Fulham 3-2 Southampton: Pressure ramps up on Hughes following defeat
By Marc Walker
Southampton fell to a demoralising 3-2 defeat against Fulham this afternoon as the pressure ramps up on manager Mark Hughes.
Stuart Armstrong netted a brace for the Saints but a double from Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and another strike from Andre Schurrle saw the home side take a precious three points.
Two changes were made by Hughes ahead of the game as Charlie Austin and Matt Targett came in to replace Danny Ings and Ryan Bertrand. Both Stuart Armstrong and and Manolo Gabbiadini kept their places after good showings against Watford.
It was Saints who would have a golden opportunity to open the scoring just seven minutes in. Armstrong fired in a shot from range and Manolo Gabbiadini followed up for what seemed a simple finish, but the Italian could only shoot straight at Sergio Rico.
Alex McCarthy was also called into action in the early stages to deny former Saint Calum Chambers’ header, but it was Mark Hughes’ side who then grabbed the crucial opening goal of the afternoon.
Nathan Redmond lofted a cross across goal that wasn’t dealt with by Fulham and Scottish international Armstrong collected the loose ball before finding the bottom corner for his first Saints goal.
Next. Three Saints round off international break action. dark
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Despite their position at the bottom of the table, Fulham still had some good attacking talent on show and they would have been keen to impress new manager Claudio Ranieri.
Ryan Sessegnon hit a fierce drive narrowly over the bar, but then the Cottagers drew level. Their top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic was left unmarked inside the six-yard box to head home a cross from Maxime Le Marchand and undo all the good early work from the visitors.
Just before the half-time interval, the home side went in front to complete an unexpected turnaround.
Sessegnon beat Cedric with some nice footwork and drilled a low cross to waiting Andre Schurrle at the back post, and the German had the simple task of tapping home to make it 2-1 at the break.
With Hughes’ job reportedly on the line depending on the result from this game, he would have been wanting a reaction in the second period. He got that eventually but was thankful to McCarthy for keeping it 2-1 initially.
The England international saved his side with a superb low stop to deny Mitrovic a second and then saw his teammates break down the other end to make it all square again.
Cedric flicked the ball back to the onrushing Armstrong and he produced a fantastic finish into the top corner to double his tally for the afternoon.
However, it was only 2-2 for 10 minutes as Saints proved to be architects of their own downfall again.
Wesley Hoedt was pinned in the corner and surrendered possession to Fulham in a promising area, allowing Cyrus Christie to loft in a cross. The ball was not cleared and it eventually fell to Mitrovic to expertly volley home and restore his side’s lead.
Saints tried hard to get back into the game with substitutes Michael Obafemi and Mohamed Elyounoussi having great opportunities to score, but it proved to be the team’s inability to defend at crucial points that cost them again.