- Saints unbeaten in 6 away games
- Tadic scores 4th of season
- Black Cats in 19th
- Allardyce loses 3 of first 4 games
Southampton beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as Ronald Koeman’s men dominated from start to finish.
Dusan Tadic’s second half penalty kick was the only goal of the game but in truth Sam Allardyce’s Black Cats offered little going forward and defended bravely before Yaan M’Vila took out Ryan Bertrand with 20 minutes to go and Tadic converted.
With the win Saints stay in seventh on 20 points and are just five points off the top, while Sunderland remain in the relegation zone in 19th place and are four points from safety.
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Saints started the brighter of the two teams as Jordy Clasie hammered a long-distance just over and Mane flashed an effort across the goal which just evaded Pelle at the back post. In the 15th minute Pelle set up Dusan Tadic with a clever back-heel but Pantilimon saved well with his feet. Mane then rifled a shot towards goal which Pantilimon saved superbly then Steven Davis was offside with his follow-up.
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It was all Southampton in the first half as Sunderland sat back and soaked up the pressure but offered very little going forward. At half time Allardyce decided to roll the dice as Ola Toivonen was replaced by Fabio Borini to try and breath new life into their attack.
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Mane drilled a shot at goal and went twice on two other occasions in and around the box just after the interval and then the U.S. national team full back DeAndre Yedlin made a timely intervention as he cleared a header off the line and was clattered by Mane in the process. Moments later Sunderland continued to defend for their lives as Sebastian Coates cleared Davis’ shot off the line.
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In the 69th minute Tadic played in Ryan Bertrand and M’Vila slid in and took out the England international to concede a penalty kick. Tadic stepped up and slammed home the PK to deservedly put Southampton 1-0 up. Seconds after going ahead Saints nearly conceded as Borini forced Maarten Stekelenburg into a fine stop at the near post, then the Black Cats went close from a free kick as they tried to get back on level terms.
However, Saints held on comfortably for the win and are one of just two Premier League teams still unbeaten away from home.