Southampton 3-1 Wolves: Premier League – Three Match Takeaways

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 13: Shane Long of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Mary's Stadium on April 13, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 13: Shane Long of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Mary's Stadium on April 13, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – APRIL 13: The Southampton team celebrate victory after the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Mary’s Stadium on April 13, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – APRIL 13: The Southampton team celebrate victory after the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Mary’s Stadium on April 13, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

On a day where results went their way, Southampton managed to prevail over a strong Wolves side at St Mary’s.

Although Saints were not at their fluid best, they displayed resolve and determination to overcome Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

Wolves started the day in 8th place, whilst by contrast, the home side lay just 5 points clear of Cardiff in 18th. Yet with Burnley beating Cardiff, coupled with Bournemouth thrashing Brighton, Saints ended the day a healthy 8 points clear of the drop.

It would be naive to suggest that Saints are now safe, especially given Cardiff still have some winnable games left but there is no doubting that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men have taken a huge step towards safety.

A brace from Nathan Redmond and an opportunistic finish from Shane Long was enough to see out Wolves. Although Boly equalised on 28 minutes, it took just 2 minutes for Redmond to restore Saints advantage, having earlier given the South Coast side the lead after a matter of seconds into the encounter.

In truth Southampton could have several more with the impressive Sims missing a couple of gilt edged chances and despite having only 30% of possession, they were the better team. That being said, it is worth noting that Saints were sloppy in the middle, with Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg both guilty of playing lazy balls but resolute defending from Vestergaard, Yoshida and Bednarek kept the lead intact.

Here are the three key takeaways from Southampton’s 3-1 win: