Southampton 0 – 4 Brighton

Brighton inflicted a twenty first Premier League defeat of the season on lowly Southampton as they eased to a 4-0 win at St Mary’s.

Joao Pedro put Fabian Hurzeler’s aspect in entrance on the break and, after Cameron Archer’s ‘equaliser’ was dominated out by the offside flag, the Seagulls ran riot with additional strikes from Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood.

The consequence leaves backside aspect Southampton 13 factors from security with 12 video games left to play and propels Brighton as much as eighth and again into rivalry for European qualification.

Southampton have not typically had luck on their aspect this season and that continued early on, with Lesley Ugochukwu booked after lower than 120 seconds for a reckless sort out on Pedro and Jan Bednarek taken off with an harm to his left leg after 12 minutes.

Brighton then began to take the sport by the scruff of the neck. Carlos Baleba’s free-kick bounced simply over the bar after Tyler Dibling’s headed clearance, earlier than Mitoma broke freed from two defenders to attach with a cross from the fitting, although a poor first contact let him down with the purpose gaping.

Halfway via the primary half, they broke via the door that they had been knocking on. Bednarek’s alternative Armel Bella-Kotchap – making his first Saints look since August – inadvertently helped Pedro’s contact onto Rutter, who set the Brazilian on his method to bearing down on purpose and coolly dinking over Aaron Ramsdale.

Early within the second half, the roof almost got here off St Mary’s when Archer latched onto a via ball and tucked previous Bart Verbruggen. However the environment rapidly grew to become muted once more after he was flagged offside; a choice backed up by VAR after a swift overview.

There was to be no getting back from that. Rutter’s presence compelled makeshift centre-back Joe Aribo right into a mistake and, after Yankuba Minteh’s sq. ball, the French striker tapped residence to double the lead. Appeals for a foul from the hosts went unanswered.

The third adopted lower than quarter-hour later, when Joao Pedro’s deft contact within the centre circle set Mitoma on his approach ahead earlier than he discovered the web with a dinked end.

And when Jack Hinshelwood managed to chest the ball down and end from seven yards out after a nook to make it 4, tons of of Saints followers made for the exit after one other humbling.