Biggest-ever opening day victory in Premier League era - report on the whistle
Spurs 4-1 Southampton
Sat 06 August 2022, 17:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Our biggest-ever opening day win in the Premier League saw us come from behind to beat Southampton 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In glorious sunshine in N17 and with our fans in full voice, it was the visitors who went ahead after just 12 minutes when Moussa Djenepo dug out a cross to the edge of the area which fell to James Ward-Prowse, whose right-foot volley bounced into the ground and past the dive of Hugo Lloris.
But our response was impressive and we led by half-time. Ryan Sessegnon levelled it up with his first Premier League goal in our colours on 21 minutes, heading Dejan Kulusevski’s teasing cross past Gavin Bazunu at the back post, before Eric Dier glanced home a near-post header from a Heung-Min Son centre 10 minutes later.
More chances came and went, Ben Davies forcing Bazunu into a smart save with his 25-yard shot, Son blazing over from 10 yards out before Harry Kane was denied by Bazunu after an excellent flowing move through the heart of the Saints defence.
Sessegnon had a goal ruled out for offside right at the start of the second half but we made our dominance pay with a quick-fire double just after the hour mark. Emerson Royal was the creator of both, the first when Mohammed Salisu got his feet in a muddle and diverted Royal’s cross into his own net before the Brazilian right-back found Kulusevski, who curled home in style from 15 yards out to make it 4-1.
At the other end, Lloris was called into action to make a very smart save low down to keep out Joe Aribo’s angled shot, while we should have added to our tally eight minutes from time, but Son shot straight at the goalkeeper from Kane’s pass. Three players made their Spurs debuts during the win, with Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet and Yves Bissouma all coming off the bench in the second half to cap a great day all round.
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Antonio's view
Head Coach Antonio said: "It’s a really good start, despite (the fact) we were 1-0 down after 11 minutes. At that moment, we didn’t deserve to be 1-0 down, we started well, we were leading the game, but you know very well that football is unpredictable. I also think it was good for us to see the reaction of the players. We kept calm, continued to play, continued to create good chances to score, and scored twice. Today, I have seen a lot of positive things."
Highlights on SPURSPLAY
Spurs 4-1 Southampton
Spurs (3-4-3): Lloris (c), Romero, Dier, Davies (Lenglet 86), Royal (Doherty 87), Bentancur (Bissouma 86), Hojbjerg, Sessegnon (Perisic 66), Kulusevski (Lucas 86), Kane, Son. Substitutes (not used): Forster, Spence, Sanchez, Bryan.
Southampton (5-3-2): Bazunu, Walker-Peters (Redmond 90+2), Valery (Stephens 46), Bednarek, Salisu, Djenepo (Perraud 72), Lavia, Ward-Prowse (c), Romeu (Diallo 75), Aribo, A Armstrong (S Armstrong 46). Substitutes (not used): McCarthy, Adams, Elyounoussi, Bella-Kotchap.
Match data
Goals: Spurs – Sessegnon 21, Dier 31, Salisu (OG) 61, Kulusevski 63; Southampton – Ward-Prowse 12.
Yellow cards: Spurs – Sessegnon, Bentancur, Bissouma.
Referee: Andre Marriner.
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Weather: Sunny, gentle breeze, 25 degrees.
Attendance: 61,732.
