Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Southampton FC on 21 April 2021

Son Heung-min's late penalty capped a Tottenham fightback against Southampton that handed interim head coach Ryan Mason victory in his first match in charge.

Former Spurs midfielder Mason, the Premier League's youngest head coach at the age of 29, succeeded Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese was sacked on Monday.

He made a winning start to his tenure after Gareth Bale curled in a superb equaliser and then a late VAR intervention saw Son convert after a Moussa Djenepo foul on Harry Winks was shown to be just inside the penalty area.

Until Bale's composed finish on the hour mark the hosts had been second best to a slick Southampton side who went in front when Danny Ings glanced in James Ward-Prowse's corner.

With Harry Kane missing and still a doubt for Sunday's Carabao Cup final, Spurs were flat for long periods and appeared to have been affected by their tumultuous few days, with Mourinho departing fewer than 24 hours after the club announced they were to join a new European Super League.

Chairman Daniel Levy has since expressed regret over the "anxiety and upset" caused by the proposal, which has now collapsed following widespread condemnation.

Signs of that backlash were evident prior to kick-off as groups of Spurs supporters gathered outside their club's stadium calling for Levy and owners the ENIC group to leave the club.

Despite the unrest and an unsettling start to the week, this result moves Tottenham up to sixth - two points outside the top four - while the Saints remain 14th in the table.

Already out of the Europa League and having collected just five points from the last 15 available, Spurs came into this match in acute need of a victory to boost their hopes of finishing in the top four.

While they eventually got a result that suggested an immediate bounce from their managerial change, there was little urgency to their play in the first half and Mason will know a similar lethargy will be more heavily punished against Manchester City this weekend.

In fact, only the excellence of Hugo Lloris prevented the hosts from falling behind inside three minutes, with the France goalkeeper repelling Mohammed Salisu's header and reacting superbly to push Che Adams' follow up to safety.

Kane's absence also meant there was a distinct lack of leadership as well as cutting edge, despite Bale's reintroduction to the starting XI for the first time in over a month.

That lacklustre opening 45 minutes was epitomised by a wild Lucas Moura effort just before the break that flew well over the bar and ensured Spurs ended the first half without registering a shot on target in a top-flight home game for the first time this season.

They improved after the break and looked to have found a winner after 75 minutes when Son stroked home Sergio Reguilon's cut back.

However, a VAR review concluded Moura had obscured the view of Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from an offside position, but Son and Spurs were not to be denied with the South Korean making no mistake from the penalty spot in added time.

While Southampton appeared weary in Sunday's defeat to Leicester City, they quickly dispelled any ideas they might be suffering from a post FA Cup semi-final hangover.

Brimming with energy and benefitting from five changes made by boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, the Saints took control early on.

Nathan Tella's marauding run and cross from the left set the tone and should have been rewarded by an opening goal from either Salisu or Adams.

James Ward-Prowse, who drove his side forward at every opportunity, was the busiest player on the pitch as he covered nearly 12km, while Kyle Walker-Peters and Stuart Armstrong were also industrious.

But an evening that had started so promisingly began to go wrong after Ings appeared to tweak his hamstring attempting to curl a shot past Lloris.

The sight of Southampton's top goalscorer limping off was an invitation for Spurs to push forward, take control of the match and ultimately take all three points.

Tottenham interim manager Ryan Mason speaking to Sky Sports: "Fantastic - so proud of the boys. They had so much energy and bravery, especially after the first 20 to 30 minutes. Southampton came out of the blocks - they were good. We showed belief and stuck to the plan so full credit because the energy and commitment was great.

"Southampton built up momentum and Hugo [Lloris] pulled out some excellent saves early on. We had full control second half and we were creating chances.

"At half time it was about giving the players confidence. We've only had a short amount of time but for me the biggest thing was commitment, energy and bravery to do good things and express ourselves and take risks at times.

"Tonight was important for many things, the change in manager, a lot has gone on at the club in the last 48 hours and it was important to get back to winning ways. The performance and energy were outstanding."

Southampton boss Ralph Hassenhuttl speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "I can't say we had less energy than on Sunday. We still had a good game but were better today with the ball, we had a clearer plan and we had more movement and more chances. In the first half we had chances for three goals and scored one. It's not enough to score one goal because we always concede one - clean sheets are missing. The way we defended was not good enough.

"We have eight substitutes and normally should be able to replace him [Danny Ings] but today we couldn't really push our game with the subs and the opponents were stronger.

"If it's a foul it was a penalty. But I have seen the same thing in first half in the middle of the pitch and we didn't get a foul. It's hard to take but we have to."