Tough battle ... Arouna Kone holds off Spurs captain William Gallas. Source: AFP
Ben Watson's goal early in the second-half was enough for Wigan Athletic to claim a surprise 1-0 win over below-par Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
A second away win of the season for Roberto Martinez's side was completely deserved as Spurs struggled to make the most of a positive start and had to listen to the jeers of their own fans for long spells of the game.
Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas conceded the defeat was their worst performance of the season.
Villas-Boas had no complaints with the result, admitting that Wigan were the better side and deserved the three points.
"I think they were the better team today," said Villas-Boas.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man United | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 24 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 3 | Man City | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Everton | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 15 |
| 7 | Fulham | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| 8 | West Ham | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| 9 | West Brom | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | -2 | 13 |
| 11 | Swansea | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 12 | Wigan | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -5 | 11 |
| 13 | Liverpool | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -2 | 10 |
| 14 | Norwich | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -10 | 10 |
| 15 | Stoke | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | -2 | 9 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | -3 | 9 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -6 | 9 |
| 18 | Reading | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 4 |
| 19 | Southampton | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -12 | 4 |
| 20 | QPR | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | -11 | 3 |
"They were extremely well organised and I think credit to them for the difficulties they created for us.
"For sure it was our worst performance of the season. I think we have the right to have a bad day in the office and I think today was an example of that.
"Credit to the opponent, we had difficulties because we were always under pressure. They managed to organise themselves very, very well and were aggressive in recovery of the ball.
"We went through the first half where we did not have any chances at the goal and they had two good chances to go ahead before us.
"They were superior during the 90 minutes and we make a reflection on the mistakes we did as it is very important if you want to move on in the future."
Martinez praised the determined mentality of his side and says he could not have asked for more from their display.
"It was a perfect team performance," said Martinez.
"The performance was as good as it gets away from home. I thought the concentration of every player was magnificent and more than anything the mentality.
"That's probably the most pleasing aspect, not the result - because obviously that's what we wanted - but the manner of the result. The performance was as good as it gets away from home.
"I thought the concentration of every player was magnificent and more than anything the mentality.
"To win at home then come here and show that intent of wanting the three points is probably the most pleasing aspect of this game.
"It's important that we keep creating chances and showing that team mentality of keeping a clean sheet."
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