Five things that went wrong in Tottenham loss to Saints

Unfortunately Tottenham provided a shining example last night of what not to do after taking the lead in a must-win Premier League contest.

Though if you look at the balance of play, Tottenham had a night they’d like to forget. Outshot 23-8 and heavily outplayed, particularly in the first half, Spurs eventually lost 3-2 to an lively Southampton side.

In retrospect, Antonio Conte‘s side didn’t deserve to take anything from the match. But they certainly could have and, after taking the lead via a Son Heung-min 70th minute goal, probably should have.

While there were more than five things that went wrong at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night, I’ll trim it down to a hand full of the most apparent, worrying and problematic.

5. Woeful first half

Southampton had a golden opportunity to take the lead within four minutes of kickoff. Had it not been for a monumental Hugo Lloris save, Spurs would have trailed early. That was very much the theme of the first half, as Lloris was tested repeatedly.

Aside from a couple of offensive forays, Tottenham were comprehensively outplayed in the first 45 minutes. The Saints enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and hemmed Tottenham deep. It was surprising to see just how dominant the away side was.