Southampton 1-3 Brighton: Seagulls Soar To See-Off Struggling Saints

Wednesday, 28 December 2022 10:58

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

Brighton and Hove Albion returned to Premier League action with a resounding South-Coast derby success against Southampton on Monday (December 26).

Defeat ensured a miserable home debut for new Saints manager Nathan Jones, whose side slipped to the bottom of the table after being outclassed at St Mary's.

Having taken charge of Southampton just twice since his appointment on November 10 due to the break for the World Cup, Jones was hoping to oversee back-to-back wins after Tuesday's narrow victory over Lincoln, but his players produced a disappointing performance on Boxing Day.

Brighton, who welcomed back several stars from the winter tournament in Qatar, looked authoritative throughout and took control of the scoreline in the first half thanks to some calamitous Southampton defending.

Former Saints captain Adam Lallana put Brighton ahead on 14 minutes when he smartly headed in Solly March's inswinging cross, although Gavin Bazunu somehow managed to let the ball slip through his hands.

Ten minutes before half-time Brighton made it two when Romain Perraud bundled a Pervis Estupinan cross into his own net.

Southampton — loudly booed off at the break — improved at the start of the second half but March soon restored Brighton's dominance when his stunning left-footed strike from outside the box whistled past Bazunu to give the visitors a deserved 3-0 lead on 56 minutes.

Southampton did pull a goal back when James Ward-Prowse nodded in the rebound after his initial penalty had been saved by Robert Sanchez (73), but the hosts had given themselves too much ground to make up.

Brighton are seventh and now just two points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, while Southampton drop to the bottom of the table following Wolves' 2-1 win at Everton.