Report and highlights as Danny Ings sends a reminder to Gareth Southgate ahead of the Euros; it was his finishing that proved the difference in a close encounter
Wednesday 12 May 2021 06:45, UK
Danny Ings scored twice on his return from injury as Southampton came out on top 3-1 in an exciting end-of-season encounter with Crystal Palace.
With both teams free of the shackles of relegation it resulted in a pulsating encounter full of chances, sparked by an early Christian Benteke opener (2).
But Ings - on his first start since limping off against Tottenham - skilfully equalised with Southampton's first effort on goal (19). Palace squandered a perfect opportunity to take the lead but Luka Milivojevic's penalty was saved by Fraser Forster (41).
Southampton made them pay as Che Adams slid home at the back post (48) and Ings neatly finished off a flowing move (75) to wrap up the points. It was a timely reminder of his qualities with only two weeks until Gareth Southgate names his 26-man England squad for the Euros.
Southampton are usually associated with fast starts but it was Palace that came out of the blocks with real intent, fresh from their impressive win at Sheffield United on Saturday.
A ball into the Saints box was poorly dealt with and it was Benteke that reacted quickest of all to fire a tidy finish through Forster from a tight angle.
Palace looked composed in their shape with Ralph Hasenhuttl's side keeping the ball without really testing their well-organised opponents. Then Ings came to the party.
Nathan Redmond found him with his back to goal inside the box and the England striker did superbly well to turn into space before sending a fine finish into the bottom corner.
Jack Stephens and Redmond both had efforts pushed away by Vicente Guaita but Palace still carried a threat with Benteke providing a great platform attack. Wilfried Zaha then teased Redmond into a silly tackle in the box which gave Milivojevic the opportunity to score from 12 yards. However, Forster read the spot-kick brilliantly and pushed clear the effort. VAR had a good look at whether the goalkeeper was off his line but deemed it a legitimate save.
Saints took advantage of that reprieve, taking the lead after the break. James Ward-Prowse, whose set pieces were on-point all night, cleverly mixed up his delivery to fire a low cross to Stuart Armstrong on the edge of the box. His strike across goal took the Palace defence out of the game and Adams was on hand at the back post to stick it away.
Benteke squandered another big chance for Palace when being presented with a ball through on goal by Jack Stephens, however, he perhaps had too long to think about the chance and fired a terrible effort wide of the post.
That proved costly as Ings timed his run to perfection to beat the offside trap and finished a flowing Southampton move with another calm finish.
Two chances, two goals. His finishing was the difference between the two teams on the night. His first one wasn't even really a chance either - a half-chance at best as he swivelled and finished like the world-class predator to find Saints a way back into a match they were struggling to make an impact on. Special mention to England team-mate Ward-Prowse too, whose delivery, passing in midfield and tenacity stood out once again. He surely will be in Southgate's plans for the Euros.
Southampton are back at St Mary's on Saturday when hosting relegated Fulham. Meanwhile, Palace are back in action on Sunday lunchtime with a home fixture against Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports.
