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Tag: Southampton

  • Super Eagles Midfielder Aribo Seals Premier League Move

    Super Eagles Midfielder Aribo Seals Premier League Move

    Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo has joined Premier League side, Southampton on a four-year deal from Scottish Giants, Rangers.

    Although his transfer fee is undisclosed, sources close to the situation say the deal is worth £6m that could potentially rise to £10m with performance based add-ons.

    The 25-year-old has played the past three seasons at Ibrox, scoring 26 goals in 149 matches since joining from English league one side, Charlton Athletic in 2019.

    Aribo helped Rangers win their 55th SPL title in the 2020/2021 season, their firstin 10 years while liftingthe Scottish Cup last season. He was a runner-up in last season’s UEFA Europa League in which he scored in the final against German Bundesliga side Frankfurt.

    Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl is delighted with Aribo’s signing saying, “Joe is a player with many qualities to his game, and we are very excited to welcome him to the squad in time for the pre-season trip to Austria.

    “We believe Joe can bring energy and creativity to our side. Feeling comfortable in so many different positions is very helpful for a manager and shows he has a high level of football intelligence, with the ability to take on new information quickly.”

    The player added: “It’s an amazing club with a lot of history here, and it’s a good plan with what’s to come next. I’m really excited for the journey.

    “The Premier League is the best league in the world. I’ve been watching it since I was a young boy, it’s always been a goal for me to play here and show what I can do on this stage.

    “It’s an amazing feeling, a dream come true. This is where I’ve wanted to be since I was a child growing up playing, so to say that I’m here now is really exciting.”

  • EPL: Liverpool Beat Southampton To Keep Top-Four Hopes Alive

    EPL: Liverpool Beat Southampton To Keep Top-Four Hopes Alive

    Liverpool kept alive their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League as Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara sealed a 2-0 win against Southampton on Saturday.

    Jurgen Klopp’s side moved above Tottenham into sixth place thanks to Mane’s first-half header and Thiago’s first goal for the club in the final moments at Anfield.

    Liverpool’s first victory in four games in all competitions leaves them six points behind fourth-placed Leicester with a game in hand in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

    It was only their second league win at Anfield in their last 11 matches.

    They travel to second-placed Manchester United on Thursday for a crucial clash in their attempt to catch Leicester.

    After the failed defence of the title they won last season, Liverpool would be delighted to salvage a troubled campaign with a top-four place.

    To do that, they need to win their last four games and hope Leicester and fifth-placed West Ham stumble in the final stretch.

    Southampton, 10 points above the relegation zone with four matches left, have now lost 13 of their 17 league games since beating Liverpool in January.

    The Saints have earned the fewest points and conceded the most goals in the Premier League in 2021.

    Liverpool were quick to scent blood against opponents in such poor form and Mohamed Salah was denied by Fraser Forster after Mane poked the ball through to the Egyptian in the six-yard box.

    Diogo Jota’s stinging strike forced another good save from Forster before Salah tested the over-worked keeper from the resulting corner.

    Georginio Wijnaldum guided a diving header against the bar as Liverpool kept up the pressure.

    Southampton nearly snatched the lead against the run of play when Che Adams met Nathan Tella’s low cross with a close-range effort that was well saved by Alisson Becker.

    But 46 seconds later, Liverpool’s dominant spell paid dividends as they broke away to take the lead in the 31st minute.

    Salah clipped a cross to the far post and former Southampton forward Mane got behind the visitors defence to head home from close range.

    Remarkably, it was the first time the duo had combined for a Premier League goal this season.

    Tella should have cancelled out Mane’s 14th goal of the season, but the unmarked winger headed straight at Alisson from Nathan Redmond’s cross.

    Jota’s blast was pushed away by Forster early in the second half, but Liverpool weren’t quite so cohesive after the break.

    Alisson snuffed out Michael Obafemi’s raid and then turned over Ibrahima Diallo’s rocket from the edge of the area.

    Adams had a golden opportunity to equalise in the closing stages after Alisson gifted him possession, but the striker’s effort lacked the accuracy to beat the Brazilian.

    Thiago settled Liverpool’s nerves in stoppage time when the former Bayern Munich midfielder rifled home from 18 yards.

    AFP

  • Fans reacts as Man United Thrashes Southampton 9-0

    Fans reacts as Man United Thrashes Southampton 9-0

    Manchester United football club of England on Tuesday, February 2, won against Southampton with a heavy 9-0 scoreline, the first time the club will win another club with over 4 goals in the league since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
     

    The match was a contest for less than two minutes as visiting midfielder Alexandre Jankewitz was shown a straight red card early on for a lunging challenge on Scott McTominay.

    United went on to score four goals in the first half, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani finding the net. Jan Bednarek also scored an own-goal.

    Five strikes followed in the second as Anthony Martial netted after coming on at the break before goals from Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes, and another Martial strike. Daniel James rounded off the scoring.

    Southampton were reduced to 9 men after the referee, Mike Dean had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot after Man United’s Martial took a tumble in the box, in close proximity to Saint defender, Jan Bednarek.  Dean then consulted the pitchside monitor to review his decision, and compounded Bednarek’s misery by brandishing his second red card of the evening.

    Southampton player, Adams scored later in the game but the goal was ruled out for the tightest of offsides after a VAR review.

    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0

    With the win, Manchester United have now set the joint highest win in Premier league history .

    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0

    The Reds are now level on points with Manchester City ahead of their game against Burnley on Wednesday night, although Pep Guardiola’s side do have two games in hand on the Old Trafford club.


    See some reactions from fans below.

    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0
    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0
    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0
    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0
    Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0
  • Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl says hantavirus almost killed him eight years ago

    Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl says hantavirus almost killed him eight years ago

    Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl understands the pain those with coronavirus are feeling, as the pandemic reminds him of a time he almost died after contracting hantavirus eight years ago.

    In 2012, while in charge of German side VfR Aalen, Hasenhuttl was diagnosed with a strain of the potentially fatal hantavirus, which is usually transmitted through exposure to rodent droppings.

    During a spell in hospital in the intensive care unit, the Austrian’s kidneys weakened and his weight fluctuated, and he recalls being worried about losing his job due to his extended absence.

    “I know there are people dying from this virus. It’s what I tried to push away because I felt young, felt healthy and strong. I thought, ‘Why should I die from such a virus?’,” Hasenhuttl said.

    “It was definitely serious. I was more than two weeks in hospital and in intensive care. I had big pain and it was not nice. I don’t want to have this again. I know how it feels.

    “The crazy thing was that we didn’t know what it was in the beginning. It was especially in the region when I was managing at that time.

    “It was happening [there] a little bit more often that people get it there. That was the reason we checked it and then knew that I had this virus.

    “You have to wait until your body creates antibodies and then hope to survive. I was just promoted with a third-league team (Aalen) to the second league. I nearly lost my job at the time because I was very long out.”

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  • James Ward-Prowse magic inspires Southampton in seven-goal thriller against Aston Villa

    James Ward-Prowse magic inspires Southampton in seven-goal thriller against Aston Villa

    James Ward-Prowse scored two sublime first-half free-kicks as Southampton moved into third in the Premier League table with a thrilling 4-3 victory at Aston Villa.

    The Saints midfielder marked his 26th birthday with an unforgettable display, doubling his side’s lead with an outrageous free-kick from 25 yards out just past the half-hour mark after assisting Jannik Vestergaard’s opener some 13 minutes earlier.

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    Ward-Prowse’s second of the day – coming on the stroke of half-time – was a carbon copy of his first as he once again gave Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez no chance with a curling free-kick that ended up in the top left corner.

    It could have been worse for Aston Villa as Southampton had the ball in the back of the Villa net with less than three minutes on the clock, with Ezri Konsa getting the final touch on Ward-Prowse’s corner delivery, but the Villa defender’s blushes were spared as Che Adams was adjudged to be in an offside position after a VAR check.

    Southampton inflicted more misery after the restart as Danny Ings got in on the act with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area with less than an hour played. Unfortunately, the talisman was forced off with a worrying knee injury late on.

    Tyrone Mings gave Villa a glimmer of hope by converting a lovely Jack Grealish cross and Oli Watkins’ scored a stoppage-time penalty before Grealish himself got in on the act after seven added minutes, but it was too little too late as Dean Smith’s men fell to a second successive defeat following the 3-0 loss to Leeds last weekend.

    The victory extends Southampton’s unbeaten run to five games and they move up to third in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool, while Villa drop to seventh.

  • Resurgent Southampton stun Chelsea with 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge

    Resurgent Southampton stun Chelsea with 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge

    Goals from Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond earned improving Southampton a surprise 2-0 win at Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday.

    Obafemi broke the deadlock with his first goal of the season, bursting inside from the right and curling into the top corner after a tight opening half hour.

    Frank Lampard changed his side’s formation from 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1 at the break and nearly earned an instant dividend as substitute Mason Mount set up Tammy Abraham, who flashed a shot into the side netting.

    Southampton winger Redmond was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga on the break but coolly finished for the visitors’ second after an impressive team move to silence Stamford Bridge.

    The hosts struggled to break down Southampton’s tight defence, and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side rise to 14th, three points clear of the relegation zone, building on last weekend’s win over Aston Villa.

    Chelsea stayed fourth with 32 points from 19 games and must pick themselves up for their visit to Arsenal on Sunday.

    This performance added to recent home defeats by West Ham and Bournemouth, with Lampard’s team recording only two wins from their last seven league games, along with five losses.

    Chelsea’s impressive victory at Tottenham on Sunday was quickly forgotten on a drab afternoon in wet west London.

    “It’s the same story as a few of the last home games,” said Lampard.
    “We have to work, break defensive lines and do more in an attacking sense.

    “If we want to stay (in the top four) we have to win more than we have done recently at home.”

    Hasenhuttl ran onto the pitch to celebrate at full time and was hailed by Saints supporters long after the final whistle after going over to them.

    “You can have a tactical plan but without passion it doesn’t work,” a delighted Hasenhuttl told reporters.

    “We stayed brave, tried to keep them far away from our goal and it was by far the best performance this season.

    “There’s still a long way to go, but in the first two or three months we played like a relegation team, now we’re playing like a Premier League team.” (Reuters/NAN)