Southampton vs Everton. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance29,754.
Report and highlights as Everton record their first Premier League away win of the season
Saturday 9 November 2019 23:33, UK
Southampton suffered another disappointing result as Richarlison's 75th-minute strike condemned them to a 2-1 defeat against Everton at St Mary's.
In a game that often lacked quality between two Premier League strugglers, Tom Davies headed the visitors in front after just four minutes, and Saints were fortunate not to be further behind during a one-sided first half.
But Ralph Hasenhuttl introduced Sofiane Boufal at the interval, and it was the substitute's cross that was tapped home from close range by Danny Ings to restore parity five minutes into the restart.
Marco Silva came out in defence of Richarlison this week, feeling his player had been the victim of poor decisions from referees in recent games, and the Brazil forward repaid his manager with a fine finish to secure Everton's first three points on the road this season.
The result alleviates some of the pressure on Silva, moving his side up to 13th in the table ahead of the international break, while Southampton remain deep in trouble in 19th, three points adrift of safety.
Everton arrived at St Mary's without an away league win since late March, and with some questioning whether they had developed a bit of soft touch after recent VAR-related incidents went against them.
Newspaper reports on Saturday even linked Mark Hughes, the former Southampton manager, to Silva's job but they completely dominated their opponents in the opening period, aided by the early breakthrough.
Gylfi Sigurdsson's corner was flicked on by Mason Holgate, and Davies was on hand at the far post to head past Alex McCarthy from close range for his first Premier League goal in 553 days, with his previous strike also coming against Southampton in May 2018.
"All we prepared for this game was gone in that moment," Hasenhuttl said afterwards. "Nobody wanted to have the ball anymore, and the spaces we wanted to use, nobody saw. We weren't brave enough and simply we weren't good enough."
The hosts were seeking a response in their first game at St Mary's since their 9-0 thrashing to Leicester a fortnight ago, but there was little indication in the opening 45 minutes of anything resembling a positive reaction. They did not muster a single shot, and Everton really ought to have doubled their lead when Cenk Tosun met Theo Walcott's cross, but from the same position in which Davies scored, the Turkey striker could only head over.
Sigurdsson, on his return to the Everton side following recent cameos off the substitutes' bench, was his side's chief orchestrator and it was his wicked low free-kick that found Davies once more at the far post after 21 minutes, but the 21-year-old midfielder was unable to direct his header on target.
By half-time, Hasenhuttl's side were roundly booed down the tunnel and the Austrian had seen enough. Having tweaked his system no fewer than three times in the first 45 minutes, Boufal replaced Cedric - and after the side emerged early for the second period, the change paid instant dividends.
The Morocco midfielder was too powerful and nimble for Morgan Schneiderlin on the left flank, and having breezed past the Everton midfielder, Boufal put the ball on a plate for Ings to fire home his fifth goal in nine appearances against the Merseysiders.
The home fans, who were all given complementary matchday scarves, hoped it would be the start of a memorable turnaround that would act as a springboard for their season - but Everton duly regained the initiative.
McCarthy had to be at full stretch to keep out Sigurdsson's floated strike from the edge of the box following good work from Richarlison down the left, before Holgate ought to have scored from close range having met Lucas Digne's long throw.
But Everton were not to be denied as after Silva had made a double change involving Alex Iwobi and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, it was Sidibe's brilliant cross from the right that was swept home on the full by Richarlison, sparking wild scenes in the away end.
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl: "It's absolutely understandable that nobody is happy with our performance and neither was I during the first half. All I do all day is look for ways in which we can play better. That's why I'm here and I will try to be strong.
"This job is not always nice, and it's not always about celebrating winning games. Sometimes, you have to be disappointed, but we have to keep our heads up and try to find solutions."
Everton boss Marco Silva: "Why would I be feeling the pressure? I never feel it, which is good for me. For me, football is always a privilege.
"For me, it is how I look to life and to my job. We had a clear objective and we knew they would want to come and show their character and personality. We had to be brave like they would be and enjoy the match - that's what we did.
"We should've taken the three points 15 days ago [against Brighton], but clearly we were the best team on the pitch. The fans deserve to go back home happy with the result and our performance."
There were several good performances from those in a blue shirt with Tom Davies impressing, particularly in the first half. But after his recent travails, this was a bullish response from Everton's talisman.
Marco Silva had given Cenk Tosun the chance to lead the line, and while the switch gave his side a focal point, it was Richarlison who benefited most noticeably.
With Everton pegged back and punished for not converting their first-half dominance into a bigger lead, Richarlison dragged his side to their first away league win in 225 days with a clinical finish.
Southampton travel to face Arsenal in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, November 23 at 3pm while Everton host Norwich City on the same day and at the same time at Goodison Park.
