Southampton booked their place in the last eight of the competition with a narrow win.
Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal in action
Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise upon Sofiane Boufal after the attacking midfielder scored a stunning goal to send Claude Puel’s men into the last eight of the EFL Cup.
The Saints played a youthful side for their last 16 tie with Premier League rivals Sunderland. And while the majority of the game will not be remembered too fondly by those who were inside St Mary’s, there was one moment of brilliance to speak of.
Southampton manager Claude Puel before the match
After a goalless first hour, Boufal managed to create the one real bit of quality as he brought a high ball down with a brilliant piece of control before cutting back inside near the corner of the box and following it up by unleashing a delightful effort that kissed the post and left Jordan Pickford absolutely no chance.
Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal scores their first goal
With the summer signing’s previous two appearances for the Saints seeing him play less than 20 minutes on both occasions, there would have arguably still been some intrigue as to whether he was going to be the next Sadio Mane or Dani Osvaldo for the south coast club.
But while the goal would have evoked memories of Osvaldo’s strike against Manchester City just a few months after his arrival in 2013, the supporters who took to social media on Wednesday appear more than confident that Boufal will turn out to be yet another brilliant piece of business for the Saints.
Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal scores their first goal
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