Opinion: Five things we learned from the 5-2 win over Southampton in the Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur ended up cruising to a 5-2 win over Southampton today despite the difficult first-half at St Mary’s, largely thanks to the work of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:

Son is different class – 

Give Son space to run in behind and he will score all day long. The winger has really improved his finishing in the past two years, to the point that you never expect him to miss. The South Korean scored with almost every single shot today and you felt he would have added more if Spurs had been given an extra ten minutes. What a performance.

Harry Kane – the best creator in the Premier League?

He may prefer to be the one collecting the match ball, but when Harry Kane drops into the pockets and plays balls over the top, he is up there with the best. Spurs’ main man provided all four assists for Son’s four goals today, as well as getting in on the act himself with the fifth. Such an all round player and his passing is criminally underrated.

Ndombele deserves credit –

The Spurs performance was all about the second half, but the work of Tanguy Ndombele simply cannot be overlooked. The Frenchman was a bright spark in the first 45 and created numerous chances for the Lilywhites. Without him and his cheeky roulette at the end of the half, setting up a counter-attack for Son and Kane, Spurs would not have gone in level.

Defensive difficulties – 

The defensive balance simply is not there yet for Tottenham, Doherty pushes up and leaves space in behind and the remaining three are not well drilled enough to cope. As a result, Southampton were able to calve Spurs open on their left-wing time and time again. Lots and lots of work needed for Tottenham at that end of the pitch.

Soft centre – 

In the first half, Harry Winks and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were overwhelmed from start to finish. Not only were they devoid of ideas on the ball, but they were weak in defence too. Southampton were able to glide past the duo or simply run through them at times. The engine room lacked bite, hunger, and composure.

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