Tottenham Hotspur began life in the Premier League without head coach Andre Villas-Boas by winning 3-2 away at Southampton this afternoon.

Adam Lallana put hosts Southampton in front early on, but Emmanuel Adebayor soon cancelled that out, and after the restart Jos Hooiveld put through his own net to give Spurs the lead.

Rickie Lambert restored parity a few minutes later, but Adebayor's second of the match sealed all three points for the visiting North Londoners.

Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the contest to determine if the result was a fair one.

Match statistics:

Southampton:
Shots 11
On target 5
Possession 57%
Corners 2
Fouls 10

Spurs:
Shots 13
On target 3
Possession 43%
Corners 5
Fouls 18

Was the result fair?

The statistics above will have you believe that it was a close match, and by and large that's what it was. In truth, though, Spurs were more effective in the final third of the pitch and had some very good chances to win by an even greater margin, while after they had fallen 3-2 behind, the hosts didn't create too much of note. For those reasons, Spurs were just about deserving victors.

Southampton's performance

Disappointing would probably be the best word to use. They started well enough, with Lallana pulling the strings from his advanced midfield role. He was on top of his game throughout, but some of his teammates, such as Jay Rodriguez, were quiet. While that can be put down to a bad day, what will be concerning Mauricio Pochettino is the fact that his team have gone from having one of the Premier League's tightest defences, to one that looks like it is going to concede two or three goals a game. As mentioned earlier, Spurs had very decent chances to extend their lead.

Spurs' performance

Tim Sherwood was bold with his attacking formation and even bolder to keep faith with Adebayor. Thankfully for the interim boss, the Togo striker repaid the belief that was shown in him. It was more like the Spurs of old today in that they attacked with pace and purpose, as well as having at least three or four players in and around the penalty area, rather than just Roberto Soldado, who has cut a forlorn figure in recent weeks. Going forward they will need to alter the personnel in midfield because it was bordering on suicide football at times, but when Sandro returns from injury and Paulinho from suspension, that is something you would expect to happen.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Emmanuel Adebayor: The frontman has always been gifted - that is rarely ever argued. His attitude, though, often leaves a lot to be desired. Fair play to him today because he made the most of his chance by scoring two goals, both of which came with very composed finishes. He would have also ended up with an assist or two had Soldado been able to match his exploits in front of goal.

Biggest gaffe

Take your pick from any of the three chances that Soldado missed in the space of four second-half minutes. He certainly should have scored the first two from close range, but the Spaniard even failed to hit the target with both of them. He's a striker in desperate need of a goal right now.

Referee performance

Southampton and Spurs are not what you would describe as physical sides, so it was always going to be a relatively straightforward afternoon for Chris Foy in terms of fouls and cards. What he did do well was allow the game to flow by enforcing the advantage rule whenever possible.

What next?

Southampton: On Boxing Days the Saints will be on the road to Welsh outfit Cardiff City.

Spurs: The North Londoners return to home comforts on the same day when West Bromwich Albion visit White Hart Lane.