Burnley 3-0 Southampton: Saints well beaten by Clarets on opening day of Premier League season

Southampton were given a real wake-up call with a 3-0 loss to Burnley on the opening day of the 2019/20 Premier League season.

After an even and goalless first-half, a brace from Burnley forward Ashley Barnes and a third strike from winger Johann Gudmundsson put the game fully beyond Ralph Hasenhuttl and his side.

As the teams were announced ahead of kick-off, the notable news for Saints was that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was on the bench after illness. Bright spark Che Adams started in attack, whilst fellow summer signing Moussa Djenepo joined Hojbjerg as a substitute.

Burnley fielded new man Erik Pieters, whilst former Saints striker Jay Rodriguez was on the bench after rejoining his boyhood club from West Brom during the off-season.

The first opportunity of the game came for Che Adams as he looked to get on the end of Yan Valery’s cross, but he couldn’t stretch enough to force a shot on target as he met the ball at the back post.

18 minutes in and Saints would be involved in the first use of VAR of their new season.

Burnley had the ball in the net through Chris Wood but it was ruled out for offside by the match officials, and the new video technology confirmed that it was in fact the right call.

But after Johann Gudmundsson went close to giving the home side the lead, VAR was again used; this time to decide whether Che Adams should have been sent off for what looked a dangerous but unintentional challenge.

Despite catching Ben Mee very high, the striker would have breathed a sigh of relief when he escaped without even a booking.

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Neither side had taken full control of the game in the first-half, but Saints almost went in with a slender lead.

As Nathan Redmond cut inside from the left – as is his trademark – he fired a fierce shot towards goal that forced home goalkeeper Nick Pope into the first meaningful save of the afternoon with a tip over the crossbar.

After half-time, it was Burnley who took control and took the lead on 63 minutes. Jannik Vestergaard misjudged a ball forward and it was Ashley Barnes who slammed home to continue his previous run of scoring against Saints.

The forward then had a second just six minutes later. Full-back Erik Pieters was credited with the assist for the opener and provided again here with a deep cross, allowing Barnes to volley home with aplomb.

It left a mountain to climb for Saints, and the game was eventually put beyond them when Johann Gudmundsson bore down on goal and curled home to make it 3-0.

With a seemingly still rampant Liverpool side to face at St Mary’s next weekend, things will have to improve for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

This season is still expected to be a lot more comfortable for Saints than the previous two years, but this will certainly be a wake-up call.

Burnley team

Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee (C), Pieters, Cork, Westwood, McNeil (Lennon 84), Gudmundsson, Wood, Barnes (Rodriguez 84)

Subs not used: Hart, Hendrick, Long, Gibson, Bardsley

Saints team

Gunn, Valery, Stephens (Hojbjerg 73), Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Ings (Obafemi 66), Adams (Boufal 73)

Subs not used: McCarthy, Yoshida, Djenepo, Cedric