Last update on.From section Premier League
Adam Armstrong's first goal since the start of the season was Adam Armstrong's.
Southampton continued their Premier League revival with an early goal by Adam Armstrong. They suffered a fifth consecutive defeat on Aston Villa.
Dean Smith's team are lacking in confidence. They got off to a bad start, with Matt Cash failing a long ball and Armstrong putting in a spectacular first-time effort at 20 yards.
Villa was a mess in the opening half. Southampton could have taken the lead at the break with several goals. Anwar El Ghazi, the visitor, was fortunate to avoid another booking for a flagrant dive.
Villa was a different side in the second period, with Emiliano Buendia and El Ghazi coming close.
Oriol Romeu pulled Tyrone Mings shirt. They had to appeal strongly, but they couldn't find a leveller. Smith is under increasing pressure.
Southampton moves up to 12th while Villa remains only three points above the zone of relegation before everyone else plays this weekend.
Do two teams go in opposite directions?
At the beginning of October, Villa was six points ahead of Southampton. Now they are four points behind.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's Saints have scored 10 points in four league matches, more than they did in their 12 previous games.
It was Friday night's archetypal game between two halves.
In the first half, Southampton was first to all the balls and kept Villa's defence at bay time after time.
Saints were given an early lead by Adam Armstrong, and Stuart Armstrong was his name.
Midway through the first period, Villa players passed around an unsigned note from the bench. Returning captain Tyrone Mings kept it in his socks, but it didn't change much.
El Ghazi was booked for an early foul against Valentino Livramento. He twice rode his luck. He first grabbed Valentino Livramento by the shoulders, then he dived into the box. However, he avoided any punishment.
Saints could have scored more with Emiliano Martinez diving to stop James Ward-Prowse from scoring.
Villa won 50-50s and created chances at will in the second half.
In the eight minutes of the second period, they had five more shots than in the 45-minutes before the break. El Ghazi got two.
Villa's benches were furious that the referee didn't give a penalty to Romeu for his clear shirt-tug against Mings. There was no activity from the video assistant refeee.
They ended the match with three strikers and probably earned a point. However, this is their worst loss since January 2017 to February 2017.
Smith is under pressure and has 15 days to turn things around. The international break will begin on January 1.
Player of the match A Armstrong, Adam Armstrong, with an average score of 8.26 Southampton Southampton Southampton
Aston Villa Aston Villa Aston Villa Southampton Avg Squad number 9 Player name A Armstrong Average rating 8.26 Squad number 10 Player name Adams Average rating 7.76 Squad number 6 Player name Oriol Romeu Average rating 7.72 Squad number 2 Player name Walker-Peters Average rating 7.67 Squad number 21 Player name Livramento Average rating 7.55 Squad number 24 Player name Elyounoussi Average rating 7.40 Squad number 22 Player name Salisu Average rating 7.33 Squad number 17 Player name S Armstrong Average rating 7.24 Squad number 35 Player name Bednarek Average rating 7.22 Squad number 1 Player name McCarthy Average rating 7.21 Squad number 18 Player name Broja Average rating 7.06 Squad number 4 Player name Lyanco Average rating 7.06 Squad number 27 Player name Diallo Average rating 6.86 Squad number 8 Player name Ward-Prowse Average rating 5.89 Aston Villa Avg Squad number 1 Player name Martnez Average rating 5.91 Squad number 2 Player name Cash Average rating 4.82 Squad number 7 Player name McGinn Average rating 4.41 Squad number 5 Player name Mings Average rating 4.22 Squad number 41 Player name J Ramsey Average rating 4.18 Squad number 35 Player name Archer Average rating 4.16 Squad number 11 Player name Watkins Average rating 3.94 Squad number 3 Player name Targett Average rating 3.91 Squad number 16 Player name Tuanzebe Average rating 3.91 Squad number 10 Player name Buenda Average rating 3.82 Squad number 19 Player name Nakamba Average rating 3.66 Squad number 39 Player name Davis Average rating 3.58 Squad number 31 Player name Bailey Average rating 3.32 Squad number 21 Player name El Ghazi Average rating 3.32
Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text Line-ups Southampton Formation 4-4-2 1 McCarthy 21 Livramento 35 Bednarek 22 Salisu 2 Walker-Peters 17 S Armstrong 8 Ward-Prowse 6 Romeu 24 Elyounoussi 9 A Armstrong 10 Adams 1 McCarthy
21 Livramento
35 Bednarek
22 Salisu Booked in 90 Minutes
2 Walker-Peters
17 S Armstrong substituted for Lyanco in 56' minutes
8 Ward-Prowse
6 Romeu Booked in 62 Mins
24 Elyounoussi substituted for Diallo at the 76' minute
9 A Armstrong substituted for Broja at the 81' minute
10 Adams Substitutes 4 Lyanco
7 Long
15 Perraud
18 Broja
19 Djenepo
23 Tella
27 Diallo
32 Walcott
44 Forster Aston Villa Formation 4-2-3-1 1 Martnez 2 Cash 16 Tuanzebe 5 Mings 3 Targett 7 McGinn 19 Nakamba 31 Bailey 10 Buenda 21 El Ghazi 11 Watkins 1 Martnez
2 Cash
16 Tuanzebe booked at 65mins
5 Mings
3 Targett
7 McGinn
19 Nakamba substituted for J Ramsey at the 63' minute mark
31 Bailey
Archer substituted by 10 Buenda at 71' minutes
21 El Ghazi Booked in 11mins Davis Substituted at 79' Minutes
Substitutes for 11 Watkins 12 Steer
18 Young
30 Hause
32 Philogene-Bidace
33 Chukwuemeka
35 Archer
39 Davis
40 A Ramsey
41 J Ramsey Referee Andy Madley Attendance : 30,178 Match Stats live text Post update Match ends at Southampton 1, Aston Villa 0. Full Time Second half ends at Southampton 1, Aston Villa 0. Jan Bednarek (Southampton), wins a free kick during the defensive half. Cameron Archer (Aston Villa) has posted a Foul update. James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) has posted a post update Foul. Matt Targett (Aston Villa), wins a free kick after the update. Update: James Ward-Prowse from Southampton wins a free kick during the defensive half. Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) - Post update Foul Armando Broja (Southampton) has posted a post-update Foul. Post update John McGinn (Aston Villa), wins a free kick at the defensive end. Post update: Attempt blocked. John McGinn (Aston Villa), left footed shot outside the box is blocked. Mohammed Salisu (Southampton), is given the yellow card. Post update Foul by Mohammed Salisu, Southampton Post update Keinan (Aston Villa), wins a free kick at the defensive end. Jan Bednarek (Southampton), has won a free kick in defensive half. Cameron Archer (Aston Villa) has scored a Foul Post Update Post update Offside Aston Villa. Emiliano Martnez attempts a through ball but Ollie Watkins catches him offside. Post update Corner, Aston Villa. Lyanco conceded. Post-update: Attempt blocked. Cameron Archer (Aston Villa), header from the middle of the box is blocked. Matt Targett assisted with a cross. Post update Attempt missed. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), right footed shot from the outside of the box is close but misses to his left. Jacob Ramsey assisted. Page 1 of 6 Rewind Previous Navigate to Next Page Next Navigate To The Last Page Forward
