Ange Postecoglou was under a lot of pressure at Tottenham heading into Sunday’s clash against Southampton.
The Australian had overseen a run of three Premier League games without a win – and five matches in all competitions without victory – before a Southampton side rooted to the bottom of the table awaited.
While pressure would have intensified significantly on Ange Postecoglou had the Saints won, he instead watched his Spurs side hammer Russell Martin’s men, taking a 5-0 lead going into the interval.
Tottenham eventually eased off in the second half, although despite that, Premier League history was made in the opening 45 minutes regardless.
The record Tottenham broke against Southampton
Thanks to two goals from James Maddison, as well as strikes from Heung-min Son, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr, Tottenham scored five in the first half of the Premier League game for the first time ever.
Now, that is some way to respond after a run of five games in all competitions without a win.
Of course, Tottenham still have issues when it comes to consistency – not since September have they managed to win consecutive games in the Premier League – but this display at St Mary’s was a hugely positive sign.
It will also – hopefully – help to launch the careers of Djed Spence and Lucas Bergvall, who has been compared to Jude Bellingham, at Tottenham, with both starring in this emphatic victory.
Another small record Spurs broke
In going 4-0 up against Southampton after just 25 minutes, Tottenham set another, very specific, record.
It was the earliest any Spurs side in Premier League history had gone 4-0 up, another sign that the north Londoners set out to silence their current doubters in highly efficient fashion.