Southampton came out on top in a fiery affair that saw The Saints beat AFC Bournemouth 2-0 thanks to goals from Steven Davis and Graziano Pelle; however it was not as simple as it should have and could have been for Ronald Koeman’s men.
The Saints were looking to beat the visitors in their first Premier League match against The Cherries in the club’s history and they carried out the task accordingly.
Ronald Koeman decided to leave the team unchanged from Southampton’s 1-1 away draw against Liverpool, and it seems as though consistency is the key for Koeman and his team this season who find themselves in 7th place after the victory on Sunday afternoon.
Bournemouth set out fairly defensively, as The Saints had the large majority of the ball throughout the first half; controlling the game and shutting The Cherries out of the game completely. There were no real clear cut chances in the opening stages of the game, but Sadio Mane came close to opening the scoring for Southampton with an audacious attempt at a half volley from a Graziano Pelle nod down for the Senegal man, however Mane found the top of the net instead of the back of the net.
Southampton’s pressure and patience was rewarded just after the half hour mark, as Steven Davis bagged his second of the season for The Saints. Jordy Clasie picked out Graziano Pelle with an excellently weighted forward pass from 35 yards out to find the Italian, before Pelle executed a perfect flick on around the outside of the Bournemouth defence to find the oncoming Ryan Bertrand who’s powerful running down the left hand side was rewarded. Bertrand fired across a first-time ball in which was beyond the reach of Adam Federici in the Bournemouth goal, to find Steven Davis who vollied home from close range to give Southampton the lead.
It took just six minutes for Southampton to double their advantage against the Cherries which came from yet another well worked goal from The Saints, finished brilliantly by the prolific Graziano Pelle. Coming back into the side after being rested against Aston Villa mid-week, Dusan Tadic was once again the supplier for Pelle, with the pair’s attacking threat and partnership developing game by game. Dusan Tadic was able to beat his marker on the left hand side with excellent trickery to make an opening for himself out wide. Tadic’s high cross was met by the head of Graziano Pelle who rose above Sylvain Distin at the heart of the Bournemouth defence to power the ball past the helpless Federici to extend the Saints’ lead to 2-0.
Chances were very rare for Bournemouth in the first half, but when Glenn Murray found himself in a good position inside the Southampton box; Virgil van Dijk was quickest to react to the threat posed by the Bournemouth striker with a fantastic block after sliding in to prevent The Cherries getting a foothold in the game. It was clear throughout the game that Eddie Howe’s side simply lacked a cutting edge and the ability to make the most of the few chances that presented themselves for Bournemouth.
However, the second half was totally different to the first for both sides. It was Bournemouth that had the majority of the possession and who controlled the game, playing some very good football but struggling to break Southampton down due to good defending from the home side as well as a lack of clinical finishing from The Cherries.
In the 77th minute, Victor Wanyama received his first red card for Southampton after referee Craig Pawson deemed a challenge on Lee Tomlin as a second bookable offence. This put The Saints under a lot of pressure in the closing stages, despite being 2-0 up, however their job was made more difficult by the dismissal of Victor Wanyama who is now ruled out of Southampton’s trip to Sunderland next Saturday.
The victory takes Southampton up to 7th place in the league, the place in which they finished last season, and leaves Bournemouth in a dangerously low 17th.
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