- Arnautovic scores twice
- Back-to-back wins for West Ham
- 4 games without a win for Saints
West Ham eased by Southampton 3-0 at the London Stadium on Saturday, as the Hammers continued to end the season with a flourish.
Marko Arnautovic struck in each half to put West Ham in control, and Ryan Fredericks added another late on to seal the win. Southampton were better in the second half, but were second best for large spells of this game.
With the win West Ham are in 11th on 49 points, while Saints remain in 16th on 38 points.
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Early on Saints had plenty of the play and Stuart Armstrong fired over after a good ball from Ings.
But West Ham took the lead after a horrible mistake from Yan Valery. The young defender passed the ball inside to Mark Noble who set up Arnautovic to slot home and made it 1-0.
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Buoyed by that early goal, West Ham pinned Saints back and forced Fraser Forster (making his first appearance since December 2017) into a smart stop.
Forster then denied Michail Antonio from distance as the Hammers dominated the first half and deservedly led.
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Nathan Redmond came on at half time and was in right away but his shot was blocked. And Redmond’s effort from a corner was then blocked as Saints pushed hard for an equalizer.
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Lukasz Fabianski then tipped Redmond’s shot over the bar but then West Ham sealed the win. Arthur Masuaku’s cross was punched out by Forster but the ball rebounded back to Arnautovic who nodded into an empty net to score his and West Ham’s second.
The Hammers took care of the Saints with minimum fuss as Jack Wilshere, on as a sub, flicked the ball into Ryan Fredericks’ path and the right back finished to make it 3-0.
Arnautovic almost wrapped up his hat trick late on but curled just wide, as West Ham eased to victory and Southampton showed how much work Ralph Hasenhuttl has to do over the summer after they survived relegation.