In a game preceded by fan protests against Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, the hosts created the first meaningful chance against a Southampton side who knew their Premier League status was already in its death throes after Wolves’ victory yesterday.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper showcased his quick reactions to keep out Cristian Romero’s header from Pedro Porro’s corner, and just moments later, Porro made a decisive intervention at the opposite end of the pitch to divert Kamaldeen Sulemana’s close-range effort against the upright.
The Southampton attacker was made to rue that missed opportunity when Brennan Johnson fired Tottenham into a 13th-minute lead, blasting a left-footed shot into the top corner after being teed up by Djed Spence’s precise cut-back.
Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall then thought he had opened his Premier League account, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside against Romero’s knockdown following a lengthy VAR review.
However, the technology could not deny Johnson a second goal shortly before the break, as the Wales international produced a classy finish to slot past Ramsdale from James Maddison’s looping header.
After taking a commanding lead into the interval, Ange Postecoglou’s side were unable to match their intensity from the first half in the second period, as their focus started to drift towards preserving energy for their upcoming UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
With that said, they still threatened to pile the misery on the Saints, with Dominic Solanke forcing Ramsdale to dive at full stretch to keep out his driven strike.
The visitors were then given late hope when Mateus Fernandes fired past Guglielmo Vicario after calmly bringing the ball down on his chest.
However, that hope was soon extinguished by Mathys Tel’s stoppage-time penalty following Welington’s clumsy challenge, condemning relegated Saints to their sixth defeat in seven league games, leaving them still requiring one point to avoid equalling the worst-ever PL points tally.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur)