Burnley vs Southampton. Premier League.
Turf Moor.
Free match highlights: Danny Ings' third goal of season seals Southampton's victory at Burnley; Saints secure first points of Premier League season; Sean Dyche's side start season with back-to-back defeats
Sunday 27 September 2020 07:01, UK
Danny Ings’ early strike was enough to secure Southampton their first points of the Premier League season thanks to a 1-0 victory at Burnley.
Ings struck his third goal of the season in the fifth minute, prodding home Che Adam's cut back, and it proved to be enough to get Ralph Hasenhuttl's side's season up and running.
Chris Wood did have the ball in the back of the Southampton net early in the second half, but his effort was ruled out for offside, while Charlie Taylor's powerful drive was tipped round the post by Alex McCarthy as Sean Dyche's 400th game in management ended in defeat.
The win is Southampton's first in the Premier League at Turf Moor and their first at the ground in a top-flight game since 1971.
Southampton were in front within five minutes as Ings struck against his former club. The 28-year-old has been in fine form since the start of the season and he was in the right place once again, beating Jimmy Dunne to Adams' cut-back to break the deadlock.
Saints continued to dominate the early stages of the game and could have had a second when Ryan Bertrand's cross found Adams in space, but the forward fired over the crossbar.
At the other end, Burnley were appealing for a penalty in the 26th minute when Wood went down under pressure from Jan Bednarek, but a free-kick went the other way for handball after a VAR check, much to the bemusement of Sean Dyche on the sidelines.
Burnley threatened immediately after the break with Ashley Westwood's long ball forward finding Wood at the far post, but his header was easily held by McCarthy.
The striker then had the ball in the net 10 minutes later but the assistant had already flagged for a close offside decision - again much to the frustration of Dyche with the new protocols not clearly followed.
The hosts continued to push, with Taylor forcing a fine save from McCarthy but gradually their belief faded as Southampton held on for victory.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche: "Pretty pleased overall. First half not as sharp as we should have been. Second half much stronger. We have two experienced defenders on the bench and that is it, we are reliant on what we have. It is a challenge, but we will have players back fit.
"I thought the officials were a bit off at times today. Maybe they are trying get sharp like we are trying to do. The chairman knows what is required. Action, we need players. It is a challenge though here, it always has been."
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl: "It wasn't a good start to the season, but we have focused our work this week on the defence and it was fantastic to see how much they had invested today.
"In the end we had a very important win for us. We had a non-existent pre-season, we couldn't prepare for the first game and we have had no chance to work on anything before this week. Suddenly it looks different, more organised, this is the key to winning."
Sky Sports' co-commentator Lee Hendrie:
"Both teams seemed to cancel each other out a bit, but in-form Ings was there where Southampton needed him. He was there in important areas for Hasenhuttl's side and he got a scruffy goal, another one to add to the tally. He was the match winner.
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"His form right now is sensation because he plays in a team that doesn't create that much. He's the man in form and scoring all types of goals as well."
Since the start of last season, Ings has scored 25 of Southampton's 54 Premier League goals (46%). Indeed, no player has netted more Premier League goals in this period than Ings (Jamie Vardy also 25).
He has netted 10 goals in 12 Premier League appearances since the restart of football in June.
Burnley have lost their first two games to a Premier League season for the first time since 2014-15, when they were eventually relegated
Burnley have lost three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of four ending in January 2020.
Southampton picked up their first away win against Burnley in the top-flight since March 1971 (1-0), ending a six-match winless streak.
Che Adams has been directly involved in four goals in his last five Premier League games for Southampton (three goals, one assist), one more than he registered in his first 28 in the competition (one goal, two assists).
Southampton now host West Brom in the Premier League next Sunday at midday, while Burnley host Manchester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday at 7pm before travelling to Newcastle in the Premier League at 8pm next Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
