1. ‘Ronald Koeman Day’ fails to take off as Mauricio Pochettino receives only mild hostility
The reception that Pochettino received on his first return to the south coast was not as hostile as expected. Or at least not as hostile as some Southampton fans had vowed to make it. The number of fans dressed in orange for the so-called ‘Ronald Koeman Day’ were too few to attract attention.
The Spurs boss was met before kick-off by a smattering of boos rather than a torrent of abuse. Others in the home crowd had resolved to declare their affection for their current manager instead of pouring scorn on their ex.
2. Another quietly efficient display from Nacer Chadli
Chadli can be classed, along with Christian Eriksen, as an exception to the raft of flops that came in with the Gareth Bale money two seasons ago. He only cost Tottenham £7m from FC Twente but the wide attacking midfielder has already scored 10 league goals from midfield this term.
His goal in this game revealed the Belgian’s efficiency in front of goal again as he exploited a rare error from a usually compact Southampton defence to score Tottenham’s equaliser.
3. Pochettino could be without a natural full-back next weekend after a costly draw
Tottenham were far from their flowing best so Pochettino will probably be content with taking a point, but the Spurs boss will definitely be worried with the mounting injuries to his full-backs.
Kyle Walker could miss the rest of the season with an ankle problem and Danny Rose was not available for this game with a hamstring injury. In the second-half, Spurs had to ask Jan Vertonghen to slot in at left-back after Ben Davies dislocated his shoulder.
While Vertonghen did a decent job in that role for Belgium at the World Cup, he lacks the offensive threat of Rose. If none of these full-backs recover in time then Spurs may need to adjust from their usual attacking system which demands a lot from full-backs.
4. Erik Lamela’s goal exposed his aerial weakness
In the 43rd minute, Eric Dier provided a dream cross for strikers as it required Lamela to just guide the ball into the net with his head without even getting off the ground. Still, the Argentinian attacking midfielder resorted to using his arm to divert the ball into the net rather than heading the ball in.
Fortunately for him, referee Jon Moss and even the Southampton defenders could not see the offence in real time.
5. Southampton will feel disappointed despite reaching a milestone
Statistically speaking, this is the most successful season for Southampton as the point they got in this game moved them past their previous record points tally in the Premier League, set by Pochettino’s team last season.
Koeman and his charges will feel more disappointment than joy though as they had better chances to win the game despite having only 42 per cent of the ball.
