Two late goals in five minutes earned Southampton an incredible victory against Tottenham, whose top-four hopes took a nosedive.

James Ward-Prowse earned the win with a sensational free-kick from 25 yards to keep the Saints two points clear of the Premier League bottom three.

The midfielder’s strike came after calamitous defending allowed Southampton to draw level via Yan Valery, who pounced on Danny Rose’s mistake.

Victory seemed unlikely after a poor first half dominated by Spurs who took the lead when Harry Kane scored his 200th career goal.

But the incredible turnaround earned Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team a second consecutive home win – the first time Southampton have achieved that since December 2016.

James Ward-Prowse scored a stunning free-kick to earn the victory

Tottenham, whose manager Mauricio Pochettino was in the stands as part of his two-match touchline ban, remain third but, after losing a third league game in four, they now face the prospect of being caught by their rivals.

Manchester United, who were 13 points behind Spurs when Jose Mourinho was sacked as manager on 16 December, can move level on points with Spurs should they beat Arsenal on Sunday.

And if Chelsea win their two games in hand, they will go above Tottenham, who have already reached the last eight of this year’s Champions League, but face second-place Liverpool in their next game.

Hasenhuttl revels in crucial win
At the final whistle, Hasenhuttl joined his team for a huddle on the pitch as they celebrated their first comeback victory of the season.

No team has dropped more points from winning positions this season, underlined by a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford last Saturday, where they had led 1-0 and drew level with a Ward-Prowse free-kick.

But this time, the Saints midfielder’s strike proved crucial as he scored a sixth goal in nine appearances to lift Southampton up to 16th in the table – above Burnley, who face Liverpool on Sunday.

Credit must also go to midfielder Josh Sims, who, after his half-time introduction, played a pivotal role in turning around the game after Saints’ poor first half.

The home win was also a first over Tottenham since 2005, but more important was the lift it will give Hasenhuttl’s side at such an important stage of the season.

Tottenham implode as Pochettino watches from stands
Pochettino was cast as a bystander as he returned to his former employers and watched from the stands as his team unravelled in the second half.

That seemed an unlikely prospect in the first period when the visitors were in control, hitting the woodwork twice before Kane’s opener after Maya Yoshida fired against his own post and Christian Eriksen clipped the bar with a free-kick.

Dele Alli, who returned to the side after a seven-week injury absence, was a constant threat and set up Kane’s 24th goal of the season.

Part of the turnaround was because of Southampton’s extra impetus, provided by the excellent Sims, making his first appearance of the season after being on loan at Reading, and Shane Long, who also came on at the break but was taken off injured.

But Rose’s inexplicable mistake handed the hosts a welcome boost, and they never looked back as Stuart Armstrong strode forward in search of a winner only to be tripped by Kyle Walker-Peters, who was perhaps fortunate to only receive a yellow card.

That looked like a let-off, but with Ward-Prowse deadly from 25 yards out, he made Spurs pay.

The 24-year-old, who has earned a solitary England cap – against Germany in 2017 – could not have timed his form any better as Gareth Southgate gets set to announce his squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro later this month.

Source: BBC