Tim Sherwood has praised Antonio Conte for not making any excuses after Tottenham failed to pick up three points over Southampton.
The Saints started the game on the front foot and it looked as though it was going to be a challenging day for Conte’s men when James Ward-Prowse gave the home side the lead on 25 minutes.
Tottenham got a huge break just before half-time as Son Heung-min was brought down by Mohammed Salisu in the box, with the Saints defender picking up his second yellow card. Harry Kane stepped up to convert the spot-kick to level the scores going into the interval.
However, despite pushing hard for a winner, the Lilywhites were not able to make their numerical superiority count in the second half as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men managed to salvage a point.
Tottenham had a couple of goals chalked off in the second half, including a controversial offside call by VAR on Kane but Conte refused to criticise the decision in his post-match press conference.
Sherwood felt that Spurs simply lacked the cutting-edge in midfield to break Southampton down in the second half.
The former interim Spurs boss told Premier League Productions (28/12/21 from 17:00 onwards): “He’s (Conte) not looking for excuses, is he?
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“He knows that his team have dropped points. But he is still unbeaten. Seven games now and credit to him.
“They are moving in the right direction. It’s just today with ten men, I felt they lacked the creativity to break down Southampton.
“It’s not just about moving the ball quicker. It’s about players dropping the shoulder, going past someone and risking the ball.
“I thought they were a little safe in the midfield areas.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Breaking down teams who defend with ten men behind the ball is always difficult, particularly without a player like Bergwijn and Moura, who look to take defenders on one vs one.
I thought we saw a little more penetration after the introduction of Bryan Gil. I also thought Conte could have introduced Moura at half-time rather than waiting until beyond the hour mark.
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