Russell Martin leaves down the tunnel as Southampton fans stream out against Tottenham
Image credit: Getty Images
Southampton fans were left piling for the St Mary's exits as Tottenham Hotspur raced into a 5-0 lead in their Premier League clash on Sunday - live on TNT Sports and [discovery+](https://get.discoveryplus.com/gb/watch-tnt-sports-on-discoveryplus?utm_campaign=UK-TNT-D1-TNT-C7-TNT-BAU-DR-W-Football-ChampionsLeague-240101-NA&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tntsports.co.uk&utm_content=story-content-text-subscribe&vid=5jnqm1evcbdd3r5r&cid=0ee1b05714eadfd3193bf34fbc4e5980&c=%7B%22875074%22%3A%221089459%22%2C%221086912%22%3A%221348017%22%2C%221284295%22%3A%221592332%22%2C%221286521%22%3A%221595043%22%7D).
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou and Saints manager Russell Martin came into the clash under pressure after poor runs of form, but the visitors quickly shook off their recent woes by racing into a 4-0 lead inside 25 minutes.
James Maddison was on the scoresheet within the opening minute, while Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski put the result beyond doubt by the 14th - as boos already began to ring around the Saints' home.
The slow start prompted Saints boss Martin into an unprecedented early substitution. The under-pressure coach opted for a narrow four-at-the-back set-up for the Spurs clash, but quickly reverted to his favoured three, with forward Kamaldeen Sulemana visibly incensed at his early withdrawal for defender Nathan Wood.
And the visitors established a four-goal cushion by the 25th minute, as Pape Matar Sarr found space in the box to unleash a strike. It proved to be the breaking point for many of those in the ground, who began to desert the 32,384-seater.
Goading chants of "is there a fire drill" began to emerge from the away end, populated by a jubilant contingent of Spurs supporters - as they saw their side continue to foray forward and dampen the hosts' evening further.
"They look shocked," TNT Sports expert Joe Cole said. "People are leaving the ground around us. They still look engaged in the game, but they have to get up to Spurs.
"It's like a training game, they're five yards off. Every aspect, he's tried to tweak it around, but it's still the same.
"No intensity, and I just think this could be a very long night for Southampton and Russell Martin. If it carries on like this, I wouldn't like to guess what the score could be."
On TNT Sports commentary, Darren Fletcher added: "I must say this is as lopsided a 28 minutes of Premier League football I've seen for some time.
"I'm struggling to think back to when I saw a team as disconnected, as poor as this. Can't think of another way to describe it."
Southampton managed to stave off another wave of Spurs attacks until moments before the interval, when Maddison capitalised on yet more slack defending by firing into the top corner from a narrow angle.
Some heads may well have turned towards the technical area to see how Saints boss Martin digested the final nail in the first-half coffin, but they would not have found him.
The under-pressure boss remarkably missed the fifth goal after heading off to the dressing room early - presumably preparing to give his squad a piece of his mind.
And despite their discontent in the first half, Southampton fans were in fine voice to support their team after the break - as they looked to chip away at a result which was already well beyond doubt.
For a club that holds unwanted Premier League records of 9-0 defeats to Manchester United and Leicester City, the first half against Spurs may not even rank among their worst-ever showings in the English top-flight.
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