Southampton vs Burnley. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance29,145.
Report and free highlights as Maxwel Cornet scores in either half to earn winless Burnley a point at Southampton, who miss out on second straight win despite goals from Tino Livramento and Armando Broja
Saturday 23 October 2021 21:32, UK
Two of the Premier League's lowest-scoring sides played out a four-goal thriller as Maxwel Cornet's double earned Burnley a 2-2 draw at Southampton.
Cornet nodded the visitors ahead with 13 minutes gone from Matt Lowton's pinpoint cross, but Tino Livramento equalised four minutes before half-time by powering home Nathan Redmond's corner.
Southampton took the lead for the first time in the game when Ibrahima Diallo intercepted James Tarkowski's poor ball forward and released Armando Broja, who raced through before finding the bottom corner with his second goal in as many games.
Cornet would have the last laugh though, as he pulled Burnley level out of nowhere with a first-time effort from outside the box after an Ashley Westwood flick.
Burnley remain winless and inside the bottom three but with some consolation to come back from behind against a Southampton side who have now picked up four points from their last two games.
If there were ever a game where goals looked likely to come at a premium, the meeting of the third and second-worst chance converters in the division seemed a prime candidate.
That expectation was broken in the 13th minute when Dwight McNeil held the ball up well and found Matt Lowton, before Livramento lost Cornet to head his cross beyond Alex McCarthy from eight yards.
Falling behind brought Southampton to life but it was only in the final minutes of the half that they really stepped their play up a gear. Armando Broja took too long to get a shot away before he turned provider for Nathan Redmond to fire wide when it looked easier to score.
As Livramento smacked the base of the far post from 12 yards with five minutes to go it looked like it would not be Southampton's day before half-time, until the young right-back redeemed himself immediately from Redmond's corner, powering a header past Pope for his first Saints goal.
The half-time interval did not stem the hosts' tide and five minutes after the break they took the lead. Tarkowski's ill-advised turn and pass on his weaker foot straight to Diallo allowed him to release Broja, who found the bottom corner with a composed finish.
An unimpressed Sean Dyche was readying his first change when Cornet struck again out of nowhere, catching McCarthy out with an early half-volley from Westwood's flick-on.
That goal delayed Jay Rodriguez's introduction from the bench for more than 10 minutes and when he did eventually arrive, the former Saint came close to punishing his old club when a 20-yard volley on the turn flew just wide.
Burnley began to drop deep in the final minutes as they settled for their lot on the south coast, with Southampton unable to find a way through a congested defence and denied their chance to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since May.
Southampton head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl: "We maybe had a better first half, even after conceding an early goal. We found the right answers and had more chances.
"After half-time the message was clear, to find the second goal. But then we did not have so much control over the long balls and the defending was not good.
"It's their biggest quality and every long ball was a threat. For their second goal we had one moment where we were a little bit sleepy, and that killed our mentality a bit. At the end, a draw was deserved for both teams."
Burnley manager Sean Dyche: "I'm pleased once again with the performance level, but obviously disappointed with the mistakes.
"Our mentality to try to win the game was quite obvious. We're still searching for the win but we've got to maintain these performance and there were certainly good signs today.
"We're aware of the situation and we are working hard with the players, and I don't think we are very far from it."
Despite getting caught out for Cornet's opener, Livramento still managed to shine for Southampton, scoring their equaliser and posing their strongest attacking threat from right-back.
The ex-Chelsea youngster has started brightly on the south coast and only Redmond made as many key passes as the 18-year-old (3), while he also made more passes in the opposition half (30) than anyone else on the pitch.
Southampton visit Chelsea in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Tuesday; kick-off at 7.45pm.
Exactly 24 hours after that, Burnley's fourth-round tie with Tottenham will get under way at Turf Moor on Wednesday night; kick-off at 7.45pm.
