Tottenham Hotspur's top-four hopes took a huge hit on New Year's Day as they were beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the Premier League.
Spurs were never really at the races from start to finish, with the Saints being on top throughout at St Mary's Stadium. The one and only goal of the game came from in-form Danny Ings, who scored after a lovely bit of skill in the 17th minute.
Positives
Tottenham were patient in breaking down the high line that Southampton were starting to function with, and as the game went on they slowly but surely chipped away at their confidence and started to string some really nice passes together. The positives were few and far between, of course, but there were sparks that reminded fans why they were able to reach the Champions League final a matter of months ago.
Negatives
There was just no bite in the middle of the park, Spurs were woeful when they made their way into the final third, and their defensive performance was unbelievably clumsy. This was one of the worst displays we've seen from Tottenham in a long time, and now that the January transfer window is open, they'll have a chance to make some much-needed changes.
Manager rating out of 10
5 -- There didn't appear to be any real inspiration or drive from Spurs, and a big part of the blame for that needs to fall back on Jose Mourinho. It was an exceptionally attacking-looking lineup, but Spurs spent far too much time relying on the counterattack. And while Jose's changes were positive, the team seemed to run out of ideas pretty early on in the game. He showed great immaturity in picking up a yellow card, too.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Paulo Gazzaniga, 6 -- Arguably could've done better with his positioning for the opening goal, but seemed fairly comfortable aside from that.
DF Serge Aurier, 5 -- Needs to communicate better with those within his back four, but still managed to make a series of important challenges.
DF Toby Alderweireld, 4 -- Was sold a bag of dreams with the goal, later was lucky not to give away a penalty and really struggled throughout the game.
DF Jan Vertonghen, 5 -- Didn't look interested and had one of those games where his decision-making was called into question.
DF Ryan Sessegnon, 5 -- Looks a bit out of place in this current setup and needs at least a few more games to really settle in at full-back.
MF Moussa Sissoko, 6 -- Relies so heavily on his physicality as opposed to any technique, and that's far too risky at this level.
MF Tanguy Ndombele, 5 -- Continues to struggle with injuries after hobbling off less than half an hour into the game.
MF Christian Eriksen, 5 -- Kept searching for that one key pass that never came and wasted quite a few opportunities as a result.
MF Dele Alli, 4 -- Came across as quite petty and the only time when he didn't look lazy was when he was throwing himself on the floor in the penalty area.
MF Lucas Moura, 5 -- Snatched at quite a few of his chances and lacked the end product to go alongside his energy.
FW Harry Kane, 6 -- Always looked dangerous when he was lingering in and around the box but couldn't quite come up with that scoring touch. Had a goal ruled out for offside and then came off with a hamstring tweak right after.
Substitutes
MF Giovani Lo Celso, 6 -- Really went after Southampton but that didn't translate into a good performance from his misplaced passes to his poor vision.
MF Erik Lamela, N/R -- Was the best thing going for Tottenham after being brought on and drove them forward several times. Introduced too late.