Christian Eriksen Goal As Tottenham Defeat Southampton

Christian Eriksen scored the only goal for Tottenham in the first half of a competitive match against Southampton as Spurs secured their first Premier League win since August.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 0

Scorer: Eriksen

Team: Lloris; Naughton (Dier), Kaboul, Vertonghen, Rose; Capoue, Mason; Eriksen (Dembele), Chadli, Lamela (Kane); Adebayor  Subs: (unused) Vorm, Fazio, Townsend, Soldado

Mauricio Pochettino selected an unchanged team from last weekend with Ryan Mason making his home Premier League debut.

It was a much better performance by Spurs who had a header from Jan Vertonhghen at a corner cleared off the line in the 3rd minute. In a competitive match both sides battled to press the opposition in an attempt to win the ball in midfield. For both sides, their best moments came when they gained possession from their pressing and broke forward at pace.

Tottenham kept the visitors pressed back in their own half in the early stages but when Nacer Chadli was dispossessed in midfield, Pelle delivered a cross into the area. Kyle Naughton missed the initial cross but recovered to block the shot by Mane. Naughton was again on hand in the 12th minute to clear a cross as Steve Davis closed in.

In the 15th minute a quick break by Spurs came to an end with Emmanuel Adebayor offside. Southampton were constantly looking to get behind Danny Rose with long cross-field passes to the player wide on the touchline. Southampton played the ball across the pitch but when the cross went into the box, their players got in each others road allowing Spurs to avert the danger in the 21st minute.

Tottenham started to look more dangerous going forward with Christian Eriksen laying the ball off for Erik Lamela who shot from the edge of the area but Fraser Forster dived low to touch the ball around the post after 25 minutes.

A heavy tackle on Naughton saw Eric Dier replace him in the 32nd minute. As the half wore on Adebayor started to have a greater impact on the game. He controlled the ball in his own half and went forward playing the ball to Lamela who was fouled.  From the free-kick Southampton cleared but the ball was worked back to Eriksen by Lamela. The Dane’s run and shot from the edge of the area squirmed away from the goalkeeper and went round the post.

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The breakthrough came in the 40th minute with Adebayor again involved. As earlier he won the ball in his own half but turned and went forward on the left to put a cross into the area. Nacer Chadli laid the ball back to Eriksen and his shot from 18 yards beat Forster.

There was an immediate response from Southampton but the low shot was straight at Hugo Lloris. Chadli then had a golden opportunity to increase the lead when played through after good play between Lamela, Chadli and Adeboyor. Chadli broke through on goal but his shot beat the goalkeeper only to come off the post.

In the final minute of added time, a free-kick by Southampton took a deflection off the wall but was gathered low by Lloris.

The second half continued in a similar pace and style in a very congested and competitive midfield. It was a much more energetic and hard-working display by Spurs but neither side was able to create many chances. Spurs had a period of pressure following a break from a Southampton corner of the hour. Christian Eriksen played the ball to Chadli but his shot was blocked. Following the Spurs corner, Eriksen whipped in a cross with pace which troubled the goalkeeper.

Southampton increased their tempo as they pushed Spurs back in search of a goal trying to get in behind the home defence. This brought a few hurried clearances for Spurs. One by Kaboul fell to Wanyama whose shot in the 63rd minute was well saved by Lloris.

A dangerous free-kick from the visitors went high across the Tottenham goal in the 73rd minute but a minute later it was Spurs on the break through Eriksen and Lamela who played the ball into Adebayor. The striker went down in the area but the crowd’s appeals for a penalty were ignored.

Southampton brought on Shane Long to add extra height in the area and this troubled Spurs in the final minutes. From one move with 7 minutes remaining, Long won the ball behind the Spurs defence and played tit wide to Bertrand. His cross was met by Mane but he put the easy chance wide.

Southampton continued to have more of the ball in the final minutes but Dier got forward in a break on the right but his cross went low into the hands of the goalkeeper.

Tottenham held on for a deserved win, thanks to the first half strike from Christian Eriksen – his third goal against Southampton after scoring twice at White Hart Lane last season. The win takes Spurs up to 6th, level on points with Manchester United and Swansea and a point ahead of Arsenal.

It was a much improved performance from Spurs but there’s still a long way to go.