Southampton vs Middlesbrough. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance28,976.
Sunday 11 December 2016 16:51, UK
Record signing Sofiane Boufal fired Southampton to a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough with his first Premier League goal for the club.
The Morocco international's stunning effort from the edge of the area was enough to separate the sides in a stop-start affair at St Mary's.
Jay Rodriguez should have doubled Saints' advantage in stoppage time, but the hosts were good value for their victory as they moved back into the top half of the table.
Boro lacked a cutting edge in the second half, but could have broken the deadlock in the first period after Viktor Fischer rounded the keeper - but his effort struck the post from a narrow angle.
The result leaves Boro down in 16th, while Southampton are up to tenth, level on points with West Brom and Everton.
Southampton and Boro were meeting in Premier League for the first time since March 2005, while the Saints were looking for a first top-flight home win over their opponents since 1996.
And in a scrappy first half it was Middlesbrough who looked more likely to break the deadlock, with Fraser Forster saving Jordan Rhodes' effort from point-blank range after just four minutes.
Southampton's best chance came midway through the half as Rodriguez latched onto a cross and forced Victor Valdes to get down and make a smart save.
A pinpoint ball from Dusan Tadic was then met by James Ward-Prowse but the midfielder failed to direct his header on goal.
Moments later, a sloppy back-pass from Ward-Prowse played Fischer through on goal for Boro, but the Dane hit the post after rounding Forster and shooting from a narrow angle.
The ball then fell to Cristhian Stuani six yards out, but his first effort was blocked before his second flew over after kicking the ball against his own standing leg.
Eight minutes into the second half, Boufal brought the game to life with a moment of magic.
The 23-year-old, who joined from Lille for £16m in August, struck an effort with his left foot that curled away from Valdes and flew into the top corner.
Boro's response was poor and Aitor Karanka failed to make a change until the 81st minute despite Southampton switching to a more defensive-minded approach when Steven Davis replaced goalscorer Boufal.
Adama Traore's introduction did little to help Boro, and it was Southampton who really should have put the game to bed in the dying minutes.
And while Rodriguez ended up sliding into the net, the ball didn't follow suit in what will go down as a bad miss after the striker failed to direct his effort on goal from two yards out from Nathan Redmond's cross.
Player Ratings
So'ton: Forster (6), Martina (6), Fonte (7), Van Dijk (7), McQueen (6), Clasie (7), Romeu (6), Ward-Prowse (7), Tadic (6), Boufal (8), Rodriguez (7). Subs: Redmond (7), Davis (6), Long (6).
Boro: Valdes (6), Barragan (7), Chambers (6), Gibson (6), Fabio (6), Clayton (6), De Roon (6), Forshaw (6), Stuani (6), Fischer (6), Rhodes (6). Subs: Traore (6).
Man of the Match: Sofiane Boufal
