Tottenham dropped two precious points against 10-man Southampton on Tuesday as West Ham hammered Watford 4-1 to turn up the heat in the race for a coveted Premier League top-four spot.
Elsewhere on a truncated day of action due to coronavirus postponements, Crystal Palace cruised past bottom side Norwich 3-0, while Liverpool prepared to take on Leicester in the pick of the day’s matches.
Spurs are still unbeaten in the league since Antonio Conte took the helm early last month but they failed to make a man advantage count at St Mary’s, drawing 1-1.
Southampton took a deserved lead in the 25th minute with a stunning goal from James Ward-Prowse, who lashed home a first-time effort following a throw-in, leaving Hugo Lloris helpless.
Tottenham had failed to make the most of their limited openings but the game was turned on its head when Mohammed Salisu brought down Son Heung-min in the penalty area shortly before half-time.
Salisu was sent off for a second yellow card and Harry Kane made no mistake from the spot.
Kane had the ball in the net again early in the second half following a delightful floated pass from Harry Winks but the goal was ruled out for a marginal offside.
Tottenham had another goal disallowed after Southampton’s Fraser Forster spilled the ball under pressure, with referee Anthony Taylor judging that the goalkeeper had been fouled despite limited apparent contact.
The home side were on the ropes for most of the rest of the game but Spurs failed to find a killer touch and left the south coast frustrated.