Tottenham player ratings as attacker 'full of endeavour' gets 9/10 in comfortable Southampton win

Tottenham cruised to a comfortable home win over Southampton on Sunday thanks to a first-half brace from Brennan Johnson. The win relegates the Saints, who have been cut-adrift for weeks.

Tottenham took the lead in the 13th minute when James Maddison played the ball wide to Heung-min Son, he sent Djed Spence through down the left side of the box, and his cross found Brennan Johnson, who dispatched an excellent first-time finish high into Aaron Ramsdale’s net.

Tottenham thought they had doubled their lead in the 33rd minute, but an extensive VAR review saw Lucas Bergvall’s goal chalked off, but the second goal did come just before half time when James Maddison headed into the path of Johnson, who poked away his second of the afternoon.

The second half had dead-rubber feel to it, with Spurs having the game in the bag and likely preserving energy for Thursday night’s Europa League clash, while Southampton have been all-but relegated for weeks, and motivation must be hard to come by at this point, especially given their lack of quality.

But the Saints did get one goal just seconds before the clock hit 90 when a perfectly executed chipped cross from Kamaldeen Sulemana picked apart a Spurs attempt to play a high line, and Matheus Fernandes lashed home a close range effort. The star performer Johnson then won a penalty deep into stoppage time and gave up the chance score a hat-trick, with Mathys Tel scoring from the spot.

Here we rate the players from what was a pretty comfortable win for the North London side.

Guglielmo Vicario - 6

Rarely tested and mistake-free. Vicario did produce a good save in the 78th minute, but it was pretty routine, and a shot was deflected into his outstretched body late on. There was nothing he could have done about the goal, with it being pretty close range and well hit.

Djed Spence - 8

A nice cut-back to create the opening goal, and he did well to get up that high to make the impact, too. Aside from his assist, Spence defended really well, particularly in the second half.

Ben Davies - 7

Solid off the ball and composed on it. Davies put in a strong display here. The Saints goal will disappoint Postecoglou and the back line, though, and Spurs will need to do better than that with an offside trap, even if the cross was a particularly good one.

Cristian Romero - 7

Led the back-line well and dominated in the air.

Pedro Porro - 7

Lost his man to give up a big chance at the back post in the 11th minute but did help recover the situation. Porro got forward well in the build-up to the second goal. Porro had to do some defensive work in the second half and generally defended well.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Off at 56’) - 7

Had plenty of control over the midfielder other than perhaps a 10-minute spell to start the second half when Southampton came out firing.

Lucas Bergvall (Off at 79’) - 6

Unlucky to see a first-half goal chalked off for an offside in the build-up. Bergvall was busy, but you would like to see him have a bigger impact against a struggling Saints side.

James Maddison (Off at 79’) - 7

Set the opening goal in motion with a nice pass to the left flank. Maddison provided the assist to the second, heading into Johnson’s path.

Brennan Johnson - 9

Took his goal beautifully in the 13th minute, firing high into the net at the first time of asking after a cut-back. He scored his second before half-time, spotting a looping header from Maddison quickly before stabbing home. He capped his performance by winning in stoppage time. Johnson was full of endeavour here, and Postecoglou will be delighted with his application.

Heung-min Son (Off at 56’) - 5

Played a role in the opener, freeing Spence down the left. Son was a little indecisive at times, and we’re not seeing the best of him at the moment.

Dominic Solanke (Off at 86’) - 6

Worked hard in the build-up to the second goal, showing strength and good hold-up play. Solanke operated well within his role, but he wasn’t particularly commanding nor troublesome for the Saints back line, at least not consistently.

Substitutes

Pape Matar Sarr (On at 54’) - 6

Took over a steady operation for Bentancur in the middle and kept the midfield under his control

Wilson Odobert (On at 54’) - 6

Did what was asked of him and worked hard.

Yves Bissouma (On at 79’) - 6

A late substitution but helped keep things ticking overt in the middle.

Archie Gray (On at 79’) -

Solid enough but didn’t have much time to influence the game.

Mathys Tel (On at 86’) - 6

Didn’t have much say on the game given his late arrival, but he did score a penalty in stoppage time. There will be questions over why Johnson wasn’t allowed the chance to score a hat-trick, though, especially after winning the penalty.

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