Southampton 0-5 Tottenham: James Maddison leads five-star Spurs as Martin bites the dust | OneFootball

Russell Martin became the fourth Premier League manager sacked after Southampton were beaten 5-0 by Tottenham at home this evening.

The recently dismissed coach was clear and direct after securing promotion, stating that he would not change the style of play that brought them success last season.

While some appreciate this approach, believing it gives the Saints their best chance of survival, others criticised him for being naive, arrogant, or self-absorbed.

“For me, if you win this way, it’s the best way,” he said. “There’s no right or wrong way but it’s what I believe in, it’s what we believe in. And we finally won something doing it … so I guess it will be some form of validation for some people. I love what we do and I’m not going to change and I’m sure it will start – it probably already has – that we won’t play this way in the Premier League and all of that stuff, the scrutiny and the intensity that will come with that. It is up to us to prove ourselves right and make sure we embrace it without losing who we are.”

This steadfastness ultimately cost Martin his job. The powers that be at St Mary’s saw their side never look more vulnerable than in today’s match. However, the stark reality is that Spurs’ dominant 5-0 victory raises questions about whether Southampton’s players can keep them in England’s top division.

All five goals were scored in a blistering first half, making Southampton the only team in Premier League history to go in at half-time losing by a five-goal deficit on multiple occasions, doing so vs Leicester City in October 2019 (0-5) and tonight (0-5), with James Maddison notably scoring in both matches.

Overall, they’ve conceded five goals in the first half of a match on four separate occasions, with no other side doing so more than once.

Maddison opened the scoring one minute into the match and netted his second goal just before half-time. Son Heung-min, Pape Sarr, and Dejan Kulusevski also contributed with strikes. Son provided two assists before coming off at the break, which allowed him to equal Darren Anderton as the joint-leading assist provider in Premier League history with 68 assists.

It was nothing short of a ruthless display, when Sarr scored in the 25th minute, it marked the earliest that Tottenham has led by four goals in a Premier League match. In fact, at St. Mary’s today, it was the earliest an away team had led 3-0 in a Premier League game since Arsenal did so against Newcastle in February 2011, achieving that feat in just 10 minutes.

There was no sensational comeback like the one Newcastle initiated on the cards as Ange Postecoglou’s men earned a much-needed win after embarking on a three-game winless run since their epic 4-0 success over Manchester City last month.

Southampton currently holds the record for the most losses in the league this season, totalling 13 games. They have conceded 36 goals, making their defence the second weakest in the league (only Wolves with 40 have shipped in more). Their offensive performance is equally troubling, as they managed only three shots on target without scoring in their latest match. Overall, they have scored just 11 goals in 16 matches, which marks the weakest attack in England’s top division.

To provide some historical context: Southampton’s goal difference of -25 (11 goals scored and 36 goals conceded) after 16 matches this season is among the worst in Premier League history. Only four teams have had a worse goal difference at this stage: Derby County (-32 in the 2007/08 season), Sheffield United (-29 in the 2023/24 season), Barnsley (-29 in the 1997/98 season), and Sheffield Wednesday (-26 in the 1999/00 season).

Martin was likely hoping for a more encouraging start, but the statistics tell a different story: Southampton has earned only five points from their first 16 Premier League matches this season (1 win, 2 draws, and 13 losses). The only team in Premier League history to have accumulated fewer points at this point in the season is Sheffield United, who had just 2 points in the 2020/21 campaign, and they were relegated after finishing rock-bottom.

A change in management, which involved replacing Chris Wilder with Paul Heckingbottom, did not improve the situation for the Blades, but that switch came with ten matches remaining. Southampton have 22 games remaining to stave off relegation.

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