Ryan Mason recorded his first victory as Tottenham boss when Son Heung’s late penalty secured a 2-1 victory over Southampton on Wednesday night.
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The Saints took the lead thanks to Danny Ings when England forward movement in the box outfoxed Serge Aurier and he looked a fantastic nod past Hugo Lloris and into the far corner.
Who else? ?
Danny Ings gives #SaintsFC a deserved lead and heaps more misery on #THFC!
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– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 21, 2021
The visitors saw good value for their lead even though they were held back by an hour away when Bale hit his old club with a fantastic left-footed curl in the far corner.
The goal seemed to spark Spurs in life and they looked to have taken their second night with 15 minutes to play, although Son’s effort was ruled out after Lucas Moura was ruled offside when Son swept home.
The game looked to be heading for a draw, although Moussa Djenepo conceded a penalty with just a few minutes to play and Son went up to shoot the ball home.
These are the highlights of the match out of the way, now to the Spurs and Saints players’ ratings …
Hugo Lloris was beaten by Danny Ings | Clive Rose / Getty Images
Hugo Lloris (GK) – 6/10 – Fantastic double saving during the first two minutes to prevent his team from falling behind early. Gets very little to do after picking Ing’s nod out of the back of the net.
Serge Aurier (RB) – 5/10 – Captured by Ing’s movement in the build-up to the saint’s opener. Showed a willingness to move forward but was not selected by his teammates.
Eric Dier (CB) – 5/10 – Did not get much defense to do in the evening but struggled with Ing’s movement on the few occasions that Southampton flooded forward.
Toby Alderweireld (CB) – 6/10 – Comfortable in possession but had a number of opportunities to move into midfield that he did not take.
Sergio Reguilon (LB) – 7/10 – Super cut for Son whose goal is not allowed for offside. Continued to grow forward and always saw a likely path to success.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg receives instructions from Ryan Mason | Pool / Getty Images
Tanguy Ndombele (CM) – 6/10 – Be busy enough without doing anything particularly outstanding. Pulled back with 20 minutes to play with Sunday’s cup final in mind.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (CM) – 6/10 – Did the basics when he broke up the game and was about to cross things, but very little else.
Giovani Lo Celso (CM) – 8/10 – The best player on the pitch. Looked lively in midfield and had peace and class to fold away from her husband and open the game.
Gareth Bale appears to be moving away from two holy men Pool / Getty Images
Gareth Bale (RW) – 7/10 – Come back to haunt his old side once again with a wonderful attempt to level the game. Showed glimpses of class and always looked most likely in the Spurs front line to make something happen.
Lucas Moura (ST) – 5/10 – The task of playing in the middle and did not really know what to do with the position. Neither led the line nor fell into the pockets with space to connect games.
Son Heung-min (LW) – 6/10 – It looked like a man who drove empty a large part of the game even though he showed good composure to play his penalty home.
72 – Our first evening change:
➡️ @HarryWinks ⬅️ @TanguyNdombele
⚪️ #THFC 1-1 #SaintsFC? pic.twitter.com/q3JpovLGmw
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) 21 April 2021
Harry Winks (CM) – 6/10
Erik Lamela (LW) – 6/10
Steven Bergwijn (RW) – N / A
Mohammed Salisu blocks Gareth Bale’s path to goal | Sebastian Frej / MB Media / Getty Images
Alex McCarthy (GK) – 6/10 – Absolutely nothing he could do with Bale’s equalizer or Son’s penalty but looked steady most of the night.
Kyle Walker-Peters (RB) – 6/10 – Got sometimes runaround by Bale but also offered a lot going forward. A tricky evening but one that he can definitely learn from.
Jan Bednarek (CB) – 7/10 – Produced some brilliant blocks and interceptions as the Saints seemed to hang in their lead but nothing he could do when the Spurs eventually found their way through.
Jannik Vestergaard (CB) – 7/10 – Won some high headlines in the middle of the box when Spurs started applying pressure late. Somewhat good distribution to the front line.
Mohammed Salisu (LB) – 7/10 – Did a very good job on the left back and made a couple of important interceptions on the back post with Bale breathing down his neck.
Theo Walcott loses balance | Clive Rose / Getty Images
Theo Walcott (RM) – 6/10 – Apparently had the pace to cause Spurs backline problems but just wasn’t let go by his teammates and was eventually put off with 25 minutes to play.
Stuart Armstrong (CM) – 5/10 – Found himself chasing shadows sometimes in midfield and was outclassed for much of the game.
James Ward-Prowse (CM) – 6/10 – Great delivery for Ing’s opener and was as warlike and energetic as ever.
Nathan Tella (LM) – 7/10 – Very lively when he was on the ball but did not see enough of the game to really get features.
Che Adams loses his footing | Clive Rose / Getty Images
Che Adams (ST) – 5/10 – Should have opened the scoring after two minutes but shot straight at Lloris.
Danny Ings (ST) – 7/10 – Fantastic movement to give his side the lead. Picked up an injury during the second half so had to retire but was very impressive when he was on the pitch.
Moussa Djenepo was introduced in the second half of the year | Visionhaus / Getty Images
Ibrahima Diallo (CM) – 7/10
Moussa Djenepo (RW) – 5/10
Nathan Redmond (ST) – N / A
