Manolo Gabbiadini scored twice as Southampton earned a 2-2 draw against Newcastle on Sunday.
Prior to the Newcastle game, Southampton had won just once in their last five Premier League matches. The pressure was already mounting on the new manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
The Saints went into the international break on the back of two straight defeats. Back to the walls, the fightback began – and it came from the predictable source of course – Manolo Gabbiadini.
Newcastle look the lead in the 20th minute when Isaac Hayden fired the Magpies ahead from 25 yards. Gabbiadini’s shot, on the turn, restored parity.
The Magpies regained the lead again very soon, through Ayoze Perez. However, Gabbiadini, who was starting for the first time since September 9, scored from the penalty spot after Shane Long was bundled over by Florian Lejeune.
Gabbiadini’s brace was important as Southampton had been struggling to score at home. In fact, they had failed to score in eight of their past nine Premier League home games.
The 25-year-old took to social networking site Twitter after the match and delivered a strong message for the Saints fans.
Southampton fans reacted to the post on Twitter. Here are some of the selected tweets:
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