West Brom 3-0 Southampton: Saints succumb to Big Sam masterclass
Big Sam #BigSam
Southampton were humbled in their trip to the West Midlands on Monday night, as Callum Robinson capped off a masterful West Brom performance to secure a 3-0 win.
The Baggies may have left it too late to avoid relegation but they’re not going down without a fight. They hammered Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend, and were in a similarly destructive mood here.
They thought they had an opener within moments of kick-off, but Mbaye Diagne was denied by a questionable VAR call.
The striker was judged to be offside position when he headed Darnell Furlong’s misguided effort over the line, but replays showed he was fractionally onside. Only teammate Kyle Bartley – who wasn’t involved in the play – was in an offside position.
But Sam Allardyce’s team certainly didn’t let their heads drop. Half an hour later, a quick flurry of goals had Southampton reeling, as Matheus Pereira converted a penalty, before Diagne picked out Matt Phillips to score his first goal at the Hawthorns in almost four years.
Southampton made it a little bit uncomfortable for the hosts after the break. James Ward-Prowse threatened with a free-kick, and Nathan Redmond wanted a penalty after a challenge from Dara O’Shea in the area.
West Brom dug in under pressure from the visitors but their lives were made a whole lot easier 20 minutes from time. Some dismal defending from the Saints allowed Okay Yokuslu to play in Callum Robinson, and the Republic of Ireland striker, who was clinical against Chelsea last time out, finished the game off.
It was all going against Southampton and their evening was summarised when Conor Townsend brought down Moussa Djenepo in the box late on. Ward-Prowse stepped up, but Sam Johnstone was equal to it and made sure of the clean sheet for his team.
The win moves West Brom to within eight points of safety, while Southampton slump to 14th, just ten points clear of the drop zone.