It was a day for individual records at Tottenham; Harry Kane doubled his assist tally for the whole of last season in one outing, and Heung-Min Son recorded his maiden Premier League hattrick, before taking it one step further.
The thrashing that eventuated certainly wasn’t on the cards at half-time however, Spurs being comprehensively outplayed and lucky to have the game tied at 1-1 through Son’s stoppage time goal.
Kane managed to find the back of the net twice – the first with an acrobatic masterpiece – but both were overturned after VAR found offsides.
Son was marginally offside in the lead up to Kane's stellar goal
Likewise, Danny Ings 16th minute effort for Southampton was disallowed after being found to have contained a handball in the lead up.
The first-half was played on the home side’s terms, and they reaped the rewards when former Spur Kyle Walker-Peters set up Ings’ far corner strike in the 32nd minute.
Triggered by fancy work from Ndombele up the field, Son converted from a tight angle with Spurs’ first legal touch in the penalty area to tie the game up on the cusp of half-time.
With Tottenham’s second touch in the penalty area, two minutes after the interim, Son converted again. The dull visitors now buzzing with a sudden lead equated to daylight robbery.
Southampton’s high-line defensive approach proved to be a double-edged blade, their saviour and downfall. It hampered Spurs’ minimal attacks early with the linesman constantly raising his flag, but once Son was timing his runs, he had acres of space and pace to burn.
Identifying how tailormade the situation was for Son, Kane’s backseat approach was paying huge dividends. The finisher turned playmaker bought up Son’s hattrick with a hattrick of assists for himself.
When Kane set up Son’s fourth, it was the first time in Premier League history one player had set up the same player four times in a match.
Four!
With karma no doubt at play, Erik Lamela’s 82nd minute shot ricocheted off the post and into the path of a selfless Kane who iced the result with a fifth goal.
A contentious VAR review found Matt Doherty guilty of a handball in the box and sent Ings to the spot, his straight bullet mere consolation for the bitterly disappointed Saints.
Ings from the spot
Although captain Hugo Lloris couldn’t save the penalty, he was pivotal for Spurs, crucial and instinctive saves keeping Southampton at bay when the game was on the line.
Son was the lead act, but manager Jose Mourinho happily heaped praise on his supporting cast, crashing Kane’s post-game interview to label him “man of the match for me” and laud his “team performance”.
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