Jan Vertonghen talked us through the mentality of playing with 10 men after the team recovered from Serge Aurier’s sending off on the half-hour to beat Southampton on Saturday.
The central defender produced a faultless display alongside Toby Alderweireld as we held on for a vital 2-1 victory in the Premier League at the new stadium.
Leading 1-0 via Tanguy Ndombele’s strike, the tide turned when Serge received two yellow cards in quick succession and then Southampton levelled when Danny Ings caught Hugo Lloris in possession in the six-yard box.
Crucially, we hit back almost immediately through Harry Kane’s goal following a superb counter-attack and it was down to the 10 men’s defensive structure and resolve – plus two world-class saves from Hugo – to keep Southampton at bay.
So, what was it like to play with 10 men for an hour in the Premier League? “It’s tough, mentally it makes you stronger,” said Jan. “It’s a strange phenomenon, teams with 10 men, they dig in deep and it brings you together.
“Maybe this is what we needed. We also created a couple of nice chances but from the front to the back, everyone fought so hard and it’s a big win for us. This win means a lot. We deserved it. We started well, had a bit of bad luck but yes, extremely happy with the win.”
As for Southampton's goal and Hugo's recovery, Jan added: "We always try to play out from the back, Hugo had that in his mind and didn’t see the first solution. He tried and that’s what we want.
"We want to play out from the back and if the goalkeeper makes a mistake it’s nearly always a goal but if you see the saves he made after that... Hugo, mentally he's so strong and the same for Serge, he’s aggressive and that’s how we want to be. Today it meant a red card and a goal against us, but the win is for these guys."