Southampton somehow found a way to get a much-needed win on Boxing Day as they took down West Ham United, 3-2, at the London Stadium. The home side kicked off the match in lethargic manner, allowing the visitors to find the back of the net by the eighth minute (Mohammed Elyounoussi).
“We’ve got to stay in a good strong position, keep moving on,” West Ham manager David Moyes said. “We’ve got another game in two days time.”
Since David Moyes’ first game back in charge of West Ham in January 2020, no club has scored more Premier League goals from corner situations than the Hammers (23).
“I felt when we got back into the game on the second occasion there would only be one winner or at least not lose it,” Moyes said. “I do not know if the second half was true for the way the goals went in. I thought we played well enough to win the game in the second half.”
West Ham struggled to start without Antonio who had gone without a goal in the last 10 matches. His addition to the lineup in the second half clearly changed things, making the Hammers’ more creative. The Hammers dropped to sixth after what seemed like a top-four push a few weeks back.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl was seen celebrating absolutely emphatically after the win. The Saints sealed the win with Jan Bednarek’s header deciding the result.
“Huge win because our record here in the last five years is that we haven’t taken a point here,” Hasenhüttl said. “We played well today it was the right thing to do we never stopped believing and scored three fantastic goals.”
Only two Southampton players have provided 30+ assists for the club in the Premier League: Matt Le Tissier, and James Ward-Prowse.
“It’s about time we won,” Elyounoussi said. “We’ve been working really hard the past few weeks. In the second half West Ham took over a bit and they were the better team for about 20 minutes. Fraser (Forster) in goal was amazing today so credit to him and everyone.”
Ward-Prowse (10 penalties, 11 direct free-kicks) is only the fourth player to score 10 or more Premier League goals via both penalties and direct free-kicks, after Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ian Harte.
West Ham are back in action within 48 hours as they get set for Watford on Tuesday, 28 December.
Southampton, now 14th in the Premier League, will look to build on this win against Tottenham on Tuesday.
