Thursday 29 December 2016 08:33, UK
Dele Alli struck twice as Tottenham battled from a goal down to beat 10-man Southampton 4-1 on Wednesday night and claim their first away victory since September.
Southampton took the lead in the Premier League clash at St Mary's through Virgil van Dijk's header after just 69 seconds, but Spurs levelled when Alli rose above the Saints goalscorer 17 minutes later.
Harry Kane then scored the game's third header after the break before thrashing a penalty over the bar in an incident which saw Nathan Redmond sent off.
Substitute Heung-Min Son (85) and a second from Alli (87) wrapped up the victory late on to ensure Spurs remain just one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
Spurs headed to Southampton on the back of two straight wins, but had failed to win any of their last eight games away from home in all competitions.
The hosts got off to a flyer, netting the fourth fastest goal in the league this season when Van Dijk rose above Jan Vertonghen to head home from James Ward-Prowse's free-kick.
It almost got better for Saints after 16 minutes, but Redmond flashed a shot narrowly wide with Hugo Lloris beaten.
Moments later, Spurs responded through Alli, who latched onto Moussa Sissoko's deflected cross to direct a terrific header into the top corner after beating Van Dijk in the air.
Victor Wanyama almost handed Spurs the lead, but Jose Fonte's brilliant block ensured the sides headed into the break all-square.
Seven minutes into the second half, Kane claimed his 22nd league goal of 2016 after powering a header beyond Fraser Forster following Christian Eriksen's corner.
Shortly after, referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after Redmond was adjudged to have fouled Alli, who had managed to send a shot wide while going to ground.
Dean went on to show Redmond a red card before Kane stepped up to take the spot-kick - but the England international blazed his effort over, with the ball visibly rising on the turf as he planted his standing foot next to it.
Despite the miss, Spurs went from strength to strength against the 10 men of Southampton, with Eriksen rattling an effort against the bar.
Spurs then hit Saints on the counter, with a long ball from Eriksen finding Son, who finished neatly into the far corner to send the visitors two-clear.
Alli capped off the victory with his second of the night, placing the ball beyond Forster after Danny Rose played him through on goal.
Spurs travel to face Watford on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.30pm, while Southampton - who stay down in eighth - host West Brom on Saturday.
Player Ratings
Southampton: Forster (5), Cedric (6), Fonte (6), van Dijk (7), Bertrand (6), Ward-Prowse (7), Romeu (6), Davis (6), Boufal (6), Rodriguez (5), Redmond (5)
Subs: Tadic (6), Hojberg (5), Long (5)
Tottenham: Lloris (6), Walker (7), Dier (7), Vertonghen (6), Rose (8), Wanyama (8), Dembele (7), Sissoko (7), Eriksen (7), Alli (8), Kane (7)
Subs: Winks (6), Son (7), Janssen (6)
Man of the match: Dele Alli
