Crystal Palace 0-1 Southampton: Match recap

Southampton secured their first away win of the season this afternoon, with an early Steven Davis goal separating the sides.

After just one goal from open play so far this season, Southampton finally secured all three points after three games in all competitions without a win.

Crystal Palace, who were managed by Roy Hodgson for the first time, have now suffered the worst start to a season in Premier League history, with no goals and five straight losses leaving them firmly at the foot of the table.

In truth the Saints could’ve easily scored two or three, with a dominant midfield performance from the side’s trio of Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis and Mario Lemina. The latter was particularly impressive, succeeding in over 90 percent of his passes and having more touches of the ball than anyone else.

Fraser Forster was also on form as the Saints, making two key saves among other impressive bits of play in his own box. The stopper had been subject of a lot of scrutiny following his performance against Watford.

The game also featured a Southampton return for Virgil van Dijk, who came on as a late subsitute for Dusan Tadic. The win takes Southampton up to fifth with the majority of teams around them yet to play.

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Saints started the game off in a lively fashion, with Mario Lemina instantly bossing the midfield as Pellegrino’s side game out of the gates much quicker than the hosts.

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In just the sixth minute, Dusan Tadic – who enjoyed a much better afternoon – forced a save out of Wayne Hennessey at his near post, however the rebound only fell nicely to Steven Davis. It was the captain’s 200th appearance for the Saints, as he too produced a much stronger performance.

The Northern-Irishman’s take was a side-footed poke into the far corner, with his marker Yohan Cabaye nowhere to be seen.

With Mario Lemina beating men left, right and centre and Nathan Redmond enjoying room to cut in, the Saints had a dominant first half, with Christian Benteke’s close-range effort the only real chance the home side had.

In the second 45, Hodgson’s side enjoyed a stronger performance, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek giving Southampton’s midfield the best run for their money.

Southampton continued to play well on the front foot, with Shane Long enjoying a solid game doing the basic stuff – hold up play, chasing balls, bringing other players into the match.

Alongside Virgil, James Ward-Prowse and Manolo Gabbiadini also made substitute appearances as the Saints took their points tally up to eight for the season.