Upsetting Sunderland’s apple cart well and truly, with the added bonus of a comfortable home turf setting, Southampton obliterated the Black Cats to the tune of a fancy 8-0. The absolutely gobsmacking result tore up St. Mary’s, with native fans set alight with competitive spirit.
Ronald Koeman’s chaps ablaze in red and white educated Sunderland dramatically; six stonking strikes in the back of the net from Saints and two unfortunate blunders in there as well from the north-eastern side shook up the Premier League wonderfully.
Saints Win 8-0 in Black Cats Humiliation
Upon recognising the mistakes made prior against Tottenham Hotspur, Koeman identified two alterations that would ideally switch up the formation to adapt to a new opponent; Jack Cork and Shane Long started the 90-minutes of action in place of Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mané respectively.
Initially, Sunderland claimed the majority of possession, fashioning wholesome passes to one another; it all looked rather sunny for Gus Poyet’s squad, but the promising illusion was quickly ousted. Within just twelve meagre minutes, Sunderland had opened themselves up to mass ridicule; Santiago Vergini’s regrettable own goal placed Saints ahead. The attempt to bounce back from Poyet’s men was rapid, but little did they know.
The passing of another fun-filled (well, for Saints) six minutes led to Graziano Pellè, Italy’s most recent delight, grabbing a legitimate one for his club, with Steven Davis cementing his place, after extending his contract, with a superb assist. On the counter attack, Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson launched a ball in at regiment Fraser Forster, who was hastily able to save what could have been one in the bag for Poyet’s boys. Although Sunderland were actively manipulating the ball, taking shots, their aims were extinguished.
26 minutes in, Pellè seized the ball once more, but to no avail. Despite sighs of relief echoing amongst the Sunderland supporters, Nathaniel Clyne’s super tackles were piling on pressure, making Sunderland’s performance appear all the worse. In a game with an entirely dominant side, the weaker option fails spectacularly; this tendency was showcased all too easily, with Saints biting at the heels of Sunderland at every second.
A miraculous opportunity in the form of a potential penalty for the Black Cats in the 34th minute resulted in dashed hope. Steven Fletcher’s run-in with Forster was deemed normal practice by Referee Andre Marriner. Forster’s sliding collide into Fletcher halted any chances at that moment for Sunderland; Saints’ knack to snuff out any chances from the Black Cats was phenomenal. There really were two very different sides on the pitch. Saints are emerging as quite the formidable club.
The only real prospects for Sunderland shot straight into their own net, illuminating the very meaning of ‘backfiring’, whilst Saints hammered on. 37 minutes saw the next successful pounce from Koeman’s chaps; Cork clipped in a goal on the break, with Dušan Tadić asserting his stamp on the game, with another awesome assist. He really has been bargain of the division, thus far.
Connor Wickham’s flying chance was ruined greedily by Saints, with Tadić then attempting one for his own tally at the half-time chime. 45 minutes of stunning exploits left fans either on the edge of their seats, begging for more, or wanting to hang a leg over the edge of a cliff and see what happens.
The beginning of the second half saw Pellè attack rather clumsily. Despite a peppering of fouls and some botched opportunities for the home team, Sunderland’s Liam Bridcutt helped the St. Mary’s clan reap yet more unexpected rewards; his 63rd-minute own goal challenged the Black Cats once more to continue despite unsettling circumstances.
Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mané gladly joined the others, as Cork and Long were ordered to flock to the bench. As 69 minutes struck, Pellè snatched his second of the game, expertly displaying the flawless ability between the Italian and Serbian Tadić to link up, establishing immense results. A mere nine minutes later, Tadić was clearly enjoying the exclusivity of his team wining wildly; his shot soared straight into the net, and that was yet another on the scoreboard for Saints.
Finding themselves in a seventh heaven situation only a minute afterwards, Wanyama smashed in another, with a little assistance from Mr. Tadić. His extraordinary talent of aligning with his fellow teammates, aiding them in goal production was seriously evident during this fixture.
The young Senegalese, Mané, flourished within the 80-plus-minutes window; his goal in the 86th was yet another endeavour via Tadić, boosting him to try again latterly.
Eight cracking goals under Saints’ belt, with some disastrous help from Sunderland, left the visitors saddened and, ultimately, humiliated. The match was almost like something from the netherworld for the Black Cats, whilst St. Mary’s was largely alive with glory and pounding, unstoppable joy for those wearing the right set of red and white stripes. Hats off, once again, to the Premier League’s new south coast stars.
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