Christian Eriksen has struck just before half time to give Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 lead over Southampton at White Hart Lane.
Jan Vertonghen almost put the home side ahead after four minutes when he rose unmarked at a corner to head the ball goalwards, but Ryan Bertrand cleared the ball off the line.
Southampton slowly grabbed a foothold in the game and Morgan Schneiderlin saw his goalbound effort blocked by Vertonghen after good work by Sadio Mane on the wing.
It took until the 26th minute before either goalkeeper was forced into a meaningful save, and it came from a powerful Erik Lamela strike, which Fraser Forster did well to push away.
Forster was called into action once more to tip away Eriksen's dipping strike in the 36th minute, but there was nothing he could do to prevent the opener.
Emmanuel Adebayor and Nacer Chadli combined on the left flank to set up Eriksen, who drilled a shot into the corner of the net to put the hosts one goal ahead at the break.
Chadli almost made it 2-0 in the final minute of the half, but he clipped the inside of the post with a measured effort.
Kristian Johnson
