Having beaten Swansea City 1-0, thanks to a Charlie Austin goal, we take a look at the five things we learned from the game
Southampton celebrated their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Swansea City 1-0 at St Mary’s at the weekend, thanks to a goal from substitute Charlie Austin.
Austin, who had scored a brace against Sparta Prague in the Europa League in midweek, chested down the ball before unleashing a lethal strike for the goal on 64 minutes.
The win was the least that Claude Puel’s side deserved after completely dominating Swansea from the outset, and rival boss Francesco Guidolin can have no complaints about the result.
But Southampton will feel it should have been more; Austin himself should have scored twice, after he went agonisingly close when his header crashed back off the crossbar.
With Southampton climbing to 14th in the table with the win over Swansea, we take a look at the five things we learned from the game.
1. Charlie Austin proved a point
After being left on the bench having scored twice against Sparta Prague in the Europa League in midweek, Austin will have felt like he had a point to prove, and prove it he did when Puel introduced him to the game on 54 minutes.
Austin has now scored three goals inside of a week, and while Southampton have appeared to struggle in front of goal, Austin is showing that he can add goals when called upon.
With Puel’s side having only scored four goals in five games, the former QPR striker may be the man that can fire them up the table as they look to build upon the great work over the past three seasons.
2. Dusan Tadic can be the star for Southampton this season
Tadic’s form this season has been one of the standout factors as Southampton have struggled to get results, and against Swansea, the Serbian was inspiring in his man of the match performance.
The Southampton midfielder played some superb football as Puel’s side pushed for the opener, and Tadic saw his free kick tipped over the bar by Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianksi in the first half.
Tadic was the key playmaker against Swansea and played provider in supplying the cross for Austin’s opener, showing all at St. Mary’s that he can be the star this season.
3. Southampton may just be getting going
This was Southampton’s first win of the season and things have been slow to get going for Puel in the Premier League.
Southampton have had to yet again adapt to huge upheaval and change, more so this year than others, having seen Ronald Koeman leave as manager as well as a number of players.
Having lost Saido Mane, Victor Wanyama, and Graziano Pelle in the summer, there remains no surprise that Puel’s side has taken time to get going in the Premeir League.
But now that Southampton have their first win under their belt, this could be the kick-start that they needed to get their season going.
4. Swansea’s form is a concern
Swansea currently lie 15th in the Premier League and have taken just 4 points from five game, as there season has stuttered with just one win.
What was concerning at St Marys was that for long periods it was one-way traffic, with Southampton completely dominating and Guidolin’s side looking out of sorts and off the pace.
But it is up front where Guidolin has and has the biggest problem, with forward Fernando Llorente having only slightly more touches than Southampton striker Austin, who came on after 54 minutes as reported by BBC Sport.
Swansea have scored only four goals in the Premier League, with two of those coming in the game against Chelsea, and things will not get any easier for Swansea as they face two fixtures against the in-form Manchester City before the end of September.
5. Southampton dominate
Against Swansea, Southampton dominated and it appeared at times that the scoreline was never in doubt.
Puel’s side had a number of opportunities to put themselves 1-0 up inside the first half, with Nathan Redmond, Shane Long, and Tadic all linking up well and going close to giving the home side their opening goal.
The win against a lacklustre Swansea was the least that Southampton deserved and with 53% possession and 19 shots on goal, with 6 on target, compared to Swansea’s 47% possession, and 9 shots on goal, with 3 on target, it shows just how much dominance Puel’s Southampton had.
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