Southampton 3-1 Wolves: Nathan Redmond scores twice for Saints

Nathan Redmond scored twice as Southampton moved eight points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 victory over Wolves.

Redmond struck in the second minute at St Mary's and then again on the half-hour mark, shortly after Willy Boly had headed in an equaliser from a corner.

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Shane Long made it 3-1 in the 71st minute, and Saints held on to take full advantage of losses for Cardiff and Brighton and move a step closer to survival, with chants of "we are staying up" ringing around the ground as manager Ralph Hasenhuttl celebrated on the pitch after the final whistle.

Wolves remain eighth in the table after failing to bounce back from their painful FA Cup semi-final defeat to Watford.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side lacked a cutting edge throughout, with only two of their 17 shots on target, and struggled to contain Southampton when they broke forward.

How the Saints' critical victory unfolded

Southampton were quickly out of the blocks and took the lead in the second minute as Josh Sims, making his first Premier League start of the season, drove down the right and crossed for Redmond to finish.

Wolves went close to a response as Leander Dendoncker headed over from a free-kick and Raul Jimenez saw a low shot saved by Angus Gunn.

The equaliser arrived in the 28th minute when Boly attacked a corner and headed into the net.

But Saints quickly restored their lead as Sims slipped a pass through for Redmond and he coolly dinked over goalkeeper Rui Patricio as he went to ground.

Saints could have scored more as Sims twice missed the target from excellent positions inside the box.

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Wolves improved after the break and Jota slashed a shot wide from the penalty spot before Jimenez blazed a volley over the bar from 12 yards out.

But the home side got a third when Long flicked past Patricio following excellent recovery work from Maya Yoshida, who passed through to the striker after seeing an overhead kick blocked from a corner.

Yoshida almost scored himself shortly afterwards when he was denied at close range by Patricio, and Saints comfortably held out to move a step closer to survival.

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Opta stats

• Southampton have won eight of their 18 Premier League games under Ralph Hassenhuttl, as many as they'd won in 52 games under their two previous permanent managers combined (Mark Hughes 3/22, Mauricio Pellegrino 5/30).
• Wolves are winless in their last five Premier League away games (D2 L3), and have lost back-to-back league games on the road for the first time this season.
• Southampton have won six of their 13 Premier League games so far in 2019, as many as they'd won in the whole of 2018 (P37 W6 D13 L18).
• Wolves haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 13 Premier League away games - only Arsenal (15) have had, and are currently enduring, a longer such run in the competition this season.
• Nathan Redmond's opener after 01:34 was Southampton's quickest in a Premier League game since December 2016, when Virgil van Dijk netted after 01:09 against Tottenham.
• There were just 118 seconds between Willy Boly's equaliser for Wolves and Nathan Redmond restoring Southampton's lead.
• Southampton's Nathan Redmond scored just his second Premier League brace, and his first since March 2017 against Watford.
• Southampton's Shane Long has scored in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since May 2016.

Man of the match - Nathan Redmond

Redmond has been transformed since Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived at the club, and this was another impressive display. He produced composed finishes for both of his goals and remained a threat in the second half as Saints sat deeper and looked to hit on the counter.

What's next?

Southampton travel to Newcastle next Saturday before going to Watford on Tuesday, April 23.

Wolves have back-to-back home games as they host Brighton on Saturday, April 20 and then face Arsenal on Wednesday, April 24.

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