- Black Cats shotless through 65
- Saints shoot up to 11th
- Gabbiadini three goals in two
Manolo Gabbiadini scored a first half brace as Southampton got a much-needed blowout win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
The 4-0 result was the opposite of what Sunderland scooped over Crystal Palace last week, as the Black Cats are last in the Premier League table with 19 points.
Saints entered the day with a chance at falling into the relegation mix, but now have 30 points and sit 11th after a Jason Denayer own goal and Shane Long tally met Gabbiadini’s brace on the scoresheet.
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Adnan Januzaj saw a promising sixth minute shot deflected out for a corner, but Saints cleared the danger from Sebastian Larsson.
Southampton found its footing as the half wore on, and Gabbiadini was awarded his second goal when Nathan Redmond’s cross deflected home off his arm.
The second was not controversial, as Gabbiadini beat Vito Mannone with a classy finish after taking care of Jason Denayer with quickness.
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2 - Manolo Gabbiadini is only the second player to score in his first two PL games for Southampton, after Henri Camara in 2005. Beatified.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 11, 2017
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It took more than an hour for Sunderland to put a shot on target, when Didier Ndong hit a shot directly to Fraser Forster.
Denayer then turned a goal into his own net before Long nabbed a late insurance marker to make it 4-0.