Southampton snatches unlikely draw against Tottenham

Tottenham misses chance to go third, while Southampton inches closer to relegation

Southampton erased a two-goal deficit with less than 15 minutes to play to snatch a vital point and a 3-3 draw with Tottenham at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday. The result leaves Tottenham (49 points) 4th in the Premier League table, having needlessly missed their chance to leapfrog Manchester United (50 points) for 3rd. The point moves Southampton (23 points) to within a point of West Ham and Bournemouth in 18th and 19th, respectively, but now three points away from safety following results elsewhere on Saturday.

First Half plagued with substitutions

Both sides were forced into a pair of first-half substitutions with players dropping like flies all over the field. Richarlison went off after five minutes, followed by Armel Bella-Kotchap in the 8th minute, then came Jan Bednarek in the 34th and Ben Davies three minutes after him.

Spurs come out on top in first half

Southampton looked like they would make it to halftime with the game still scoreless, until Son Heung-min found Pedro Porro with a brilliant through ball and the Spanish right back lashed the ball over the head of Gavin Bazunu, off the underside of the crossbar and in. The lead lasted all of 44 seconds into the second half, as Che Adams raced in behind to touch home Theo Walcott’s cross just after the restart.

Kane and Perisic put Spurs ahead

Harry Kane headed Tottenham back in front in the 65th minute, when Dejan Kulusevski lofted a fantastic left-footed cross to the back post. Spurs’ all-time record goal-scorer rose highest and snuck it just under the crossbar to make it 2-1. It was 3-1 after 74 minutes, as Ivan Perisic hit a bouncing ball through traffic to score his first Premier League goal.

Southampton Resilience pays off

Southampton refused to go down without a fight, though, with Sekou Mara heading the ball down to Walcott atop the six-yard box to sweep it home and give St. Mary’s hope once more. There were questions over the minimal contact that Pape Matar Sarr made with Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the 90th minute, but video review upheld the on-field penalty decision and James Ward-Prowse put it where Fraser Forster simply could not get it to snatch an unlikely point for Saints.

Conte accuses Tottenham of selfish play

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has accused his players of being selfish and not wanting to help each other. Following the game, Conte spoke to the media about his frustrations with his teams’ performances which has seen them drop points against struggling sides. Tottenham face Everton next.

Southampton in relegation battle

Southampton will continue their fight to stay in the Premier League on Sunday, April 2 (9 am ET) when they visit another side currently in the bottom-four, West Ham (24 points – 18th place).

Chelsea aims for the top four, Everton looks for consistency

Chelsea will host Everton in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday. The Blues’ top-end defending — fourth-fewest goals allowed — is finally getting some offensive help with five goals scored in back-to-back wins over Borussia Dortmund and Leicester City. Everton’s now 15th on the Premier League table but that’s just one point off 18th and three points off the PL cellar. Taking seven of the last 15 points available has helped, but Sean Dyche will know that consistent performances are the key to belief.

Pulisic returns to Premier League starting XI

Christian Pulisic returned to the Premier League starting XI for Chelsea against Everton after spending some time recovering from his knee injury. Pulisic set up Joao Felix for a stunning goal in the 54th minute, giving Chelsea the lead over Everton. It will be interesting to see how Pulisic performs as the season progresses. 

Chelsea looks to continue top-four push

Chelsea, at 37 points through 26 games, is 11 points off fourth-place Tottenham with a match-in-hand on Spurs. The team has scored five goals in their last two games and will look to continue to push for the top four spots in this league. Everton has struggled with the big six teams, with shutouts at the hands of Liverpool and Arsenal, but will hope to catch Chelsea off-guard. 

Credit: https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2023/03/18/southampton-vs-tottenham-video-highlights-reaction-analysis/

ENND