Ralph Hasenhuttl unhappy with gap in quality between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur smashed Southampton by a 4-1 score line on Saturday in a game where they trailed after just 12 minutes. The resilience Antonio Conte’s side showed after going behind has surprised Ralph Hasenhuttl.
James Ward-Prowse’s opening goal of the game meant Spurs had their backs against the wall very early on. However, it took around 10 minutes for them to respond, with Ryan Sessegnon heading in the equaliser from Dejan Kulusevski’s cross.
From there, the game looked one-sided. Spurs were bombarding Southampton’s box and it was only a matter of time before Tottenham took the lead.
That they did around the half-hour mark via a deft header from Eric Dier. According to the Saints boss after the game (h/t HampshireLive), the gap in quality between the two sides was evident, especially after Spurs’ opening goal.
“I didn’t want to say that the full first half was good. It felt a little bit like the opponent switched to the next gear and we cannot follow. After the first 20 minutes or something like that.”
The second half that followed saw two more goals being scored by the Lilywhites. An own goal followed by a deserved goal for our Swedish winger meant the result was in no doubt.
“This was frustrating to see how big the gap is between these two teams to be honest because after the first goal you had the feeling that they were absolutely in the game and then they smashed us with crosses and we couldn’t defend in a way that we wanted to do.”
Conte’s plan with his full-backs worked perfectly in the attacking sense.
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