Tottenham player ratings at Southampton: Miserable marks for Spurs

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 21: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 21: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Tottenham dropped two precious points at Southampton

It’s safe to say that Mauricio Pochettino’s return trip to Southampton didn’t go according to plan for Tottenham. Instead of a comfortable victory against a club in the bottom three, Spurs dropped two crucial points in their quest to achieve Champions League qualification.

Some might claim it was a harsh result for Spurs given Davinson Sanchez’s own goal, but the truth it was precisely what the squad deserved. Tottenham headed into the match without Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen and the club clearly missed their maturity on the pitch. Tottenham struggled to put Southampton under any appreciable pressure for long stretches.

The defending wasn’t much better. Sanchez was unlucky to guide the ball into his own net, but the back line never looked really comfortable during the match. Of course, the complete ineptitude of Spurs’ defensive midfield pairing of Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele certainly contributed to back four’s lack of quality.

Tottenham could easily have nicked all three points in the match’s closing moments, but that would not have been a fair result. Spurs went home with the one point they deserved. Read on to discover which players were most at fault for the listless display.