Southampton tasted victory for the first time in the Premier League this season as Armando Broja’s second-half goal saw them win 1-0 against Leeds United on Saturday.
The win lifted Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side to 15th in the table with seven points, while Leeds are one point and two places behind.The hosts came close to opening the scoring early on when Broja flicked on a Nathan Redmond corner towards the back post but Mohamed Elyounoussi failed to meet it.
And it would be Redmond and Broja who would combine for the Saints to break the deadlock in the second half when the former squared it to the on-loan Chelsea forward who netted his first Premier League goal, side-footing the ball into the roof of the net.
Netting on his maiden top-flight start, it capped off a perfect week for the 20-year-old striker, who a week ago had scored the winner for Albania against Hungary.
The visitors had few real chances, but Dan James should have levelled the scores when he poked wide after a lapse from the hosts’ defence, but that was as close as Leeds would come.
Despite a late surge in intensity, Marcelo Bielsa’s men were uncharacteristically flat, failing to create any real chances, and the Saints won with relative ease.
Leeds falling short of the mark has been a consistent problem this season and one which Bielsa will need to address. A mere shadow of the side known for high-intensity football last year, there is much which still needs to be improved.
That is not to say that the Saints were perfect, however. Nineteen shots compared to the opposition’s three, resulting in only a single goal, shows a clear lack of cutting-edge in front of goal which will need to be improved on.
But the hope will be that the result can be replicated in their coming games. Having already played the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, Hasenhuttl’s men now have a run of less difficult matches and the hope will be that they can climb up the table.