Southampton 3-3 Tottenham: Player Rating as Spurs stunned by controversial late penalty as grip on fourth is loosened again

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Tottenham were stunned by a controversial stoppage-time penalty from James Ward-Prowse as a 3-3 draw at rock-bottom Southampton saw Spurs’ grip on fourth loosened.

Antonio Conte’s men appeared to be heading third in the Premier League, providing a fine response to Newcastle United putting pressure on them a day earlier, but Saints battled back from 3-1 down to rescue a point.

Pedro Porro’s first Premier League goal put Spurs ahead at the end of a stop-start first half, before Saints levelled through Che Adams early in the second.

Harry Kane and Ivan Perisic then seemed to have put the game beyond Saints, but Theo Walcott earned them a lifeline and Ward-Prowse’s emphatic late spot-kick left Spurs reeling.

Southampton player ratings (4-4-2)

GK: Gavin Bazunu – 5/10 – Could not do anything to rebuff Porro or Kane from close range and was beaten by the bounce of Perisic’s effort.

RB: Kyle Walker-Peters – 5/10 – Reluctant to creep too far forward for fear of leaving room for Son to exploit.

CB: Jan Bednarek – N/A – Diligently followed Kane when he wandered deep, getting touch-tight to England’s skipper before he got too close and was forced off with a dig in the ribs.

CB: Armel Bella-Kotchap – N/A – Forced off clutching his right arm within the first ten minutes.

LB: Romain Perraud – 3/10 – The act of following Kulusevski infield is hardly criminal but the lack of communication with Elyounoussi proved costly.

RM: Stuart Armstrong – 5/10 – Skirted around the fringes of the contest.

CM: James Ward-Prowse – 7/10 – Grew into the came, increasingly getting his foot on the ball after the break.

CM: Romeo Lavia – 6/10 – Sliced through Spurs with a surgical through-ball to set Walcott away for the equaliser.

LM: Mohamed Elyounoussi – 3/10 – Didn’t shirk his defensive duties all game but did completely ignore the bright turquoise shirt all alone in his team’s penalty area for the opening goal.

ST: Che Adams – 6/10 – Drifting behind Walcott, Adams burst into the box to link up with his strike partner perfectly.

ST: Theo Walcott – 6/10 – Perched on the last shoulder of the defender, the 34-year-old doesn’t have quite the same electric pace but had enough to hare clear of Tottenham’s backline.


Substitutes

Mohammed Salisu (8′ for Bella-Kotchap) – 6/10 – A little overeager but got his head to a raft of balls tossed into the box.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles (34′ for Bednarek) – 5/10 – Shunted into an awkward centre-back slot.

Sekou Mara (70′ for Adams) – 5/10 – A nagging threat following his arrival but lacked the cutting edge.

Kamaldeen Sulemana (70′ for Elyounoussi) – 5/10

Carlos Alcaraz (70′ for Armstrong) – 5/10


Manager

Ruben Selles – 5/10 – Southampton showed plenty of bright patches while conceding some boneheaded goals.


Tottenham player ratings (3-4-3)

GK: Fraser Forster – 6/10 – Could hardly be blamed for conceding from point-blank range but smothered Mara well in the closing stages.

CB: Cristian Romero – 6/10 – Front-footed as ever when Spurs didn’t have the ball.

CB: Eric Dier – 6/10 – A little hesitant at times but strolled around the middle of Tottenham’s back three without much fuss.

CB: Clement Lenglet – 4/10 – So predictable when limply rolling the ball into Harry Kane’s feet.

RWB: Pedro Porro – 7/10 – Constantly probing Southampton’s backline with passes and runs into the final third.

CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6/10 – There was no love lost on Hojbjerg’s return to his former side with a characteristically unforgiving and forceful display.

CM: Oliver Skipp – 6/10 – Circulated possession safely if not always spectacularly.

LWB: Ben Davies – N/A – The fourth player to fall foul of an injury in the opening 37 minutes on a cursed afternoon at St Mary’s.

RW: Richarlison – N/A – Reduced to tears as he limped off the pitch after three minutes.

ST: Harry Kane – 5/10 – Dropped deep into a crowd of red and white time and again.

LW: Son Heung-min – 6/10 – Spotted Porro in space and played the perfectly weighted pass to find him but faded thereafter.


Substitutes

Dejan Kulusevski (5′ for Richarlison) – 6/10 – Manipulated Perraud with and without the ball.

Ivan Perisic (37′ for Davies) – 5/10 – Switched off for Southampton’s equaliser, lacking any burst of recovery pace to catch Walcott but responded with a goal of his own. Mixed.

Emerson Royal (86′ for Porro) – N/A

Pape Sarr (86′ for Kulusevski) – N/A – Delivered the exact opposite impact Conte was looking for.


Manager

Antonio Conte – 3/10 – Spurs sleepwalked through much of the contest, barely breaking out of their stupor in a match they were fortuitous to draw.


Player of the match – James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

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