Spurs slaughter Southampton – Premier League
Southampton 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur
Dele Alli struck twice as Tottenham battled from a goal down to beat 10-man Southampton 4-1 tonight, claiming their first away victory since September.
Southampton took the lead at St Mary’s through a Virgil van Dijk header after just 69 seconds, but Spurs levelled when Alli rose above the Saints goalscorer 17 minutes later.
Harry Kane then scored the game’s third header after the break before thrashing a penalty over the bar in an incident which saw Nathan Redmond sent off.
Substitute Heung-Min Son (85th minute) and a second from Alli (87th minute) wrapped up the victory late on to ensure Spurs remain just one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
Tottenham headed to Southampton on the back of two straight wins, but had failed to win any of their last eight games away from home in all competitions.
The hosts got off to a flyer, netting the fourth fastest goal in the league this season when centre-back Van Dijk rose above Jan Vertonghen to head home from James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick.
It almost got better for Saints after 16 minutes, but Redmond flashed a shot narrowly wide with Hugo Lloris beaten.
Moments later, Spurs responded through Alli, who latched onto Moussa Sissoko’s deflected cross to direct a terrific header into the top corner after beating Van Dijk in the air.
Victor Wanyama almost handed Spurs the lead, but a brilliant Jose Fonte block ensured the sides headed into the break all-square.
Seven minutes into the second half, Kane claimed his 8th goal of the season after powering a header beyond Fraser Forster following a Christian Eriksen corner.
Shortly after, referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after Redmond was adjudged to have fouled Alli, who had managed to send a shot wide while going to ground.
Dean showed Redmond a straight red card before Kane stepped up to take the spot-kick – but the England international blazed his effort over, with the ball visibly rising on the turf as he planted his standing foot next to it.
Despite the miss, Spurs went from strength to strength against the 10 men of Southampton, with Eriksen rattling an effort against the bar.
Spurs then hit Saints on the counter, with a long ball from Eriksen finding Son, who finished neatly into the far corner to send the visitors two-clear.
Alli capped off the victory with his second of the night, placing the ball beyond Forster after Danny Rose played him through on goal.
The victory ensures Spurs remain in touch with the top four, while Southampton remain eighth.
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