Southampton was able to ease past the relegated claret and blues in a dominant performance at Villa Park overnight.
Joleon Lescott claimed that his side may have been able to play with a little more freedom after their relegation was confirmed last week.
Perhaps the European candidates Southampton were not the best side to come up against to show this new philosophy, however. The travelling Saints dominated proceedings and could have been up within the opening minutes of the game had Shane Long not cannoned his effort into the underside of the crossbar.
The Irishman soon atoned for his error, heading home unmarked 10 minutes later to give the visitors the lead. Long twice turned provider in the match for teammate Dusan Tadić, while Sadio Mané added the final goal in injury time.
Ashley Westwood grabbed both of his side’s goals with a pair of tidy finishes, but the game seemed securely in control of the visitors for the majority of the 90 minutes.
POPULAR ARTICLES
EPL – What We Learned – Liverpool 2 Newcastle United 2
EPL – Player Ratings – Manchester City 4 Stoke City 0
EPL – Match Preview – Tottenham Hotspur vs West Bromwich Albion
Can the Saints make another appearance in Europe?
Ronald Koeman guided his side to their first ever appearance in European competition last season and despite being bundled out in the early rounds of the Europa League in 2015-16, it was a great accomplishment for the club.
Currently sitting in eighth with three games left to play, mathematically the Saints still have a reasonable chance. Their odds look even better once one factors in the possibility that Manchester United could secure Europa qualification through the FA Cup. This would forfeit a spot gained through their Premier League position (similarly to how the Saints qualified last year due to Arsenal winning the FA Cup).
City and Spurs both provide difficult tasks for the Saints, while Crytstal Palace – though more beatable – are certainly no pushovers. Realistically, a minimum of five points will be required to create a chance to make ground on Liverpool, West Ham United and Manchester United, who sit above them.
Fragile Villans
Many explanations for the poor Villa season have been given throughout 2015-16, but this time the reasons looked clear as to why they yet again tasted defeat. Two goals in the game came from free headers on the end of balls crossed into the box, on both occasions it looked that there was clearly a lack of communication between the Midlands club’s defenders.
With no communication across the defensive line, it was simple for the Southampton forwards to peel off defenders repeatedly and then they only had to wait for the right ball to be delivered. At the other end of the park, the problems were just as noticeable with nobody in the home team’s attacking half able to hold up the ball.
Jordan Ayew and his replacement Rudy Gestede had similar difficulty in getting themselves any time on the ball in the attacking half. Whenever it was played towards the front they seemed to all too often lose out to the defenders. With no viable targets up front, the Villa attacking play became all too predictable and easy to defend against.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
