In pictures: Southampton midfielder's EFL Cup wonder-goal

Southampton progressed to the quarter-final of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night by edging past Sunderland thanks to Boufal’s wonder-strike.

Southampton's Sofiane Boufal celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates

Southampton crept through to the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night against Sunderland but it took a wonder-goal from from their big-money summer signing to defeat the Premier League strugglers.

Claude Puel splashed the cash on Sofiane Boufal in the summer, securing the former Lille midfielder for a fee of £16 million, breaking the Saints’ transfer record.

The 23-year-old set the St. Mary’s Stadium alight on Wednesday evening with the goal of the night and one of the goals of the season so far.

Boufal was labelled ‘fantastic’ by his manager after the game for pulling his team through a tricky tie against the battling Black Cats.

The Morrocco-international had only appeared for Southampton twice before Wednesday evening’s tie and both outings arrived in the last week, against Manchester City and Inter Milan.

These images don’t quite do the goal justice but they certainly make for wonderful viewing for Southampton supporters;

Southampton's Sofiane Boufal scores their first goal