Southampton 2-0 Norwich: Premier League – live! | Football

Premier League: “On this evidence, the remainder of the season promises to be a slog [for Norwich] and it would have been a travesty had Southampton only came away with a slender victory,” writes Ben Fisher from St Mary’s.

Oriel Romeu: “Today was a tricky one,” the scorer of Southmpton’s second goal tells Sky. “Everyone expected us to win but it wasn’t easy. Norwich played really well and put us under a lot of pressure but we managed to find our solutions and play a good game.”

James Ward-Prowse: “Going back to the summer, I think we recruited really well,” the Southampton midfielder says on Sky Sports. “The squad has got a lot of depth to it now. Last year if we lost two or three players we didn’t have that depth to step in.

“The squad is good, with a good blend of youth and experience. Everyone who steps up has delivered. It’s a great team to be part of and it’s very exciting moving forward.”

Che Adams: “Every game is difficult but we performed well and kept our standards high,” he tells the BBC. “Oriel tries that kind of thing once a game and I’m buzzing for him that he’s finally got his goal. For my goal Tino crossed it in and I got a touch on it and managed to scoop it in. If I’d gone low and hard the defender probably would have stopped it.”

On Southampton’s good form: “We’ve always worked hard,” he says. “Our pressing is one of the best in the league and when we get that right not many teams can play through it. We all had an agreement before the season to improve on last season. We have to take it game by game and see where we end up.”

Some stats: Southampton had 27 shots compared to Norwich’s eight, nine of which were on target comp[ared to Norwich’s one. Southampton’s xG was 2.66 compared to Norwich’s 0.40 and the hosts had 52 touches in their visitor’s penalty area compared to Norwich’s 15. Saints also enjoyed 59% possession, compared to Norwich’s 41%.

Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! Southampton run out comfortable winners, notching up their eighth Premier League win of the season in the face of feeble resistance from Norwich City. It’s their 17th top flight defeat of the season and keeps them well adrift of safety. Che Adams and Oriel Romeu got the goals that move Southampton up to ninth in the table.

89 mins: Time after time this evening, the ball has been cleared from Southampton corners by Norwich players, only to drop to a player in red and white stripes standing alone on the edge of the area. This time the player in question is Oriel Romeu, who shows great technique to spank a volley past Angus Gunn.

Game, set and match Southampton. Oriel Romeu doubles their lead with a fine strike.

87 mins: Elyounoussi stings the palms of Gunn with a shot towards the near post.

86 mins: Lees-Melou curls a speculative delivery through the Southampton penalty area and a foot or so wide of the far post.

84 mins: Southampton have a free-kick just outside the Norwich penalty area for a foul perpetrated on Che Adams just before his departure. James Ward-Prowse shoots narrowly wide, scaring the bejaysus out of Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn in the process.

81 mins: Norwich substitution: Kieran Dowell on for Billy Gilmour. Southampton substitution: Jack Stephens on for Armando Broja. Saints switch to three at the back.

80 mins: Possibly because they didn’t stop for an impromptu time-out between the 60th and 70th minutes, Southampton are looking a little vulnerable having been in almost total control of the game for the opening 70 minutes.

79 mins: Back in his own penalty area, Hanley blocks the ball again, preventing Broja from drilling the ball across the face of the Norwich goal.

77 mins: With his team looking more dangerous than they have at any other time in the game (admittedly, the bar is low), it’s head in hands time for Norwich manager Dean Smith as he watches Grant Hanley steer a difficult chance wide of the upright with his head.

76 mins: Southampton attack on the break, with Armstrong playing the ball on to Armando Broja, who finds himself through on goal. He’s foiled by good work from Brandon Williams and Angus Gunn but the flag was up anyway. Offside.

75 mins: Mohammed Salisu puts the ball out for a corner which is cleared in installments.

74 mins: Josh Sargent advances on the Southampton penalty area but is forced wide by Kyle Walker-Peters and has to settle for a throw-in.

73 mins: Fraser Forster comfortably gathers a cross floated into the penalty area by Billy Gilmour.

69 mins: Kyle Walker-Peters volleys a dropping ball straight at Angus Gunn from 10 yards, before Stuart Armstrong sends another long-range effort fizzing wide.

68 mins: Already on a yellow card, Mohammed Salisu does exceptionally well to get back, slide in and cleanly dispossess Milot Rashica with a risky, perfectly timed tackle as the Kosovar bore down on the Southampton penalty area.

64 mins: Norwich City remain in the game while simultaneously looking like they could play until midnight without scoring. Where there’s life there’s hope, of course … but another Southampton goal would almost certainly put this game to bed.

61 mins: Grant Hanley has had a busy evening on the blocking and clearing front. His latest intervention is a block that prevents Kyle Walker-Peters from squaring the ball for Che Adams to tap in.

60 mins: Past the hour mark we go. Let’s keep our eyes peeled for any Southampton players going down “hurt” in the next 10 minutes in order to allow their team-mates to take on board fluids, energy gels and tactical instruction from Ralph Hassenhuttl. Of course now their alleged ruse appears to have been rumbled by a hawk-eyed reporter from The Athletic, they might not chance it.

59 mins: Teemu Pukki gets a rare chance to run at the Southampton defense only to be disposed by Tin Livramento as he tried to play the ball into the penalty area. Puklki hauls the Saints full-back to the ground, earning himself a yellow card.

58 mins: Southampton corner. Ward-Prowse’s ball to the near post finds its way into the hands of Angus Gunn.

57 mins: Southampton win a free-kick wide on the left. Ward-Prowse sends the ball into the penalty area, Jan Bednarek gets his head to it and Kenny McLean clears for the visitors.

54 mins: Brandon Williams screams in pain after hoofing the ball and ramming his instep into the studs of an opponent on the follow-through. That’s a sore one but he soldiers on.

52 mins: Kenny McLean wins a corner for Norwich, who looks completely bereft of ideas. Nothing comes of it and Southampton advance upfield. James Ward-Prowse curls a dangerous ball into the Corridor of Uncertainty behind the Norwich defence, forcing Angus Gunn out of his area to head the ball clear.

49 mins: Southampton win a corner and go close to scoring. Ward-Prowse’s delivery is helped towards the far post by Jan Bednarek, where Che Adams fails to connect cleanly under pressure from Brandon Williams. Another corner for Southampton.

47 mins: Southampton win a throw-in deep in Norwich territory. Southampton’s one-man Trebuchet, Mohammed Salisu, opts to sit this one out and Kyle-Walker Peters takes the ball instead.

46 mins: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side.

Barney Ronay: We have been expertly played by Vladimir Putin. Now he is raining death down on Ukraine, and sport has served its purpose in him being able to create this horrifying moment.

Peep! A fairly pedestrian half that won’t live long in anyone’s memory draws to a close, with Southampton leading by the only goal of the game. It was scrambled home by Che Adams to give Saints a deserved lead in a game they have dominated quite comfortably.

45+1 mins: Southampton play it long through Fraser Forster and James Ward-Prowse plays the ball into the path of Mohamed Elyounoussi in a good shooting position. He drags his low shot wide of the far post in the last action of the half.

45 mins: Walker-Peters and Broja link up down the inside-left but the latter fires into the side-netting from a very tight angle.

43 mins: James Ward-Prowse advances from midfield and plays the ball wide to Kyle Walker-Peters. There appear to be four or five Grant Hanleys in the Norwich City rearguard and one of them puts the ball out for a corner. Nothing comes of it, what with Ward-Prowse’s delivery being cleared by another of them.

39 mins: Mohammed Salisu is booked for a cynical foul on Kenny McLean that brings a vaguely promising Norwich City counter-attack to an abrupt end.

38 mins: It was scrappy but they all count. Angus Gunn stuck out a leg to intercept the ball after it was squared by Tino Livramento, but it cannoned off a defender and bounced towards goal. Norwich tried to scramble clear, failed and amid the chaos Che Adams managed to hook the ball goalwards despite being sat on his backside inside the six-yard box.

Southampton take the lead, with Che Adams scooping the ball into the net from a sitting position after a goalmouth scramble.

34 mins: James Ward-Prowse picks out Che Adams at the far post with a corner kick but the striker doesn’t get enough power on his downward header. Southampton have squandered two good chances in quick succession.

33 mins: Elyounoussi crosses the ball into the Norwich penalty area, it bounces between two defenders and is played out towards James Ward-Prowse. He whips it into the penalty area, where Broja shoots straight at Gunn.

29 mins: Ben Gibson blocks a low Armstrong cross to put the ball out for another Southampton corner. Grant Hanley clears, albeit unconvincingly. The ball breaks to Armstrong on the edge of the area and his low drive takes a deflection. In the Norwich goal, Angus Gunn does well to adhjust his feet, switch direction and prevent the ball going past him.

28 mins: Billy Gilmour’s outswinger finds his way back to him, he sends it into the Southampton penalty area again and the hosts clear. A promising Saints counter-attack breaks down when Stuart Armstrong miscues a pass.

27 mins: Norman tries his luck with a shot from distance but his effort is deflected high over the bar. Corner for Norwich.