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SOUTHAMPTON, KOMPAS.com - Tottenham Hotspur gagal menyamai raihan poin Liverpool setelah bermain imbang 1-1 melawan Southampton pada pertandingan pekan ke-24 Premier League - kasta teratas Liga Inggris - di Stadion St. Mary's, Minggu (21/1/2018).
Pada pertandingan ini, Southampton berhasil unggul terlebih dahulu melalui gol bunuh diri Davinson Sanchez pada menit ke-15. Tottenham Hotspur baru berhasil membalas tiga menit kemudian melalui striker andalan mereka, Harry Kane.
Hasil ini membuat Tottenham tertahan di peringkat kelima dengan koleksi 45 poin dari 24 laga. Mereka tertinggal dua angka dari Liverpool yang baru akan bertanding melawan Swansea City pada Senin (22/1/2018) malam atau Selasa dini hari WIB.
Sementara itu, Southampton juga gagal beranjak dari zona merah. Mereka berada di peringkat ke-18 dengan koleksi 22 poin setelah disalip Stoke City yang menang atas Huddersfield Town, sehari sebelumnya.
(Baca Juga: VIDEO - Tampil Sebagai Pengganti di Laga Debut, Arda Turan Langsung Bikin Gol Indah)
Pada sepanjang pertandingan, Tottenham tampil lebih mendominasi dengan memiliki 59 persen penguasaan bola. Soal menciptakan peluang, tim tamu juga lebih baik dengan melepas 17 tembakan, tetapi hanya dua di antaranya yang tepat sasaran.
Southampton yang menciptakan 10 peluang dengan empat di antaranya on target, unggul terlebih dahulu pada menit ke-15. Umpan silang mendatar Ryan Bertrand dari sisi kanan pertahanan Tottenham dipotong Davinson Sanchez yang justru berbelok ke gawang Michel Vorm.
Tertinggal 0-1 dari Southampton membuat Tottenham Hotspur tersengat. Hanya berselang 197 detik, tim tamu membalas lewat tandukan jarak dekat Harry Kane yang sukses menyambut umpan tendangan penjuru dari Ben Davies. (Verdi Hendrawan)
9 - Harry Kane has scored nine goals in his last five starts in the Premier League, with all nine coming from inside the box. Poacher. pic.twitter.com/zDZFiJ23Zu
Tottenham Hotspur were laid low by a flu virus and then caught a cold as they were held to a draw by relegation-threatened Southampton despite Harry Kane moving to within one goal of his Premier League century.
It was a frustrating result that means Spurs could fall five points behind fourth-placed Liverpool if Jurgen Klopp’s side win away to Swansea City on Monday evening, putting them in very real danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.
The score-line does not, truly, help Southampton either as they remain in the bottom three and a point behind 17th place Stoke City. But they showed enough fight – and went agonisingly close to winning – to probably help manager Mauricio Pellegrino survive. At least a little longer.
Afterwards Spurs midfielder Eric Dier claimed the race for the top four will “go down to the wire” but with his side’s next three league opponents being Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal these were points they could not afford to drop. And neither were they expected to.
The Spurs squad were in Barcelona for warm weather training last week with captain Hugo Lloris and play-maker Christian Eriksen ruled out of this fixture because they were suffering from flu. Other players were affected and although manager Mauricio Pochettino later refused to say who, and stated it had not affected the performance, they were collectively below-par in a rain-sodden “battle” of an encounter.
Other Tottenham teams in other seasons might have left Southampton with this point and felt fairly proud of it. Under heavy rain, on an awful pitch, against a team fighting for its life, and who went 1-0 up in the first half. Spurs did at least equalise almost instantly, although it did not get much better than that.
For this Tottenham team, fighting to get back into the Champions League places, this sodden draw was a serious disappointment. Spurs had won six of their last eight in the league before today, including battering Saints 5-2 at Wembley at Boxing Day, one of those afternoons when everything Spurs try comes off. A repeat here would have seen them clamber up above Liverpool into fourth, at least until Monday night.
But it did not go like that. Spurs produced one of their most disappointing performances in months, creating almost nothing and recording just two shots on target all afternoon. Harry Kane’s goal, a header from a corner, came on 17 minutes. That should have signalled Spurs taking control of the game and getting away from a team they have never had any trouble with in the past. But Spurs were stuck in first gear all afternoon, and it was only when Mauricio Pochettino started to make changes, in the final 20 minutes, that his team played with any threat.
Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures
49 show all Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures
1/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Getty Images
2/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Victor Moses of Chelsea celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal against Brighton Getty Images
3/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Eden Hazard celebrates his second goal for Chelsea Getty
4/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Chelsea put Brighton to the sword Getty Images
5/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Wayne Rooney of Everton warms up prior to the match against West Brom Getty Images
6/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jamie Vardy of Leicester City shoots as he warms up Getty Images
7/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Players, fans and officials remember ex-footballer Cyrille Regis Getty Images
8/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Everton and West Brom pay their respects Getty Images
9/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Paul Lambert, Manager of Stoke City shows appreciation to the fans Getty Images
10/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jose Mourinho keeps warm Getty Images
11/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jay Rodriguez of West Bromwich Albion celebrates Getty Images
12/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Nacho Monreal of Arsenal celebrates Getty Images
13/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Arsenal were 4-0 up within twenty minutes Getty Images
14/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jack Cork of Burnley is fouled by Jesse Lingard Getty Images
15/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures David Wagner looks on... Getty Images
16/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures ... and so does Eddie Howe Getty Images
17/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal celebrates Getty Images
18/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Angelo Ogbonna of West Ham United is challenged by Callum Wilson Getty Images
19/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Paul Pogba of Manchester United controls the ball Getty Images
20/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Sam Allardyce, Manager of Everton shakes hands with Alan Pardew Getty Images
21/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jose Mourinho looks on Getty Images
22/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Ryan Fraser of AFC Bournemouth is fouled by Pedro Obiang Getty Images
23/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates Getty Images
24/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Kasper Schmeichel of Leicester City makes a save Getty Images
25/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Theo Walcott of Everton is challenged by Kieran Gibbs of West Bromwich Albion Getty Images
26/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Marvin Zeegelaar of Watford fouls Jamie Vardy Getty Images
27/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates after scoring his sides first goal Getty Images
28/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Ryan Shawcross of Stoke City is challenged by Steve Mounie Getty Images
29/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Paul Pogba of Manchester United is challenged by Jack Cork Getty Images
30/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures David Moyes looks on AFP/Getty Images
31/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Granit Xhaka and Jack Wilshere of Arsenal clash with Luka Milivojevic and James Tomkins of Crystal Palace Getty Images
32/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Anthony Martial of Manchester United celebrates Getty Images
33/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Anthony Martial of Manchester United celebrates Getty Images
34/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Alan Pardew comes onto the pitch to console Salomon Rondon WBA FC via Getty Images
35/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Sean Dyche looks on... AFP/Getty Images
36/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures ... and loses his temper with Burnley's defending AFP/Getty Images
37/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Ryan Fraser of AFC Bournemouth scores his sides first goal... Getty Images
38/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures ... and Javier Hernandez equalises moments later Getty Images
39/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Alex Iwobi of Arsenal controls the ball Getty Images
40/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Oumar Niasse of Everton celebrates scoring his side's goal Getty Images
41/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Paul Lambert gives it some on the touchline... Getty Images
42/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Stoke hadn't won since December Getty Images
43/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Manchester United's French midfielder Paul Pogba vies with Burnley's English-born Scottish defender Phil Bardsley AFP/Getty Images
44/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Jamie Vardy of Leicester City scores from the penalty spot Leicester City FC via Getty Imag
45/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Xherdan Shaqiri of Stoke City volleys Getty Images
46/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Harry Kane celebrates his headed equaliser Getty Images
47/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Davinson Sanchez scores an own goal past Michel Vorm Getty
48/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Dusan Tadic and Serge Aurier fight for possession Getty Images
49/49 Premier League gameweek 24 in pictures Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I
The real reason it went wrong for Spurs is that they did not have Christian Eriksen. He was missing with flu, and to take Eriksen off the pitch is effectively to lobotomise this Tottenham team. He is their influential conductor, directing all of their best moves. Today he was replaced by Moussa Sissoko, the exact opposite of a like-for-like change. The result was that Spurs’ game was far more about getting the ball down the channels, and crosses into the box, without ever going anywhere. This Saints team found it all very easy to defend against.
Sissoko did not even give his full-back much protection, and Saints even snuck into the lead by exploiting the space in behind Serge Aurier. Early on Dusan Tadic nearly put in Manolo Gabbiadini, and then the next time Saints attacked down their left, they scored. Tadic rolled a pass through to Ryan Bertrand on the overlap, he whipped the ball to the near post. Davinson Sanchez slid in but sliced the ball into the bottom corner.
Tottenham, impressively, went straight down the other end and equalised. Eric Dier forced a corner, Ben Davies curled it in, Kane ran away from Jack Stephens, lept up above Gabbiadini and thumped his header in. His 11th goal in his last seven games, in case you had lost count.
Kane scored his 99th Premier League goal (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I)
That should have been their platform for the result of the afternoon. But in truth it was as good as it got. The rest of the first half was frustrating and predictable. Davies hammered one cross into the box that Sissoko failed to turn in, and another that led to Kane being blocked by Stephens. The Saints centre-back, in fact, missed a brilliant headed chance from a James Ward-Prowse free-kick to put them up before the break.
The pressure was on Tottenham to step it up in the second half but it took them plenty of time to do anything different. For 25 minutes they went through the same old routine and the closest they got was when Dele Alli fired one just wide from the edge of the box. Pochettino did not make his first change until the 70th minute, finally bringing on Erik Lamela, but for Son, surprisingly, rather than Sissoko. That decision was booed by some in the away end who did want to see Son taken off.
This should have led to a Spurs siege but even that was underwhelming. Lamela scurried around in the final third and with seven minutes left he got on the end of Sissoko’s pass but was crowded out by defenders. Then he nearly bundled in a head, nearly turned in a Kane shot, but never with any luck.
It was Southampton’s substitutes, in fact, who came closest to winning the game. First debutant Michael Obafemi, got on the end of Tadic’s cross, with four minutes left, only to skew his shot wide. Then Sofiane Boufal got in but was blocked off by Sanchez. Southampton came closer to the win at the end but it was Pochettino throwing his arms to the air in exasperation at the final whistle.
