Bournemouth stay on European track and leave sorry Southampton adrift

When Ivan Juric promised Southampton fans “heavy metal football” at St Mary’s after replacing Russell Martin in December, most supporters hoped their team would see a lift in style and results. And while glimpses of attacking threat were on display against Bournemouth, it was ultimately the visitors who, with a 3-1 win, had their fans chanting about Champions League away days in Spain and Italy next season.

“Our reality will be at the end of the season,” said the Bournemouth manager, Andoni Iraola, when asked if he was allowed to get as excited as his supporters. “Fortunately for us, it is not the end. If we continue performing well, we may have a chance [to play in the Champions League]. We, as staff and players, cannot start thinking about this. This is not the moment for us to celebrate. Not yet.”

The visitors’ two corners seconds after kick-off were the epitome of early dominance. Their opener came after 14 minutes when Ryan Christie found Dango Ouattara, who cleverly managed to time his run and deftly head home for his seventh Premier League goal of the season.

“[Ouattara] is probably one of the main targets [in the box] for us,” said Iraola. “He is a winger, but you sometimes see wingers who are not No 9s, but if they have the chance to finish a good chance, they will take it.”

Two minutes later, Justin Kluivert found Christie in space near the edge of the box and while the Southampton defenders watched, expecting each other to engage, the Scot lashed a shot into the bottom corner past a fully stretched Aaron Ramsdale. The goalkeeper directed his frustration towards his captain Jan Bednarek as the visitors celebrated, gesturing wildly at the open gaps.

Southampton often struggled to get up the pitch and were so easily pinned back, but the rare times they managed to bypass Bournemouth’s midfield, there were glimmers of promising attacking intent. An early chance saw Welington and Kamaldeen Sulemana combine before the latter’s cross in the box almost found Paul Onuachu.

Juric opted for two changes at the break: Lesley Ugochukwu and Yuki Sugawara replacing Nathan Wood and Welington, as Joe Aribo slotted into the back line. The changes left fewer holes in the midfield and early in the second half an Onuachu turn with the drop of the shoulder might have got the hosts on the board if it was not for a well-timed sliding tackle by Illia Zabarnyi.

“The Aribo and [Will] Smallbone midfield did not work,” said Juric. “That is why [I made the change]. I think they can play better. In the second half, we needed more dynamic players.”

In the 54th minute, Antoine Semenyo’s solo effort almost gave the visitors their third, his sparkling feet weaving through three defenders before his effort was parried by Ramsdale. The Southampton goalkeeper then clawed Christie’s header out from the resulting corner, with goalline technology showing it was millimetres from going in.

Bournemouth took their foot off the gas midway through the second half and the hosts used the opportunity to find a lifeline. Aribo won the ball off the substitute Marcus Tavernier before playing it towards Onuachu. His pass found Sulemana, who smashed it low and hard for his first league goal of the season. The hosts, rejuvenated by the home crowd’s emphatic response, pushed hard for an equaliser but Tavernier’s sucker punch from a late counterattack consigned Southampton to their 20th Premier League defeat in 25 matches.

“I’ve been in other difficult situations [in my managerial career]. Things were not going well before. Things are not going well now but I will try to fix it,” Juric insisted.

“We cannot say my team does not have motivation. Even at 2-0, they are pushing, they want to score. In the second half, for 30 minutes, they played like I want my team to play, aggressive, stealing the ball. We have to try to play like this more. I will not accept the mentality to drop until the last moment.”

The win marks Bournemouth’s first league double over Southampton in the 15th campaign in which they have been in the same division. Last season, Iraola achieved a club record of 48 Premier League points. Europe, let alone the top four, would have been a pipe dream at the beginning of the campaign, but the side currently are on 43 points, with 13 matches left. “Is this the way to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Lazio and Roma?” asked the away section at full time to the tune of Tony Christie’s Amarillo. “Bournemouth boys, we’re taking over. Champions League awaits for me.”