Southampton won for the first time in 10 Premier League matches as Che Adams’ spectacular strike helped Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side claim all three points at Sheffield United, whose slim survival hopes took another blow at Bramall Lane.
Adams rifled a half-volley into the top corner four minutes into the second half, ending a run of 16 games without a goal in all competitions.
Saints, who lost Danny Ings to an early injury, had broken the deadlock when James Ward-Prowse sent Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way from the penalty spot following Ethan Ampadu’s clumsy challenge on Nathan Tella.
Takumi Minamino should have added a third for Southampton when he fired wide from Ryan Bertrand’s low cross, while Adams, Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong all went close late on.
“The first win after such a long time is always the most difficult one, now we have to keep on improving,” Hasenhuttl told BBC Sport afterwards.
“We are looking in every direction and we still had some moments today in the game where we were not that controlled. But it’s normal after such a long run without a win.”
On Ings’ injury, Hasenhuttl added: “I do not know yet [how serious it is]. It doesn’t look that good and it is a muscle injury.”
The Blades had opportunities of their own but only tested Fraser Forster twice throughout the 90 minutes.
The win lifts Saints 10 points clear of the relegation zone, while Chris Wilder’s side remain rooted to the foot of the table – 12 points from safety.
Saints back to winning ways as Hasenhuttl reaches 100 not out
https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.39.19/iframe.htmlHasenhuttl praises ‘very good’ Saints performance
Southampton fans could have been forgiven for casting nervous glances towards the bottom three following their 1-0 defeat at Everton on Monday, but this win – their first in the league since beating Liverpool on 4 January – will go some way towards easing their relegation fears.
The visitors were able to call upon Kyle Walker-Peters, Ibrahima Diallo and Minamino following injury but were dealt a blow when Ings was forced off with what appeared to be a groin problem inside the opening 15 minutes.
Saints, driven on by the impressive Tella, soon recovered from that early setback and took a deserved lead when Ward-Prowse sent Ramsdale the wrong way from 12 yards after Ampadu’s lunge on the Southampton youngster.
Ward-Prowse has now been directly involved in 26 Premier League goals under Hasenhuttl, twice as many as under any other Saints manager.
Adams, who last made the scoresheet against Sheffield United back in December, ended his goal drought in spectacular fashion early in the second half, thumping Stuart Armstrong’s knock-down into the top corner.
Hasenhuttl’s side could have won by a more handsome margin, but Minamino spurned a glorious chance to register his third goal in five league appearances for the club when he somehow failed to hit the target from Bertrand’s cut-back.
Ramsdale did well to stop Tella’s low strike from nestling in the far corner before thwarting Adams and Redmond from similar positions inside the area, but Hasenhuttl will gladly settle for a 2-0 victory on his 100th game in charge of the club.
