Everton were crashed down to the earth by Southampton as the Saints piled more misery on the Toffees. It was supposed to be an evenly contested game but barring a goal the Merseyside club barely had the intent to grind out something.
A brace from Charlie Austin and a goal apiece from Dusan Tadic and Sofiane Boufal was enough to do the damage.
Southampton player ratings:
Fraser Forster- 6
Barring the goal, the English international had a pretty solid time in the goal. Sigurdsson’s effort was so sublime that it brought down the whole St Mary’s Park to a standstill. He has been criticised for his performance in the goal but this encouraging display will surely help him in future.
Ryan Bertrand- 7.5
Bombed forward very efficiently and it came out very brilliantly as he provided two sublime assists to Charlie Austin. The left-back is probably one of the best crossers of the ball in the Premier League and his team exploited it pretty well.
Virgil van Dijk-7
Very convincing performance. Was pretty good with angular long balls and cleared a number of balls to thwart the danger.
Wesley Hoedt- 7
Was the more aggressive one as he tried to knit down a number of passes from the back. Defensively formed a rigid partnership with van Dijk and overall it was a very well drilled performance.
Cedric Soares- 7
Linked well with the wingers and was a constant threat down the right flank.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg- 7
Had a good game. Steered the ball well in the centre of the park and rotated passes to create the base of the game.
Steven Davis- 7
Had the intent to do something and the goal was a result of that. Receiving a pass from Ward-Prowse he curled the ball swiftly past Pickford to send it into the back of the net.
James word-Prowse- 7
Was very mobile throughout the game and constantly pushing the team forward.
Dusan Tadic- 7.5
Gelled up quite well with the other attackers and was always sniffing around the attacking third in search of a goal. It eventually came as he opened the scoring with a very intelligent and sweet finish.
Sofiane Boufal- 7
Was energetic throughout the game and provided the pace and thrust to shake up the Everton defence. Had some good moments.
Charlier Austin- 8
Pellegrino decided to unleash him against a comparatively weak Everton defence and he jumped into the occasion by scoring a brace. Both the goals were examples of how Centre-forwards should react to chances inside the box.
Substitutes:
Shane Long- 5
Had his chance to end his goal drought but couldn’t finish it.
