Action went underway at the Saint Mary’s stadium as Ruben Selles’s Southampton welcomed Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur.
Both sides went into the game with different plans wanting to thwart the efforts of the other with the aim of securing the maximum points on the day.
Southampton formation and starting eleven
The home went into the game with a 4-4-2 with Ruben Selles starting a line up that went as thus:
Bazunu in goal, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap and Perraud in defence.
Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Lavia and Elyounoussi played in midfield with Theo Walcott partnering Che Adams upfront for the Saints.
Tottenham Hotspur’s formation and starting lineup
Antonio Conte set up his side in a 3-4-2-1 formation and Forster manned the post with Romero, Dier and Lenglet the defensive three.
Davies and Porro played at wing-back with Skipp and Hojbjerg in defensive midfield. Son and Richarlison started behind Harry Kane, the lone man upfront for Spurs.
The side from North London commenced proceedings and off-we-go for 90 minutes of a keenly contested encounter.
Southampton picked up the first big chance in the game in the 3rd minute with Elyounoussi passing the ball to Perraud in the wings; he then played a low cross into the area that troubled the defence a bit before coming towards the path of James Ward-Prowse.
Ward-Prowse then smashed the ball that went through a large pool of players resulting in Adams changing the direction of the ball wide from a close angle.
Richarlison was substituted on the 5th minute after he appears to have felt some discomfort with his body, he was replaced afterwards by Dejan Kulusevski.
Southampton made another substitution 3 minutes later with Mohammed Salisu coming on for Armel Bella-Kotchap due to injury.
Tottenham Hotspur’s first big chance in the game against Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur also got a massive chance in the first 20 minutes of the encounter as Spurs earned their first corner in the game that allowed Kulusevski to play the corner short towards son.
Son cuts inside and plays a nice cross into the penalty area for Dier who places his head wide of the post.
It became another wave of injury substitutions with incomings and outgoings on the field of play for both sides.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles replaced Jan Bednarek due to injury and Antonio Conte brought on Ivan Perisic for Ben Davies as a result of an injury he picked up.
The deadlock was broken as Pedro Porro got the first goal for Tottenham Hotspur with Heung Min Son finding the wing-back in the box via a through-ball.
Pedro Porro did the remaining job as he smashed it high into the roof of the net with the ball making a contact with the crossbar as it went into the net.
Due to the torrent of injuries in the first 45, the referee added 7 minutes as additional time for the first half of action.
Tottenham Hotspur went into the break, the happier of the two sides as they were leading despite the double injuries players of Spurs picked up.
Ruben Selles also had two injury concerns of his own in the first 45 but it’s the tail end of the season and he knows the saints must begin to gather important points to avoid relegation.
How the second half played out
Southampton responded quickly as the action began in the second half, Che Adams got the equalizer after a wonderful ball that was sent into the center of the box by Theo Walcott found him and he finished it instantly.
In the 62nd minute, Tottenham Hotspur ascended into the lead after Harry Kane sandwiched between Walker-Peters and Maitland-Niles nodded a cross from Dejan Kulusevski past Bazunu in goal.
Ruben Selles made 3 changes in the 70th minute, sending onto the field Sekou Mara for Che Adams, Carlos Alcaraz for Stuart Armstrong and Kamaldeen Sulemana for Mohammed Elyounoussi.
Tottenham Hotspur got the third after Kulusevski sent a cross into the area but it was hurriedly cleared out the box, it fell to Ivan Perisic outside the box who strikes a volley that bounces over Bazunu’s hands and into the net.
Three minutes later, the saints posed questions to Spurs and their opposition didn’t have any answer as a dangerous cross from Ward-Prowse found the head of Mara who lays a headed pass to Theo Walcott facing goal, Theo Walcott scores afterwards without any hassle.
Both sides continued to go at each other and Oliver Skipp picked up the first yellow card in the game for a foul on Lavia.
A minute later, Antonio Conte brought on two substitutes to the pitch as he replaced Pedro Porro for Emerson Royal and Dejan Kulusevski for Pape Sarr.
After the substitution, the referee brandished a yellow card to Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Substitute Pape Sarr grabbed a draw from the jaws of victory for Tottenham Hotspur as he fouled former Arsenal man Maitland-Niles in the box.
The referee pointed to the spot for a penalty kick with VAR agreeing to the decision made by the referee. James Ward-Prowse stepped up and blasted the ball beyond the reach of Fraser Forster in goal.
Both sides shared the spoils with Southampton being the happier of the two sides as they have picked up points in the space of a week against two top 4 sides in the Premier League, against Manchester United at Old Trafford and Tottenham Hotspur at their home turf.
They lost over the midweek to Brentford by 0-2 but Ruben Selles should be content with the result at the Saint Mary’s.
Antonio Conte’s team would be the disgruntled side based on the outcome of the encounter after they gave up a two goal advantage over the Saints.
