Yahoo Sport 
5 talking points from Tottenham's 5-2 victory over Southampton
Harry Kane scored a second consecutive hat-trick as Tottenham thrashed Southampton 5-2 at Wembley. Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son were also on target for Spurs while Sofiane Boufal and Dusan Tadic replied for the Saints. Here are five talking points:
Kane smashes Alan Shearer’s record and passes Lionel Messi’s tally with second successive hat-trick
Tottenham’s fans arrived at Wembley hoping to see their marvellous striker secure a hard-earned piece of Premier League history and break a long-standing record. They were not disappointed.
When Kane scored his treble at Burnley on Saturday, he equalled Alan Shearer’s total of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year, set all the way back in 1995. Just one more was needed today to give Kane the record in his own right.
He did not have to wait long – there were just 22 minutes on the clock when Kane headed home.
Tottenham v Southampton – how the Boxing Day clash unfolded
READ MORE: Kane hits treble as he eclipses Shearer and Messi records
READ MORE: Harry Kane – the 2017 goal machine
Still he was not content. That goal left had left with level with Lionel Messi on 54 goals for club and country in 2017 – and the Spurs forward promptly moved ahead of the Argentinian as well, netting again in the 39th minute.
By half-time he had secured his place as the top-scoring player in Europe over the last 12 months and was closing in on a second successive hat-trick – which duly arrived in the 67th minute.
Kane deserves every plaudit going, but he must have been pleasantly surprised at just how easy a woeful Southampton side made it for him, and his team-mates.
The Saints had come closer than most to avoiding defeat at Manchester City, conceding an injury-time winner, and they then held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw on the south coast earlier this month before narrowly losing 1-0 at Chelsea.
Spurs would expected a similarly tricky encounter, but this was a walk in the park.
Dele Alli gets his elusive goal while setting up another two
After a mixed and inconsistent first half to the season, the 21-year-old has been putting in some improved performances lately.
Alli won the early penalty at Burnley before setting up Kane’s third goal as well, and he was highly productive again here today.
It was he who dissected the Saints’ defence and freed Heung-Min Son to tee up Kane’s second goal, and he then scored the third himself with a low, curling effort from the edge of the box before also setting up both of the final two strikes for Son and Kane.
Alli’s own goal was his first in 11 matches and, with an additional four assists in two games, he is going into 2018 in ever-improving form.
Serge Aurier starts a second successive match
Mauricio Pochettino was employing a strict rotation policy up until the trip to Manchester City, selecting each of his full-backs in alternate games.
But he changed things up at the Etihad, picking Danny Rose for a second successive match. And, although the Argentinian then made changes on both flanks for the following match at Burnley – bringing in Aurier and Ben Davies – he produced another surprise today, naming Aurier in his line-up while leaving Kieran Trippier on the bench for the second game in a row.
READ MORE: Kane strikes to shatter Shearer’s 22-year-old Premier League record
Spurs’ festive schedule is not particularly busy – they had a full week off before Saturday’s trip top Burnley and they now have another clear seven days before they visit Swansea, so there was less need for rotation than usual.
With that in mind, it is interesting that Pochettino has decided to call upon Aurier in both of these matches.
The Argentinian’s rotation policy means it is often difficult to assess who is the ‘first choice’ in their position, but it seems Aurier may have crept ahead of Trippier in that regard, and justifiably so.
While the Ivorian’s goal against Brighton was a total fluke, he has consistently been creating good chances. Meanwhile, Trippier’s last outing at Man City was pretty disastrous as he was repeatedly beaten by Leroy Sane.
Aurier is still prone to defensive errors and he was largely at fault for Southampton’s first goal today, with his diving header leaving him out of position in a central area, with no-one in the right-back spot.
But he also had bright moments coming forward – especially a neat exchange of passes and touches with Son.
After a gradual adaptation to life at Tottenham, the hope will be that Aurier finds another level and greater consistency in 2018.
Rose shows glimpses of returning to his best
Like Aurier, Rose has started three of the last four matches, most notably getting the nod ahead of Ben Davies for the trip to Manchester City.
It all suggests he has moved ahead of the Welshman in the pecking order too – and, again, he probably merits that status.
Davies has been unable to maintain the form he showed at the start of the season, and his lack of pace has become an issue again, particularly going forward.
Meanwhile, Rose has not been at his best either, having returned from his long-term knee injury. The competition between the left-backs has probably not been as strong recently as many would have hoped.
Rose has often looked short of fitness, lacking the acceleration and pace that made him such a threat before his injury.
Yet it was he who laid the groundwork for the opening goal against Southampton too, attacking down the left flank in familiarly ambitious fashion before cutting between two players and winning a free kick inches outside the box. It was from that free kick that Kane scored his opener.
Rose set up another chance for Kane in the second half with a crossfield ball over the top, teeing up a low volley. And, in the final stages, he was still rushing upfield at every opportunity, while still doing his defensive work.
It was another positive individual performance in the Spurs ranks today, and it bodes well for the second half of the season – assuming Rose remains at the club into February – even if there is plenty of room for improvement for the left-back.
Corner practice still needed
This was a wholly positive day for Tottenham yet they will still rue the fact they conceded two goals in a game where they were utterly dominant.
The second strike was particularly irritating as it came from a corner – an area where Spurs have been vulnerable recently, and one they surely would have been working on.
While Hugo Lloris initially saved well from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, he punched weakly at the following set piece, allowing Dusan Tadic to lob him from the edge of the box.
It had been a similar story in the 5-1 home win over Stoke, when Lloris had also attacked the ball at a corner but failed to do so convincingly, and conceded.
This was the fourth goal Tottenham have conceded from a corner in six league games. And, while it did not matter much today, a similar set piece could cost them points in future.
Follow me on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs and visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BenPearceSpurs/
