Maddison scores twice as Spurs demolish sorry Saints thanks to first-half blitz

Ange Postecoglou basked in the divine intervention of his Sunday evening encounter with the suicidal Saints.

The Tottenham boss could hardly have asked for more. First, the spirited reaction from his senior players to his criticism after Thursday's draw at Rangers, and a late appearance from the bench by Timo Werner who took the brunt of it.

Five goals in the first half destroyed Southampton. James Maddison scored the first and the fifth. Heung-min scored once and claimed two assists, while Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr weighed in with one apiece.

There were also significant contributions from Lucas Bergvall, the Swedish teen on his first Premier League start, and from Djed Spence on his first Spurs start, two and a half years after signing from Middlesbrough for £12.5million.

There was an injury for Destiny Udogie, which Postecoglou could have done without but his night by the Solent was a whole lot more comfortable than it was for Saints boss Russell Martin.

The home team were downright awful in the first half, from the first goal scored in just 38 seconds to the fifth, scored in stoppage time in his absence because he had already disappeared down the tunnel.

The moment encapsulated the mess Southampton seem to be in. His players looking lost, picking the ball out of the net again to find their leader had given up and taken sanctuary in the dressing room.

He had already seen enough - and probably heard enough because his team's first-half capitulation was soundtracked by loud and persistent calls for him to go, from the home crowd, a banner held aloft to hammer home the point and a rendition of 'sacked in the morning' at the end.

Saints are rock bottom with only five points from their first 16 games. Martin led them back to the top-flight but his refusal to reconsider his approach to a pure passing style of football has turned fans against him.

It made for a night of protest, with Spurs fans going through their collection of songs against chairman Daniel Levy, but it made for welcome relief for Postecoglou after a run of one win in eight.

Maddison's goal inside a minute relieved much of Tottenham's stress. A delightful goal it was too, a passing move the length of the pitch featuring Bergvall, who collected a pass from goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Sarr and Spence, who threaded a nice pass to the goalscorer with the outside of his boot.

Maddison finished the chance confidently, driving it low past Alex McCarthy to complete the move and celebrated by throwing his imaginary darts. It was a sweeping move and yet Southampton had been sliced open with unfeasible ease.

Spurs fans celebrated with another chorus of dissent against Levy, who looked on from the directors' box. This had been the pre-match refrain from the away end, a sure-fire sign of a looming crisis.

They didn't let up when their team stretched clear with two goals in as many minutes. The first scored by Son after Maddison's cross had been flicked onto him at the back post by Saints defender Jan Bednarek.

This time it was the home fans who showed their anger in song, letting Martin know they wanted him and out and did not rate the football he was serving up this season. The joy of promotion is a fading memory in these parts.

Most feel his stubborn commitment to this passing style of football is tantamount to surrender in the relegation fight and it was difficult to argue as Spurs continued to cut through them.

Kulusevski made it 3-0, tapping in after Son's cross to Dominic Solanke spilled kindly.

The game was less than a quarter of an hour old, his team were three down and Martin hooked forward Kamaldeen Sulemana to send on another central defender and change his formation to a back five. Sulemana was clearly upset, shaken by the humiliation.

Sarr scored the fourth midway through the first half, latching onto a pass from Son and jinking past substitute Nathan Wood before finding the net with his left foot.

Tottenham lost left back Destiny Udogie, who appeared to suffer a muscle injury as he launched the move for Sarr's goal, which is a blow for Postecoglou, who travelled to St Mary's without nine first-teamers, but it did not change the momentum.

McCarthy made a series of saves from Son before he was beaten for the fifth time in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time with Martin having already disappeared down the tunnel.

Maddison scored it, his second of the night, jinking inside Wood on the byline and clipping a neat finish past McCarthy's left shoulder from an acute angle.

The only chance Southampton created in the first half came in the 40th minute and was fired wide at the near post by captain Adam Armstrong after good approach play by Tyler Dibling and a cross from Ryan Manning.

Saints were booed off and booed back on again. They did improve, mustered a few efforts at goal and Mateus Fernandes had a goal ruled out for offside but the damage was done and Spurs coasted through the second half.

Who can blame them? They are in the middle of a gruelling schedule with the squad creaking under the weight of absences. They face Manchester United in a Carabao Cup quarter final before leaders Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

Saints will entertain Liverpool in the cup on Wednesday and it looks a long way to May.