Swansea City 0-1 Southampton: Saints get vital three points in survival bid

On a tense evening in south Wales, a late Manolo Gabbiadini strike was enough to see Southampton go three points clear of the drop zone with just one game to go.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Italian’s scrambled effort over the line could just be enough to see the Saints remain in the Premier League for another season, as they won a true relegation six-pointer this evening.

Gabbiadini came off the bench as an enforced change after Jan Bednarek had to be taken off through a suspected head injury after colliding with his own goalie in Alex McCarthy,

Swansea had impressive spells throughout and the Saints stopper was called into action on more than one occasion, producing a handful of magnificent saves with one comparable to his world-class effort against Everton at the weekend.

The result means the Saints have 36 points from 37 games, enough to see them sit 16th ahead of both the Swans and Huddersfield. The former could easily escape the drop as they face the already-relegated Stoke at the weekend whilst the Terriers’ remaining two games are against Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.

Next: Everton 1-1 Saints: Three key players

With Nathan Redmond and Jack Stephens coming in for the Saints, the match was a tense affair with the Swans arguably dominating the opening proceedings – Sam Clucas saw a glancing header go just wide before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sent Charlie Austin through but the latter’s shot was straight at Fabianski.

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The ex-QPR striker was again active in the first half, as after another spell of Swans pressure the away side broke away and a flicked-on cross found Austin, who’s stinging volley was once again too close to Swansea’s goalie.

The second half proved to be much livelier with both side’s knowing that a draw would be too risky a result to take into the final day of the season. Jordan Ayew remained dangerous thanks to his superior dribbling whilst Ki Seung Yung was a constant threat from dead-balls and crosses into the area.

Having already brought on Shane Long, Mark Hughes was forced to bring on Gabbiadini for Jan Bednarek around the hour mark, at which point the Saints became dynamic and attacking with three of their four strikers on the pitch at once.

From a deep corner, a flick back found Austin who’s initial effort was well-saved by the Swansea ‘keeper, before it fell to the aforementioned Italian who eventually scrambled the ball across the line. It was just his fifth goal of the campaign.

Despite a couple of questionable moments including a scuffed clearance from McCarthy, the Saints held on deep into injury time to take all three points back across the River Severn. After the whole fiasco regarding the hotel the night before, it was good to see Southampton put in a cultured, gritty performance when it mattered most.

With safety all-but in the bag, Southampton will face Manchester City on the final day of the season.