Southampton 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: 3 talking points | Premier League 2019-20
A resilient Southampton team saw off visitors Tottenham Hotspur in a tight affair at St. Mary's. Jose Mourinho's men travelled to Hampshire to face the 11th placed Saints, who were in a good run of form having won two out of their last three games.
Spurs had an off night on the field as the home team beat them 1-0 in a spirited performance which sees the Saints climb the table, further away from the relegation zone and edge nearer to the top half. Tottenham was looking for all three points to move closer to the top 4 but was undone by a Danny Ings goal as Southampton's leading man stepped up to the plate again to help his team.
This defeat sees Spurs stuck at 6th place in the league table, one point behind Manchester United who has a game in hand at the time of writing. Here are the three main talking points of this game.
#3 Spurs' defensive woes continue
Manager Jose Mourinho made a name for himself through his often pragmatic style of football and his defensive set-up at the back which ensured his team's victories in most games. However, that has not been the case - Spurs have not kept a clean sheet in their last five Premier League games, and have looked defensively vulnerable since the Portuguese has taken charge of the club.
The visitors could only watch as Ings continued his fine form in front of goal by nodding his team ahead in the 17th minute. Throughout the game, Southampton looked threatening as they managed to create good goalscoring opportunities through accurate passes in the final third. Mourinho could only watch in anguish as his defence could not do enough to come out of the game unhurt, and the scoreline could very well have been more flattering in favour of Southampton.
No one knows better than the former Manchester United manager the meaning of a solid defence. If Spurs are to seriously contend for the fourth spot, they will have to fix their issues at the back sooner rather than later.
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