Report: Saints 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur

Virgil van Dijk had given Saints an early lead with a header, but the visitors rallied and goals from Dele Alli and Harry Kane settled the contest.

Nathan Redmond was dismissed in the second-half for a foul on Alli that resulted in a penalty, which Kane failed to despatch.

Claude Puel made four changes to the side that won 3-1 at AFC Bournemouth last time out, with captain José Fonte, Steven Davis, Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse all being handed starts.

Saints began at a frenetic tempo and were rewarded with the breakthrough after just two minutes.

After Ryan Bertrand had been brought down by former Saint Victor Wanyama, James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick proved inch-perfect for van Dijk, who planted a firm header beyond the grasp of Hugo Lloris.

On 8 minutes, Redmond created another chance when he found Jay Rodriguez, who saw his first time effort across goal drift wide.

Redmond went close himself on 16 minutes as Puel’s men maintained the high tempo in front of a vociferous St Mary’s crowd. The winger picked up the ball inside, before shaping a low shot which went inches past the post.

Shortly after, Betrand’s low centre was just behind Redmond and Danny Rose, with Jan Vertonghen on hand to thwart the onrushing Rodriguez.

But Tottenham drew level with their first real chance of the game. Moussa Sissoko’s left-wing cross skipped up off the back of Redmond, and Alli met the ball to head beyond Fraser Forster.

The visitors looked to utilise the impetus from their equaliser and just after the half hour mark, Christian Eriksen saw his drive from the edge of the box rise over the crossbar.

On 42, Fonte made an important block to deny Wanyama, after he took in Sissoko’s pass and drove into the heart of the box.

Following the interval, the visitors were quickest out the blocks and on 52 minutes, Harry Kane met Eriksen’s corner with a powerful header to give them the lead.

Moussa Sissoko’s burst saw him feed Alli, who got his shot away but was pulled back in the process by Redmond, who conceded a penalty and was sent off in the process.

However, Harry Kane blasted over the resulting spot-kick to keep the deficit at one and help Southampton keep a foothold in the game.

Puel made a triple change to try and change the flow of the game, introducing Shane Long, Højbjerg and Dušan Tadić to the action.

And Højbjerg had a chance to level, when Saints pressed high and pounced upon a loose ball, but his low effort was tame and easily collected.

It was Spurs who would strike next when Son Heung-Min was released with an incisive pass, before firing a left-footed shot across Forster and into the bottom corner.

Two minutes later, Alli then added his second of the evening when he collected Rose's pass before curling an effort in.

Head to Head Stats

• Possession (%)
  34

  66
• Shots
  9

  17
• Shots on target
  2

  5
• Corners
  2

  10
• Passes Complete
  221

  521