Half-time entertainment: the Bunesliga title race is a real thriller this term.
Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball)James Rodríguez, that pass is delicious ↗️↘️
Thomas Müller scores Bundesliga goal 💯 but it's all about the assist.
Served up on a plate 🍽 pic.twitter.com/pDEqFprXURJanuary 21, 2018
An entertaining first half ends all-square. Southampton started well, but shot themselves in the groin giving away that equaliser so soon after taking the lead. Spurs then grew into the game, and looked the more likely scorers thereafter, without creating all that much. See you in 10.
45 min There will be one added minute.
44 min Spurs are finding it tricky to get hold of the ball in midfield. I wonder if this is a game for Wanyama, whose solidity and positioning might be more useful than Sissoko’s charging about aimlessly to no particular avail without apparent thought as to his purpose on a football pitch or to the meaning of life in general.
42 min Mark Turner emails on the final Spurs step: “Simple: two world-class players (plus lots of good/very good ones) are certainly good enough to make you a top-six team, but not enough to make a top-one team. A second mega-forward or a Coutinho-type playing behind Harry, for starters. Or both.”
Hmmm. I’m, not sure City have more than two world class players, likewise other champions before them. But what they do have is a lot of attacking options and variety, and that’s the element which I think Spurs are missing.
40 min Romeu plays a cute pass for Gabbiadini at inside-right, and he turns square for Lemina to shoot. The connection is decent too, but it’s straight at Vorm, who handles it well given the conditions.
38 min Something to consider: can you trust a person who prefers Bugs Bunny to Daffy Duck? Also, what is the best way of protecting football’s competitive balance? A salary cap would allow owners to keep more money, aggressive redistribution of wealth would allow owners to keep players against their will.
36 min Dembele bundles into Hojbjerg and presents Southampton with a free-kick, 35 yards from goal out on the right. And what a delivery Ward-Prowse delivers! It curls right into the run of Stephens, right in the middle of the box, but having lost the entirety of Spurs’ defence he can’t get over the ball, heading wide in the act of trying to head down.
35 min A better spell for Southampton, who look ok as long as they’re not asked to defend.
33 min Vertonghen slides in and curls his near leg around Ward-Prowse to poke the ball away, then brings his far leg around to whack legs. To this, Ward-Prowse takes exception, poking a return kick, and there’s a brief period of indignance which sadly fails to materialise into the kind of thing which NO ONE likes to see.
32 min Spurs look by far the more dangerous side now. They’re not exactly outworking Southampton, but it looks like they are because they’re so much more focused, so first to the majority of loose balls.
30 min Aurier comes inside onto his left foot and crosses towards the back post, where Ward-Prowse and Cedric are dreaming, of trees, and beaches, and fluffy pink candy floss, and plastacine cactii. Harry Kane, meanwhile is dreaming of FOOTBALLFOOTBALLFOOTBALL and duly picks up the loose ball, which he lays back for Davies, who whams a shot ... it’s going wide, until Sissoko sticks out a leg and diverts it wide.
27 min In commentary, Gary Neville and Martin Tyler are praising Mousa Dembele, who has the ability to beat men in the middle of the pitch. I wonder if he’s quite as good as he should be, given how good he is at almost everything.
26 min Southampton look handy when they’ve got the ball, and Spurs look dodgy when that ball is crossed. this time, Ward-Prowse tries a high one, Aurier gets underneath it, and Tadic knocks down for Lemina, who thrashes only just wide of the near post.
25 min I find myself asking and wondering about this a lot, but what do Spurs need to do to take that final step? In the first instance, they could really do with winning something and should go all-out for the Cup, but how far off are they in terms of players? A winger and another goalscorer?
23 min Is there a point at which the slickness on the pitch turns into drag? How much rain does it take for that?
21 min “The trouble with Dele playing deeper is… well… it hasn’t really worked” emails Richard Coopey. “I’m thinking of Monaco in the Champions’ League last year in particular. He might grow into the role, but he’s not Dembele yet…”
No, agreed - it’s a much harder role to play because it comes with responsibility. The problem is that to play behind the striker, you have to deliver numbers first and foremost, and there’s so much more to him than that.
This is miserable from Southampton, who’ve looked nervous on every Spurs corner. The ball comes into the middle of the box and Kane runs away from Stephens to head home. Poo-werr, as my Gran would’ve said, and Southampton have ruined their good start with remarkable zealotry.
17 min Spurs win a corner down the left, improperly cleared when Vertonghen knocks down, and the ball breaks to Dier whose snapshot cracks the outside of the post.
16 min The lead is well deserved by Southampton, who’ve clearly planned to cross low and hard into the box. Sanchez has looked a bit nervous, and he’ll not be keen to defend more of those balls.
Nice from Tadic, sliding a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Bertrand, absolutely bousting outside him. Again, a low, hard cross comes in and this time Sanchez intercedes before a striker can make a mess of it, sliding a perfect finish in off the far post.
12 min Davies is given as much time as he likes to swerve in a cross from the left, and Lemina, perhaps pondering his latest fashion misstatement, daydreams while Alli pulls off the back of him and nods wide.
11 min But here’s Ward-Prowse down the right, delivering a low cross that narrowly eludes everyone, likewise when Tadic retrieves the ball and does the same from the left; Hojbjerg somehow allowed it to pass between his legs. The rain has given us what looks like a pitch of perfect slickness.
10 min Already, Southampton look a little ragged. They’re struggling to hang onto the ball and at the back are being pulled about by the movement of Spurs’ front players.
7 min Is it now the case that Son is no longer a decent option for Spurs, but a first pick? I hope so, because I’d love to see Dele Alli play a bit deeper. Behind the striker, he affects the game by making and scoring goals, but does little else; as a midfield general, he’s more likely to be involved, and has the game and attitude to excel at that.
6 min This is a lively start, with both teams looking to press when not in possession.
4 min Nice from Southampton, ball into the outside-left channel finding Tadic. He crosses low into the middle, but Hojbherg, arriving onto it, can’t quite get a foot there as Vorm tests the bravery of both by sticking his head in the road.
3 min Nice from Spurs, Aurier spotting Sissoko’s run in behind and sticking the ball into the same area. The eventuating cut-back doesn’t work, but shows us how Spurs will look to play in the absence of a winger.
2 min Sanchez hoiks a clearance and Bertand looks to exchange passes with Tadic, only for the return to be overhit.
1 min Off we go and immediately, Gabbiadini finds himself outside the Spurs box. He turns well, moving the ball into his stride, before shooting low; Vorm saves well.
Dier and Sissoko are talking, Dier with his mouth covered. Nuclear codes the topic, no doubt.
The players and crowd pause for a minute’s applause in honour of Cyrille Regis, an absolute hero of the game.
Sky reckon Spurs will be playing 4-3-2-1, for what that’s worth.
Out come the teams!
A question: in each of the last three seasons, Spurs have hamstrung themselves by starting slowly. Perhaps this time around we can blame Wembley for that, but otherwise, is there a reason? Does it take them time to groove their style? Does it work better when pitches are a bit slicker?
Jermain Defoe is in the studio, talking about being a striker. He says that in his gym at home, he had a list of all the strikers with more goals than him, and that he’d tick them off as he passed them. I like that.
Mauricio Pochettino says that some of his players are not in the greatest nick, though doesn’t give and isn’t asked for any further detail. He’s happy to be back at Southampton.
Mauricio Pellegrino thinks Southampton are in a ... wait for it .. “difficult moment” and thinks his players need to focus. He also thinks Spurs are good. More news as I get it.
So let’s take a closer look at those teams. Mauricio Pellegrino fiddles yet again, replacing Davis and Long with Lemina and Gabbiadini, while for Spurs, Ser Lloris and Eriksen are ill, so Vorm and Sissoko deputise. Quite what Wanyama and Lamela make of that I don’t know; quite what I make of that I do know, and it is not a lot.
Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC)Congratulations to 17-year-old #SaintsFC forward Michael Obafemi, who makes the bench today!
January 21, 2018
Take a look at some of his goals so far this season: pic.twitter.com/IbIbf8pyUM
Southampton (a resigned 4-2-3-1): McCarthy; Cedric, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertands; Romeu, Lemina; Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Hojbjerg; Gabbiadini. Subs: Forster, Pied, Bednarek, Davis, Boufal, Redmond, Obafemi.
Tottenham Hotspur (a blasé 3-5-2): Vorm; Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen; Aurier, Dembele, Sissoko, Alli, Davies; Son, Kane. Subs: Gazzaniga, Foyth, Trippier, Walker-Peters, Wanyama, Lamela, Llorente.
The aptly-named referee: Kevin Friend (Bristol)
It’s not easy being a saint. Decent rep and an easy life, it’s true, but sometimes you can get just that bit too clever – and God is pretty moody company. Likewise, it’s not easy being a Saint. Decent rep and an easy life, it’s true, but sometimes you can get just that bit too clever – even if Le God is pretty witty company.
And Southampton got too clever last summer right enough, when they swapped Mauricio Pellegrino for ClaUde Puel; since then, things at St Mary’s have not been good. Their last league came win 11 games ago – and that against the risible debacle that was Ronald Koeman’s Everton, while just last week they contrived to cede a two-goal lead – and that against the risible debacle that was Marco Silva’s Watford. If they are not exceedingly careful, they are going to go down, though do still have some proper players – just a few weeks ago, they were composed, enterprising and brave in having the better of a goalless draw at Old Trafford.
They will need to be all of those things this afternoon. Spurs walloped them on Boxing Day and have won three out of four since, on top of which Mousa Dembélé is back, Dele Alli is back in form, and Harry Kane is, well, Harry Kane. But they’re not currently in the top four, a particular problem this season – they will not want to christen their new home with hott Thursday night nookie; they will want to hang onto their most nubile assets. As such, and given Liverpool’s likely devastation of Swansea tomorrow, it is essential that they win today; the gap between the sides is currently three points.
Kick-off: 4pmGMT