Tottenham Hotspur scored five goals in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time in their history as they thrashed bottom side Southampton 5-0 away on Sunday.

James Maddison scored twice, the first after 36 seconds and the second on the stroke of half-time, while Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr were also on target.

As Southampton imploded, many of their supporters left well before the break, although those who stayed saw their team at least recover some pride in the second half.

The win was a welcome boost for Spurs, who had taken just one point from their previous three league games. They moved up to 10th on 23 points from 16 games.

Southampton remain on five points and look destined for a swift return to the Championship, nine points adrift of safety.

Injury-hit Tottenham have looked fragile in recent weeks, winning just once in eight games in all competitions, and Southampton may have sensed an opportunity.

But from the moment Djed Spence's sublime pass found Maddison free to fire past Alex McCarthy, their confidence returned, although they were helped by a shocking first-half display from the Saints.

Son opened the scoring on 12 minutes when Southampton failed to clear a cross and minutes later the South Korean's through ball fell to Kulusevski, who slotted home from close range.

Sarr showed great footwork to control Son's pass and slot home Tottenham's fourth goal as the St Mary's crowd began to empty out.

Maddison scored his second in first-half stoppage time, latching onto Son's through ball and slotting into the top corner from a tight angle.

Spurs took their foot off the gas after the break and finished the game with four teenagers on the pitch as manager Ange Postecoglou made changes ahead of Thursday's League Cup quarter-final at home to Manchester United.

"It was outstanding by the players. We had a tough European game away on Thursday night," Postecoglou said, referring to the 1-1 draw away to Rangers in the Europa League. "We had 10 first-team players unavailable tonight and for the lads to come out with that much energy was great."