Tottenham showed tremendous character to get over the line against Southampton after two substantial errors in the first half could have ended up proving costly.
Serge Aurier received his marching orders after making a couple of silly challenges in quick succession which meant that Tottenham had to play over an hour with a one man disadvantage.
Just minutes later, Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris made a terrible blunder when attempting to turn with the ball in front of his own goal, allowing Danny Ings to dispossedd him and tap in from a couple of yards out to level the score.
Former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas was extremely critical of the pair for almost throwing the game away before the interval.
Speaking to Match of the Day on BBC One (28/09/2019 10:30 pm), Jenas said: “During the early stages of the game, they basically hit the self destruct button.
“I’m not sure what going through Aurier’s mind here [for his first yellow card challenge]. He’s done this on a number of occasions and he’s taken him [Boufal] out.
“He [Aurier] saying he’s not touched him, he has clearly taken him out. That’s a definite yellow.
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“Yes, this one [the second yellow] might be close. But he’s caught on the wrong side [of Betrand] and he’s given the referee a decision to make. And, in my opinion, I can see why he has sent him off. I don’t think it’s one he can hugely argue against.
“Then this happens [Lloris error]. I mean you just can’t legislate for this type of [error]. It’s almost unprofessional.”
However, the 36-year-old did have words of praise for the character that Tottenham showed in the second half to maintain their 2-1 lead and suggested that the performance and result felt like a season-defining one.
Spurs Web Opinion
It would have been so easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves after the two unfortunate incidents in the first half but they showed that they are willing to fight for the club.
The fact that they managed to hold on to their lead will give them a lot of confidence as repeatedly relinquishing leads in previous outings might have created some doubts in their minds.
It should also be mentioned that Lloris had a superb second half and produced two stunning second-half saves to keep his side ahead.
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