Southampton vs Burnley. Premier League.
St. Mary's Stadium.
Report and free highlights as Southampton recover from 2-0 down to beat Burnley 3-2 to move further clear of drop zone; the Clarets had led through Chris Wood's penalty and Matej Vydra goal; the Saints hit back thanks to strikes from Stuart Armstrong, Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond
Sunday 4 April 2021 19:13, UK
Southampton came back from 2-0 down to beat Burnley 3-2 at St Mary's to move further clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
The visitors had raced into a 2-0 lead on the south coast thanks to Chris Wood's 12th-minute penalty - awarded after the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee - and Matej Vydra's well-taken goal 16 minutes later.
However, the Saints drew level before half-time through Stuart Armstrong's fine strike just past the half-hour mark and then Danny Ings' wonderful solo goal against his former side.
Nathan Redmond's sweetly struck volley midway through the second half completed the turnaround for Ralph Hasenhuttl's team, who have moved up to 13th in the table and are now 10 points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, while the Clarets stay 15th, seven points above the drop zone.
The sides started the day level on points and knowing that a win would all but secure their Premier League survival for another season, with the visitors racing out of the traps on a sun-drenched day on the south coast.
Buoyed no doubt by their impressive 2-1 win at high-flying Everton before the international break, Burnley began the contest confidently and deservedly went ahead early on after the VAR told referee Andre Marriner to look at Kyle Walker-Peters' clumsy challenge on Erik Pieters.
The official agreed with Jon Moss that it was a foul, with top-scorer Wood - on penalty-taking duties in the absence of Ashley Barnes - slamming home his seventh goal of the campaign, as well as a club record-equalling 41st in the Premier League.
One soon became two in typical Burnley fashion as Ben Mee's long punt upfield was nodded on by Wood to Vydra, whose low strike from outside the area somehow got past a flat-footed Fraser Forster.
But if the Clarets thought the points were in the bag, they were mistaken, with the hosts replying with two goals of their own before the break, the first after a lovely team move that ended with Ings' clever layoff finding Armstrong, who swept home from the edge of the box.
Then, three minutes before half-time, Walker-Peters' hopeful clearance up the right touchline caused Mee to hesitate momentarily, allowing Ings to nip in and after selling James Tarkowski a dummy, the forward levelled matters with a composed finish through Nick Pope's legs.
Not surprisingly, the second period failed to hit the heights of the first 45 minutes, but it was Southampton who grabbed the crucial next goal after a period of concerted pressure forced several brilliant stops from Pope.
With 24 minutes to go, the England international could only palm Ings' well-struck effort from the edge of the area to Theo Walcott, whose floated cross to the far post found the unmarked Redmond, and the winger's fiercely struck volley completed the turnaround.
Both sides had great chances late on to score again, with Forster's brilliant reaction stop denying Wood as the Saints held on to record their first home win in three months.
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl: "Every win you need and this one was not really expected after being two down, for anybody.
"We showed the things we were working on in the last two weeks and the guys created a lot chances today against a team that don't normally give you a lot.
"I think to turn the table around against this side when you are 2-0 down, not a lot of teams have managed this in the past. They have an amazing record when they go one up.
"It was important to make the equaliser before half-time and in the second half we tried to keep the tempo high and then it was a very deserved win. We had some really good chances to make it higher.
"I don't know (if it means Southampton are safe) but it was an important step against an opponent that was on the same level like you have been.
"If you lose this today then they are gone and now we have three points more than they have. It was a six-pointer and we took it and it was important."
Burnley boss Sean Dyche: "I am frustrated. It's one of them that got away from us through our own lack
of awareness. We scored two goals, concede a soft one and then the second one we have given away and they've come back into it from nowhere.
"We just stopped doing the basics. We looked a threat, we opened them up and then defensively we stopped doing the basics, we went on the back foot a little bit.
"In the second half, we had a go, they had a go. Woody has a chance, he's impeded, his shirt is pulled.
"We got a penalty today but they tried not to give us it. Our record of penalties is terrible - everyone knows it's the worst in the Premier League by a long shot.
"They (the officials) tried not to give us the first one and then Woody gets impeded for the second one, no penalty. Ryan Bertrand has a handball, no penalty. So we do struggle to get penalties.
"I'm a big fan of VAR and I think it will get better. But they are ones you do scratch your head at."
Burnley really should have known what was coming when the teams were announced at St Mary's and Danny Ings was in the Southampton starting line-up for the first time since suffering a leg problem at Sheffield United on March 6.
Ings just loves scoring against his former clubs - just ask Liverpool, Bournemouth and the Clarets themselves, who have been on the receiving end of goals from Ings twice before.
The England international was at it again in the Easter Sunday sunshine, firstly helping to get his team back in the contest with a delicious assist for Armstrong's strike, before levelling matters himself with a wonderful solo effort just before the break.
And it was Ings' shot that led to Southampton's winner as the striker became only the fourth player in Premier League history to score in four games in a row against former sides.
Southampton take on struggling West Brom at the Hawthorns on Monday April 12, with the game kicking off at 6pm
Meanwhile, Burnley face relegation-threatened Newcastle at Turf Moor on Sunday April 11 at noon, with both games live on Sky Sports Premier League.
