Spurs crush Southampton
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L2ND2N - Tottenham Hotspur underlined their credentials as a team capable of a Premier League title challenge with a confident 4-1 defeat of Southampton to get their campaign up and running yesterday.
The hosts fell behind to a -ames Ward-Prowse volley in the 12th minute but dominated throughout with goals by Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier and Dejan Kulusevski sealing the win.
Southampton’s lead lasted only nine minutes before Sessegnon powered a header past Southampton’s Premier
League debutant keeper *avin Ba]unu from Kulusevski’s cross.
Dier glanced in Son Heung-min’s cross with a stooping header in the 31st minute to put Tottenham ahead, and the hosts should have been out of sight before the interval.
Mohammed Salisu clumsily turned Emerson Royal’s cross into his own net in the 61st minute, and two minutes later, Royal set up the impressive Kulusevski to guide an exquisite finish beyond Ba]unu whose saves kept the score respectable.
,t was quite a statement by Tottenham, who did not even need the usual goal contributions of last season’s Premier League *olden Boot winner
Son or Harry Kane ± both of whom had several chances to open their tallies for the season.
Tottenham ended the match in cruise control and Manager Antonio Conte gave debuts to new signings ,van Perisic and Midfielder Bissouma enjoyed a lively cameo, getting a yellow card and then almost scoring in the last minute. Some solid transfer business, the presence of serial-winner Conte as coach and the way they ended last season to grab fourth spot, has seen Tottenham tipped as potential challengers to Manchester City and Liverpool’s duopoly.