Sofiane Boufal’s sensational solo-run late into the second half ensured that Southampton secured their second victory of the season, against West Bromwich Albion.
Mauricio Pellegrino made one change to the side that drew against Newcastle United. Nathan Redmond made way for skipper Steven Davis. Fans immediately questioned whether there would be a lack of width within this Saints side.
Tony Pulis also named one change to his side following the 1-1 draw with Leicester which ultimately cost Craig Shakespeare his job. Ben Foster came in to replace Boaz Myhill. There was also a return to St Mary’s for Jay Rodriguez, who had signed for West Brom in the summer for a fee of £12m.
It was clear that West Brom came to St Mary’s playing for the draw, allowing Southampton to dominate possession and sit deep within their own half, but more frustratingly, at every opportunity, West Brom ‘keeper Ben Foster took as long as he could with every goal-kick and free-kick.
West Brom came close after just two minutes through Gareth Barry, whose distant shot wasn’t far off creeping into Fraser Forster’s near post.
Saints should’ve made it at least 1-0 after 25 minutes. Firstly, Virgil van Dijk managed to flick on Davis’s corner which found Oriol Romeu, but his shot went agonisingly wide and Van Dijk himself had a distant shot, which came very close.
Saints were quick on the counter attack too, as Manolo Gabbiadini ran from his own half into West Brom’s box, squaring the ball to Shane Long, but Long’s shot went wide, although it was at a tough angle.
Southampton continued to dominate chances throughout the second half, but a lack of width was clear, without Redmond or Boufal, there was no outlet out wide or support for Bertrand or Cedric, leaving them isolated and leaving Saints fans incredibly frustrated.
Former Saint Rodriguez had West Brom’s best chance of the game, as he was played through by Grzegorz Krychowiak, beating the offside trap, but his shot went closer to the corner flag than it did to Forster’s goal. A relief for Saints fans who would’ve felt hard done by.
Southampton had a penalty shout waved away as Dusan Tadic’s initial shot was saved by Foster, but as Tadic attempted to retrieve the ball for the re-bound, Foster seemed to grab Tadic’s knee, but referee Graham Scott saw nothing wrong.
Boufal’s main role this season has been as an impact substitute, and with five minutes of normal time left, he managed to swivel between two West Brom defenders before skipping past Jake Livermore, his agility got him past Nyom and Dawson, who comically collided with each other, dragged the ball beyond McAuley before beautifully placing the ball past Foster.
Southampton thoroughly deserved this victory against a typically frustrating West Brom side.
Next up for Southampton is a south-coast clash against Brighton and Hove Albion, who have just achieved their first away Premier League victory with a convincing 3-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium.
