Match Report: Southampton vs Everton
- Aug 16, 2015
- 2 min read
In the early game on Saturday night, Everton were triumphant 3-0 victors over a lackluster Southampton squad at St Mary's Stadium. A first half brace from Romelu Lukaku ensured the Toffees were ahead at the break before a late goal from Ross Barkley secured Everton's first win of the season.
Both of Lukaku's goals came on the counter attack, but that isn't to say that Southampton were dominating the game by any means. While they certainly had their opportunities to open the scoring, they couldn't capitalise on the absence of Leighton Baines and a medicore performance from Chelsea target John Stones. Baines is reportedly out for three months due to ankle surgery while Stones is subject to Chelsea throwing money at him like there's no tomorrow.
It's evident that Southampton are missing Morgan Schneiderlin to partner Victor Wanyama in the centre of the park to break down the opponents ball movement. Everton had no right to score their first goal 17 seconds after conceding a corner on the other side of the field. A clinical counter-attack from a team like Everton is not a good sign for Southampton, especially considering there are teams such as Manchester City and Chelsea who thrive off defensive pressure turning into counter-attacks.
Credit where credit is due however, as Everton were clearly the superior team throughout the contest. Arouna Kone once again played a pivotal role in creating chances for Everton. The Toffees clearly have something with their current team, and while it isn't going to get them into Europa League (or even the top half of the table), they might just prove to be one of the more dazzling sides of the 2015/16 season. With Lukaku leading the frontline and Ross Barkley continuing to develop at an accelerated rate, don't be surprised if Everton pull off a few upset victories against higher seeded teams.
It never seemed like Southampton were ever 100% committed to the game. Over the past few years they have lost players to bigger teams (looking at you Liverpool) and continued to play entertaining football while also winning games. It looks like their euphoric run might finally come to an end and that's bad news for all football fans as they were the "feel good" story of the past few seasons.
Other Results:
Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester United
Sunderland 1-3 Norwich
Swansea 2-0 Newcastle
Tottenham 2-2 Stoke City
Watford 0-0 West Brom
West Ham 1-2 Leicester City
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