Southampton 3 - 0 NorwichDusan Tadic double helps Southampton to 3-0 win over 10-man NorwichHome team scorers
Graziano Pelle 45 +0:43
Dusan Tadic 64
Dusan Tadic 67
Dusan Tadic celebrates after scoring the third goal for Southampton, his second.
Southampton needed this. After the disappointment of their Europa League exit and the general sense that they were fighting both for form and to retain their star players, they freed themselves from the shackles to put Norwich City to the sword.
Sadio Mané, who has been targeted by Manchester United, returned from the hip problem that had seen him miss the Europa League play-off loss to Midtjylland on Thursday, to set up the opening two goals while Dusan Tadic, who was also back in the line-up after recent difficulties, pepped his confidence with two goals.
Southampton have their first Premier League win of the season and the club’s support could even temporarily forget the ongoing saga of Victor Wanyama’s desire to leave them before evening’s transfer deadline. The midfielder, who wants to force a move to Tottenham Hotspur, was omitted from the matchday squad, with Ronald Koeman, the Southampton manager, saying Wanyama had told him he was not in the right frame of mind to play.
Koeman made it abundantly clear that the Kenyan would stay, whether he liked it or not. He also suggested Wanyama could earn a bigger move than one to Tottenham, if he stayed and excelled, much as his former team-mate, Morgan Schneiderlin has done. Schneiderlin, who saw a move to White Hart Lane blocked last summer, is now a Manchester United player.
Norwich were second best in all areas but the game slipped away from them after Steven Whittaker’s sending-off after 30 minutes. If the right-back’s first booking was cheap – he was punished in the 27th minute for preventing Matt Targett from taking a quick throw-in – then the second was also underpinned by foolishness.
James Ward-Prowse chipped a ball over the top and Whittaker got himself into a tangle with Tadic, clearly impeding him. When the referee Jon Moss rushed over, everybody knew what was coming next, including the Norwich manager, Alex Neil. “I think he tried to tug him back,” Neil said. “He didn’t need to do it.”
Norwich had travelled with confidence and why not, given their eye-catching sequence under Neil. They had not previously lost a league fixture away from home since his appointment last January while their early steps in the top-flight, after their promotion from the Championship, had been encouraging.
Southampton were a little nervy at the outset, mixing some nice moments with loose passing and crossing. When José Fonte sent a wayward backpass towards Maarten Stekelenburg in the 17th minute and the goalkeeper then cleared poorly, the home crowd howled. Norwich might have taken the lead when Graham Dorrans hooked back from the right and Cameron Jerome could not stretch enough to make decisive contact on the header.
The red card, though, changed the game’s complexion. Southampton could point to Ward-Prowse’s early free-kick, which drew a save at full-stretch from John Ruddy and Tadic’s 29th minute shot, which fizzed past the far post. But they pressed on to the front foot with more conviction after Whittaker’s dismissal while Norwich came apart at the seams.
The visitors did not move the ball well, giving it away too often and losing too many duels and second balls. “It was the manner in which we lost our away record that was disappointing,” Neil said. “We didn’t play well and we didn’t deserve anything.”
Southampton’s breakthrough arrived just before half-time and the celebrations mixed delight and relief. Ward-Prowse won possession and he found Mané, who slipped a ball in for Graziano Pellè. The Italian striker had bought a yard of space from Russell Martin with his run towards the near post and he rammed his finish low past Ruddy. Neil could rue the way in which his team had squandered possession and how cold they were subsequently caught.
Koeman made an attacking change at half-time, replacing Steven Davis with Jay Rodriguez and his team called the tune thereafter. Norwich were pinned back and they could not escape. Mané, Rodriguez and Pellè had each gone close before Southampton made the points safe.
Mané’s cross from the right was low and pulled back, and it invited Tadic to run on to it and curl home with the inside of his right foot. It was a smart finish and Tadic’s second followed minutes later, after Ruddy had pushed out Pellè’s header from Cédric Soares’ cross. He could not miss from point-blank range.
Koeman had appeared in the technical area, leaning on his crutches as he recovers from achilles surgery and the crowd responded to him while they also afforded Mané a standing ovation when he was substituted late on. Finally, all seemed well with the world at Southampton.
Man of the Match Sadio Mané (Southampton)
Guardian