Match Report: Adebayor Proves His Worth in Spurs' Win at Saints
Prior to kick off in this one, fans anticipated goals. Southampton hadn't kept a clean sheet since late October, Tottenham early November and watchers were rewarded with an entertaining encounter at St. Mary's. Spurs' 3-2 win over Saints condemned the hosts to only their second home league defeat of the season, while it was the visitors' 3rd successive win on the road.
More pertinently from a Spurs perspective, the trio of strikes was the first time the north London outfit had netted more than 2 goals in a Premier League match since the 3-1 win over Manchester City in April. The meeting between both teams was Tim Sherwood's second in charge since André Villas-Boas was sacked and first in England's top tier as he looked to bring entertainment back to a stagnating Spurs side.
Sherwood persisted with a 4-4-2, despite the midweek defeat to West Ham, while Mauricio Pochettino stuck with a tried and tested 4-2-3-1 in a bid to secure 3 points for the first time since the 4-1 hammering of Hull City 6 games ago. With Sherwood opting against a designated ball-winning midfielder, Etienne Capoue an unused substitute in the encounter, it allowed for an open, free flowing game of football on the south coast.
Ultimately, this benefitted striker Emmanuel Adebayor. On the back of his performance in midweek, the Togolese netting a sumptuous volley in the Capital One Cup loss to West Ham, Adebayor was rewarded with a place in the starting XI, his first in the Premier League since the 1-0 win over Sunderland on the final day of the 2012/13 season.
Having gone 1-0 down after 13 minutes, the 29-year-old was on hand to net the equaliser midway through the first half having been on the receiving end of a perfect Roberto Soldado cross, in the process becoming the first Spurs striker to net in the Premier League in 665 minutes of top flight football. After Jos Hooiveld's second-half own goal, Adebayor netted the winner in a display fans know he's capable of.
The burly frontman secured a WhoScored rating of 9.1 in the encounter, that figure the highest of every Spurs player and bettered only by Adam Lallana (9.2) of every performer in the win for the north London side. In the victory for Sherwood's outfit, the visitors had only 3 shots on target to Saints' 5, but all 3 of Spurs' efforts came from Adebayor, with a Paulo Gazzaniga save denying the frontman a hat-trick in a captivating meeting.
This highlighted Adebayor's prolificacy in front of goal, while showing just how important a player he can be to the club. Saints were unable to contain the Spurs frontman and the plaudits he's receiving on the back of this impressive performance are thoroughly deserved.
For the hosts, Lallana would certainly have done his England credentials little harm in an encounter where he was awarded the WhoScored man of the match. The Saints captain netted the opener in the loss for his side, while his vision ensured he was rewarded with an assist, having cut back for Rickie Lambert to level things up before Adebayor's winner 25 minutes from time.
Not only did Lallana execute the most key passes (4) over the 90 minutes, but he saw only Mousa Dembélé (4) complete more dribbles (3) in the encounter. Yet, regardless of a notable performance from Lallana, it was a match that saw Spurs come out on top, even if they arguably didn't deserve to.
The visitors had less possession - 43% to Saints' 57% - and a worse pass success rate - 73% to the hosts' 79% - but ensured that any chances that came their way were capitalised upon, a change from recent outings which has seen Spurs dominate in terms of passing, but fail to make their dominance count.
For Saints, however, it's certainly a worrying drop in form. Pochettino's side have failed to win their last 6 Premier League games, losing 4, and following a notable start to the campaign, have now dropped to 9th. The same can't be said for Spurs, who are now within 6 points of top spot prior to Monday's top of the table clash between Arsenal and Chelsea, with 2 winnable home games against West Brom and Stoke up next.
How important a player for Spurs do you think Emmanuel Adebayor can be this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
