Premier League big-six outfit Tottenham missed a chance to leapfrog Champions League rivals Manchester United today during their away day on the south coast against relegation-threatened Southampton after a dramatic 3-3 draw at St. Mary’s Stadium.
On an afternoon when Spurs could have climbed into third in the table and ahead of Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils by a point while opening a wider gap between themselves and Newcastle, the north London outfit, instead, let a two-goal lead slip in the final 15-minutes of action against Rubén Sellés’ Saints.
Both sides went into the half-time interval level at 0-0 in what was a somewhat tepid affair south of the capital, but the second half started brightly right out of the gate for Spurs who took the lead through winter signing Pedro Porro, only to be immediately denied by Ché Adams just seconds later to restore parity on the scoresheet.
Blows continued to be exchanged before England star Harry Kane popped up from close range to head Spurs back into the lead from just outside the 6-yard-box, and was followed up by substitute Ivan Perišić who extended that advantage to two goals in the 74th minute to give Conte’s men a 3-1 lead while looking assured to march on to a three-point haul away from home.
Sellés’ men had other ideas, however, with former Arsenal star Theo Walcott narrowing the deficit to just one only three minutes later as Saints had begun to find their voice in the latter stages of proceedings after a handful of key substitutions by the Spanish manager.
And, almost as if by written decree, it would be captain and one-club man James Ward-Prowse who popped up in the critical moment from the spot to slam home the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time after Pape Sarr was judged to have brought down Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the box.
It was a hammer blow for Conte after the result seemed all but guaranteed during a campaign where the club’s ability to qualify for the Champions League via the league is of vital importance. As for Saints, who remain bottom after their dramatic comeback, this result could spurn them on to rediscover some semblance of form in the final two months of the season to avoid the unthinkable.
Southampton Player Ratings
- Gavin Bazunu - 5.5
- RB: Kyle Walker-Peters - 6.5
- CB: Jan Bednarek - 6.5
- CB: Armel Bella-Kotchap - N/A
- LB: Romain Perraud - 7
- RM: Stuart Armstrong - 6.5
- CM: James Ward-Prowse - 7
- CM: Roméo Lavia - 7
- LM: Mohamed Elyounoussi - 6.5
- RF: Theo Walcott - 7.5
- LF: Ché Adams - 7
- Sub: Mohamed Salisu - 7
- Sub: Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 7
- Sub: Kamaldeen Sulemana - 6.5
- Sub: Sékou Mara - 7
- Sub: Carlos Alcaraz - 6
Tottenham Player Ratings
- GK: Fraser Forster - 6.5
- RCB: Cristian Romero - 7
- CB: Eric Dier - 6
- LCB: Clément Lenglet - 7
- RWB: Pedro Porro - 8
- LWB: Ben Davies - 6.5
- CM: Oliver Skipp - 6.5
- CM: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg - 6.5
- RAM: Richarlison - N/A
- LAM: Son Heung-min - 7.5
- CF: Harry Kane - 7.5
- Sub: Dejan Kulusevski - 7.5
- Sub: Ivan Perišić - 7
- Sub: Emerson Royal - 6
- Sub: Pape Sarr - 6
