Newcastle 3-1 Southampton: Premier League – Three Match Takeaways
Lowly Southampton travelled to St James’ Park to face Newcastle but the encounter ended with the home side triumphing, following a smartly taken hat-trick by Ayoze Perez.
In truth Southampton never really got going and despite a classy finish from the returning Mario Lemina to bring the scores back to 2-1, it never looked like the visitors were going to prevail.
In a reality check for the Saints following back to back wins over Brighton and Wolves, Ralph Hasenhuttl will be disappointed with his side’s showing. Although there was a marked improvement in the second half, Southampton were not at the races and looked sluggish in comparison to the recent fluidity displayed in previous games.
A shaky, makeshift defence lacked the character and resolve required to keep Spaniard Perez at bay, whilst his compatriot Rafa Benitez deserves credit for the enterprising way his Newcastle team played. Saints are tantalisingly close to safety but they must look for wins in the upcoming games against Watford, Bournemouth, West Ham and Huddersfield to secure top flight status.
Here are the three key takeaways from Southampton’s 3-1 defeat: