Premier League

TOTTENHAM 3 (Johnson 13, 42; Tel 90+6 pen)
SOUTHAMPTON (Fernandes 90)

THE figures speak for themselves – just one home win in the last 10 matches: a scrappy 1-0 victory against an awful Manchester United side in mid-February. That was before today’s (Sunday) stroll against bottom of the table Southampton.

And beating a Saints side who have now earned the title as the team relegated fastest in Premier League history isn’t in any way applying gloss to a campaign that hinges on a Europa League title.

Ange Postecoglou’s charges swatted aside the South Coast team 3-1 courtesy of a Brennan Johnson brace and a late Mathys Tel penalty – but this was a spring run out where even a win felt muted.

Speaking after the game, Postecoglou for once could say he was happy with how things panned out. He said: “First half I thought we were really disciplined, well organised and limited them to one chance.

“Every time we went forward we looked dangerous and as threatening as we’ve looked for quite a while, really fluent – obviously scored two goals, one disallowed and Aaron [Ramsdale] has pulled off some good saves.”

And with his eye on a job-saving run to the Europa League final, Postecoglou shared news that every fan wants to hear: no one came out of the 90 minutes with an injury.

The Spurs boss added: “Overall the important thing is we got the win, scored three goals and everyone got through unscathed and ready for a big night on Thursday.”

Both teams entered the game in dismal form and without anything left to play for in the league. Tottenham in 16th clearly had an eye on the make-or-break game next Thursday against Frankfurt in the quarter-final of the Europa League.

Southampton, on 10 points, knew prior to the game that a loss in the London would relegate them back to the Championship.

It was surely the chance for Spurs to boost their morale amid much discontent among the fans, with further protests against owners, ENIC group, prior to the game.

A win against one of the league’s poorest performing teams of all time was the perfect opportunity to pick up all three points and send the players into Thursday’s season-defining Europa League tie with a little more confidence.

And they started strongly, scoring in the 13th minute when Djed Spence’s cutback across the box was finished deftly by Johnson.

The home side had the ball in the back of the net again just after the half-hour mark through Lucas Bergvall, but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed.

Spurs continued to dominate, and headed into the break two-goals up after Johnson scored his second of the game with a neat finish in the 41st minute.

With the game essentially won, Tottenham took their foot off the gas in the second half and allowed Southampton to have more time on the ball.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, facing his third relegation from the Premier League, kept Tottenham at bay – stopping two strong Cristian Romero headers in the first half and denying Dominic Solanke with a solid low save in the 64th minute.

As the game petered out, Southampton found a way through: in the 90th minute, a good cross from Kamaldeen Sulemana was brought down inside the box by 20-year-old Mateus Fernandes. The midfielder cleanly dispatched the ball under Guglielmo Vicario’s dive, setting up a nervy end.

But Spurs restored their two-goal cushion with less than a minute of stoppage time to play. Wilson Odobert dispossessed Fernandes inside Southampton’s half and Johnson, on a hat-trick, was taken out by a clumsy Welington Damascena Santos tackle. Substitute Tel scored his first Premier League goal to finish the game off.

Despite being the earliest team in history to get relegated from the Premier League with seven games still to play, the Southampton fans remained in high spirits throughout and the players were greeted affectionately at the end of the game. Their relegation was long-expected, and the supporters and players camaraderie is a striking contrast to the disconnect currently felt at Spurs.

But Postecoglou will take positives wherever he can – and the boss was pleased with the three points as he turns his attention to the next home game against Frankfurt. His job is in serious jeopardy even if Tottenham end their long hunt for silverware by winning the Europa League – which would remarkably secure the club Champions League football for next season.

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Davies, Spence, Bentancur (Sarr, 57), Bergvall (Gray, 80), Maddison (Bissouma, 80), Son (Odobert, 57), Johnson, Solanke (Tel, 87)
Substitutes not used: Richarlison, Udogie, Kinsky, Van de Ven

Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Manning (Welington, 64), Ugochukwu (Stewart, 83), Aribo (Smallbone, 64), Dibling (Sugawara, 73), Fernandes, Sulemana, Archer (Onuachu, 73)
Substitutes not used: McCarthy, Stephens, Bee, Bella-Kotchap