Southampton 4-1 Everton: Match recap
By Jack Deery
Southampton put in their best performance of the season so far, with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over strugglers Everton in a, finally, exciting display on the south coast.
The Saints started the game in a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, with Hojbjerg, Austin and Ward-Prowse coming into the starting XI in a side that is different from any eleven we have seen this season.
The game was massive for both teams. Both on a terrible run of form and in a dangerous position in the Premier League table. A win for either teams would be a big gain.
Mauricio Pellegrino’s men started the game comfortably and confidently, trying to put Everton on the back foot from the first minute and were playing some attractive and positive football.
A James Ward-Prowse free kick from the right hand side in the 4th minute caused a problem for Everton when it bounced off Phil Jagielka, but it was comfortable enough for Pickford to gather.
The home side continued to press though and on seven minutes Charlie Austin really should have done better to find the target after Van Dijk’s knock down from a Saints corner. They continued to dominate and just four minutes later Austin went close once again, hitting the outside of the right post after some good play down the right hand side.
On his first Premier League start this season, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg started to control the midfield and connecting well with Boufal, Tadic and Ward-Prowse in front of him. On 18 minutes, Everton had a rare attack down the right, however some excellent defending from Boufal and a great one-two between Hojbjerg and Bertrand which sent the latter through to put the ball on a plate for Dusan Tadic who put Saints 1-0 up.
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Everton continued to struggle to get a hold on the ball for the rest of the half and Saints continued to create chances down both sides with Cedric and Ryan Bertrand looking particularly dangerous.
As the first half came to a close, Gylfi Sigurdsson managed to turn into some space and hit a looping shot that hit the crossbar and went down over the line. Southampton 1-1 Everton.
It could have been easy for Everton to gain momentum and for Southampton to roll over after the goal, however it was quite the opposite. The Reds began the second half the same way they had played in the first. In the first few minutes, Southampton conjured up a half chance when some good football from Bertrand and Boufal found it’s way to Ward-Prowse, whose long distance shot was blocked before it reached the Everton net.
Just a few minutes later, an excellent cross from Bertrand gave him a second assist when Charlie Austin netted his first open-play goal of the season with a good header. Just six minutes later, a similar move, but Tadic taking the place of Bertrand, saw Austin score another header and give Saints a two-goal advantage.
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A dominant and excellent performance from Hojbjerg saw him constantly breaking up play and playing simple but effective passes to put Saints on the front foot. Also, a comfortable performance by the back four was made easier by Everton’s lack of attacking intent.
It was a very different performance from what Saints fans are used to this season with the creative attacking players creating a number of chances that might have gone in on another day.
There was a welcome return for Mario Lemina after a few weeks out and Saints went on to add the final nail in the coffin. Steven Davis received the ball on the edge of the box and hit a great strike which flew into the side netting of the goal. Southampton 4-1 Everton.
A superb performance from Saints which has been a long time coming.