Southampton vs Sunderland. Carabao Cup Fourth Round.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance21,460.
Wednesday 26 October 2016 23:19, UK
Sofiane Boufal's brilliant second-half goal proved the difference for Southampton as they beat Sunderland 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
The club's record signing produced a sensational touch and shot in the 66th minute of his debut to beat Jordan Pickford and settle a largely disappointing match at St Mary's.
It means Southampton have reached the quarter-finals of this competition for the third consecutive season and sets up a last-eight clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, the cup exit piles on the misery for Sunderland boss David Moyes who was sent to the stands in the 90th minute for complaining with the officials over a late penalty appeal.
Moyes opted to make just four changes from the side that lost to West Ham on Saturday with Jermain Defoe dropping to the bench and Victor Anichebe making his first start for the club up front.
Southampton made nine changes from the side that drew with Manchester City on Sunday with only Jose Fonte and Sam McQueen - one of five Academy graduates in the starting XI - retaining their places.
And they were forced to make a further change midway through the first half when lone striker Jay Rodriguez was forced off, with an eye problem, to be replaced by the lively Olufela Olomola.
After so many changes, the first half was a disjointed and uninspiring affair with Southampton dominating the ball in the early exchanges before Sunderland felt their way into the match.
Southampton's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had an early shot blocked and Wahbi Khazri wasted some shooting opportunities for Sunderland, but there were no chances of note in the opening 45 minutes.
Indeed, the first real opportunity came on 66 minutes when Boufal's brilliant goal saw the game explode into life.
The Moroccan received a high, hopeful ball from Fonte on the left of the area and took it down, taking his marker out of the picture, before curling a firm, precise shot into the top corner.
It was a rare moment of brilliance in the match, but it was almost cancelled out two minutes later by Paddy McNair, who headed a corner down and off the post - although Lloyd Isgrove would likely have cleared it off the line had it been on target.
Moyes sent Defoe on for the final 20 minutes and he might have levelled when he broke the offside trap and unleashed a low shot which Alex McCarthy dived and chested out for a corner.
Goalkeeper McCarthy looked to pick up a knock in the closing stages and needed team-mates to take goal kicks for him in the final 15 minutes, but Sunderland could not take advantage.
However when Anichebe went down under a late challenge from Maya Yoshida it looked like the away side might be awarded a lifeline from the spot.
The referee did not give the penalty and Moyes' bad night was compounded when he was sent to the stands for stepping onto the pitch to complain about the decision.
