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James Maddison lauded a “big night” for Tottenham after their 5-0 victory at Southampton built some much-needed momentum ahead of a crucial week for the club.
Spurs were without nine first-team players for the trip to St Mary’s, but produced a five-star display with three goals inside 14 minutes before adding another two before-half-time.
Maddison proved the catalyst for Tottenham to register a first win in six attempts with the opener after 36 seconds before he grabbed a second to take his tally for the season to seven.
It was a first triumph for the north London outfit since a 4-0 victory at Manchester City on November 23 where Maddison also scored twice, but – much like many of his team-mates – he has flattered to deceive since.
A run of one win in eight increased the external noise around the position of head coach Ange Postecoglou, but this result was the perfect boost before Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Manchester United and Sunday’s visit of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
“It was a big night for us,” Maddison told BBC’s Match of the Day.
“We had a poor loss away at Bournemouth and ended up losing at home to Chelsea, a draw with Rangers and you know what it’s like when you are a big team like Tottenham, you get fingers pointed at you and a lot of outside noise, external noise.
“So, make no mistake about that, that was a big night for us to go and win and we’ve struggled against the lesser teams a little bit.
“It was important and I’m really proud of the lads to come here and put in that performance to get three points. Hopefully it kickstarts a little bit of momentum.”
Postecoglou did not have a completely perfect night after left-back Destiny Udogie was forced off in the 28th minute.
However, the Spurs boss hoped it was only precautionary, which means Udogie could be fit enough to face United on Thursday.
Tottenham’s emphatic scoreline allowed Postecoglou to bring off captain Son Heung-min at half-time to manage his minutes before a big week and Yves Bissouma will also be available after a one-match suspension.
“He felt a bit tight in his quad,” Postecoglou said of Udogie.
“To be fair, he wanted to continue but we can’t take any risks at the moment, so we took him off (along) with Sonny.
“I don’t think it’s anything significant at this stage and more precautionary.”
