Southampton 0-5 Tottenham: First-half onslaught gets five-star Spurs back on track
Tottenham plundered five first-half goals to see off a sorry Southampton in a demolition at St Mary's on Sunday.
Tottenham got back to winning ways after a rampant first-half performance secured them a 5-0 victory over Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Spurs scored five goals in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time, with James Maddison setting the tone by scoring inside the first minute, a blow the Saints never recovered from.
Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski briskly added to Spurs' lead, scoring in the 12th and 14th minutes respectively, before Pape Sarr struck soon after against a Southampton defence that was all at sea.
Maddison compounded the hosts' misery by bending in an excellent fifth in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, as Ange Postecoglou's team began to celebrate a much-needed return to form.
Southampton were more competitive in the second half – Mateus Fernandes finding the net only to be flagged offside – but remain bottom of the Premier League, while Tottenham move up to 10th, just five points off the top four.
Data Debrief: Spurs' record-breaking night
Having won just one of their last six league outings, Tottenham seemed to relish cutting loose on a night when they made history.
Postecoglou's rampant team took full advantage of some generous Southampton defending, and Saints boss Russell Martin – who had disappeared down the tunnel by the time Maddison netted Spurs' fifth – may be feeling hot under the collar.
By scoring Spurs' second goal, Son netted in his 100th different Premier League match, and he then became the club's all-time highest assister in the competition when Maddison raced onto his pass to score the fifth.
Tottenham only had two shots as they eased off in the second half but racked up an xG of 2.62 overall and can take great satisfaction from a significant victory that saw them move back into the top half.