In an exciting afternoon of Premier League football, Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at St. Mary’s.
The match was a pulsating affair in the first-half before a red card for Mohamed Salisu made it into an intense attack vs defence showdown in the second period as Saints held on for a hard-fought point.
Despite being denied a second successive victory, the draw does mean that Antonio Conte could make history as the first-ever Spurs manager to remain unbeaten across his first seven Premier League games in charge.
Conte drew his first game 0-0 with Everton, then saw his side win three on the spin before an impressive 2-2 draw with what was a dominant Liverpool side. They beat Crystal Palace 3-0 on Boxing Day and the draw at St. Mary’s means they head into 2022 in solid form.
“A true captain for this club”
James Ward-Prowse scores a stunner as 10-man Southampton hold Spurs 1-1.
By @muhammadbutthttps://t.co/D0l4j0FWiw
— Squawka (@Squawka) December 28, 2021
However the draw also meant that a decade-long Southampton streak persisted. The Saints have not won their final league game of the calendar year since they beat Huddersfield 4-1 in League One, all the way back in 2010.
In the intervening 11 years there has not been one occasion where Southampton have ended the year with a win, drawing six times (including today) and losing five times. The closest they came to getting a victory was in 2012 when they headed into the 89th minute 2-3 up away to Stoke; but then a 30-yard thunderbolt from Cameron Jerome in the 90th minute ensured the match ended 3-3.
It’s not a very festive record to have, but is one Saints will hope to finally end in a year’s time.
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