southampton came out of the blocks – they were fine.
“Southampton made a splash, and Hugo [Lloris] released some excellent saves early. We controlled the second half and created chances.
“During the break time, it was all about giving the players confidence. We only had a short time, but for me, the biggest thing was the commitment, strength, and the courage to do good things and express themselves and put them at risk sometimes.
“Tonight was important for lots of things, a change in manager, a lot has happened at the club in the last 48 hours, and it was important to get back on track to win. Work and energy were outstanding.”
Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhuttl told BBC Match of the Day: “I can’t say we had less energy than on Sunday. We still had a good game, but we were better today with football. We had a clear plan, and we had a lot of movement and a lot of chances. Because we always release one – clean sheets are non-existent. The way we protected it was not enough.
“We have eight total players to take over, and normally we should be able to fill the void [Danny Ings], but today we couldn’t push our game forward, and the opponents were strong.
“If it’s a mistake, it was a peanut. But I saw the same thing in the first half in the middle of the pitch, and we didn’t get it wrong. It’s hard to take, but it’s worth it.”
