In the recent weeks, Southampton have displayed some encouraging performances in the Premier League as well as the Carabao Cup and came very close to taking a win against Ipswich Town. However, some lacklustre finishing in the second half and Sam Morsy's last-minute equaliser resulted in the Saints having to settle for a 1-1 draw in the home fixture. Thus, the away fixture against Bournemouth became an important match for Russell Martin's side, who will face Mikel Arteta's Arsenal after the international break.
A win here would have taken Southampton’s points tally to four in the Premier League after six matches, however Southampton didn't had a great start to the game. Bournemouth started the match on a high note, and took the 1-0 lead with new signing Evanilson bagging his first Premier League goal for the home side after his £45 million transfer move from Porto. Andoni Iraola's side build on their good start and created a lot of goal scoring chances inside the Southampton half.
Bournemouth score three first-half goals as Saints face another 3-1 defeat
Few minutes later, Bournemouth doubled their lead as Dango Ouattara's attempt on goal deflected and found the back of the net despite Aaron Ramsdale's save. After that, Antonie Semenyo added a third goal for Bournemouth before halftime with an impressive finish, which gave Bournemouth the momentum to secure the three points from the match. In the second half, Taylor Harwood-Bellis scored a goal for the Saints, but their attempts to make a comeback were kept away by the home side's rock solid defending.
Bournemouth won the match 3-1 and this resulted in Southampton’s fifth league defeat, who are nineteenth in the Premier League before the international break. The Saints need to return to winning ways again as they will face Arsenal and Manchester City after the international break and defeats in those matches will increase the chances of Southampton being involved in a relegation battle towards the end of the season.