Tottenham, like Chelsea, continue to excel when deploying a three-man defence formation

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Southampton 1

Tottenham: Eriksen (14'), Alli (33' pen)

Southampton: Ward-Prowse (52')

Man of the match: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)

LONDON // Antonio Conte has done more than anyone to popularise the 3-4-2-1 formation this season. Yet while Chelsea’s position at the top of the Premier League table makes them the system’s biggest success story in 2016/17, Tottenham Hotspur have also done extremely well when using the division’s in-vogue configuration.

Mauricio Pochettino first deployed the formation in a 2-1 victory over Watford last season, before returning to it for the trip to Arsenal in his side’s 11th match of this campaign.

The Argentine has often favoured a 4-2-3-1 since then, but 3-4-2-1 has become his team’s default set-up in recent weeks and was the shape in which Tottenham lined up during their 2-1 defeat of Southampton at White Hart Lane.

The pre-match talk had centred on whether the hosts would be able to cope without top scorer Harry Kane, who injured his ankle in last weekend’s 6-0 thrashing of Millwall in the FA Cup. Those doubts were dispelled over the course of the 90 minutes on Sunday as Tottenham made it 13 consecutive wins at home in domestic competitions.

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Just as Eden Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez have thrived as inside-forwards for Chelsea, Tottenham’s equivalents, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, were the match-winners here. They are clearly different players to their pacier, more direct counterparts at Stamford Bridge, but the pair have flourished in similar roles.

It was Eriksen who opened the scoring in the 14th minute, firing a left-footed effort past Fraser Forster into the bottom corner, before Alli doubled Tottenham’s advantage from the penalty spot later in the first half.

Eriksen’s strike demonstrated how difficult it can be for opponents to get a handle on players in his position in the 3-4-2-1. Working his way into a pocket of space, the Denmark international received a pass from Mousa Dembele, shifted the ball infield and arrowed a shot into the back of the net.

Eriksen varied his movement intelligently all afternoon, sometimes drifting wide but more regularly popping up in dangerous central positions between the lines of Southampton’s midfield and defence.

Alli was not quite as involved in a creative capacity and could often be found alongside Kane’s replacement Son Heung-min, with the duo occasionally operating as split strikers and Eriksen tucking in behind.

This type of fluidity served Tottenham well at the top of the pitch, although an uncharacteristic error from Toby Alderweireld allowed Southampton to regain a foothold in the game as James Ward-Prowse halved the deficit.

Tottenham were far from their best for much of the second period — possession was ceded too easily and Son struggled to get involved — but the benefits of the 3-4-2-1 were felt at the back too. For all Southampton’s pressure, they had trouble creating clear-cut chances, largely because they could not find a way around the home side’s three central defenders.

Claude Puel’s men managed only one shot on target after scoring in the 52nd minute, and that effort from Shane Long was comfortably saved by Hugo Lloris.

Perhaps anticipating a late Southampton onslaught, Pochettino switched to a 3-5-1-1 for the final 15 minutes, introducing Harry Winks in place of Son and pushing Alli up front.

This, however, will go down as another victory achieved in the 3-4-2-1, with Tottenham yet to taste defeat when using the system this season.

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