SOU vs CRY
Match Centre
SOU vs CRY As It Happened
Key moments so far
- Crystal Palace come from behind to lead at St Mary's
- Shane Long gives Saints a half-time lead with his first goal of the season
- McArthur equalises before Milivojevic turns the game on its head ten minutes from time
- Saints desperately search for late leveller in vain
FULL TIME: Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
It's a defeat for Saints that looked very unlikely at half time, but it's the visitors who are celebrating at the end of a game of few chances played in treacherous conditions at St Mary's.
Hennessey saves from Boufal
With time running out, Boufal collects the ball on the edge of the box and tries to curl one into the far corner, but it's a routine save for Hennessey.
Three minutes to be added...
Three minutes for Saints to salvage something. Come on, boys.
Zaha misses a golden chance
Stephens misjudges a long clearance from Hennessey and Zaha gets in behind him, but he fires over with an open opportunity to potentially kill the game.
Gabbiadini so close 😩
Bertrand whips in a corner to the near post that's glanced on by Romeu, but Gabbiadini at the far post just cannot reach it as he throws himself at the ball in vain.
Southampton substitution: Nathan Redmond replaces Dušan Tadić
It's a final throw of the dice for Mauricio Pellegrino, as Redmond comes on for the closing stages.
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Palace have turned it around 😔
Townsend breaks down the right and plays a square pass to Milivojevic, who steps on to the ball and dispatches an accurate shot from 20 yards that curls away from the rooted McCarthy and nestles in the bottom corner.
GOAL
Luka Milivojevic (80’) | 1 – 2
Milivojevic shoots wide
Townsend delivers a corner that causes confusion in the Saints box. The ball eventually drops for Milivojevic, who shoots on the stretch but can only steer it wide.
15 minutes to go!
The scores are level and a tense finale awaits. Come on, Saints! 💪
Southampton substitution: Manolo Gabbiadini replaces Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Second change for Saints as Mauricio Pellegrino calls on a second striker. Gabbiadini is on for Højbjerg.
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Long fires over
The striker latches on to a ball over the top and shoots early, but his effort rises high over the bar from 20 yards.
Southampton substitution: Steven Davis replaces James Ward-Prowse
First change for Saints sees the skipper enter the fray at the expense of Ward-Prowse.
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McArthur levels things up
From the second phase of the set-piece, Palace throw another ball into the box that's nodded down by Benteke and lashed into the roof of the net by McArthur from six yards. All the noise is coming from the travelling fans now.
GOAL
James McArthur (69’) | 1 – 1
Palace starting to press
Sako's first involvement is to deliver a cross that deflects off Pied for a corner. Saints struggle to deal with the initial ball and Palace eventually win a free kick...
Great save from McCarthy!
Zaha runs down the left and feeds the ball into Benteke's feet on the penalty spot. The big striker turns and sends a low shot towards the bottom corner, but McCarthy is down sharply to make a terrific one-handed save. That could prove crucial.
Crystal Palace substitution: Bakary Sako replaces Jeffrey Schlupp
Second change for Palace is like for like, as Sako replaces Schlupp out wide.
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Boufal tripped?
Boufal embarks on a lonely run down the Saints left. He cuts inside and then turns back sharply to outwit Milivojevic, who seemingly trips him, but the referee allows play to continue. It's certainly a slippery pitch but that did not look to be the case 🤔
Yellow Card for Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Crystal Palace)
The first caution of the night is handed out to Palace defender Fosu-Mensah. The Eagles have struggled to get anything going so far.
Long chases in vain
Pied plays a long ball over the top, but it zips away off the sodden pitch and the Irishman has no chance of catching that. It seems the wind is at Saints' backs in this second half.
Tough conditions out there...
Fosu-Mensah gets forward from right-back for the visitors, but he gets his cross all wrong as it sails behind for a goal kick. It's not been a night for the purists - the conditions are wreaking havoc down on the South Coast.
The second half is under way!
Palace have kicked off and the action is up and running again. More of the same please, Saints!
Crystal Palace substitution: Patrick van Aanholt replaces Yohan Cabaye
It's a half time change for Roy Hodgson, as van Aanholt comes on for Cabaye. Looks like Palace will play with an orthodox 4-4-2 formation in the second half.
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HALF TIME: Southampton 1-0 Crystal Palace
It's half time in monsoon conditions at St Mary's, where Shane Long's first goal of the season after 17 minutes separates the two teams. Forty-five minutes to go!
Pied takes a painful one...
Zaha is incensed when Romeu's crunching tackle is not punished, and seeks retribution with a strong challenge of his own on Pied. Free kick given, but the defender is in the wars again!
McCarthy saves from Townsend
Townsend lines up a shot from 25 yards that bounces awkwardly in front of McCarthy, who gets the slightest touch to help it on its way past the post for a corner, which Saints clear.
Romeu shoots wide
Romeu tries his luck from long range but just cuts across the ball as he shoots and it veers away from Hennessey's left-hand post.
Pied receives treatment
There's a break in play as Pied goes down injured, but the Frenchman is fit to recover after a brief stoppage.
Bertrand tackles well
Cabaye releases Zaha as Palace break suddenly. Zaha plays in Benteke to his right, but Bertrand recovers brilliantly to stop the striker with a crucial foot in.
He's done it!
It's a first goal of the season for Long, who dispatches Pied's low cross with an unerring first-time finish from 12 yards! Get in!
GOOOAL!!!
Shane Long (17’) | 1 – 0
Højbjerg denied from long range
What a strike! Romeu plays a square pass to Højbjerg, who tries his luck from distance with a sweet shot brilliantly tipped over by the flying Hennessey.
Tadić involved again
The Serbian gets in front of Kelly and whips in a cross from the left, which threatens to cause problems for Hennessey but the keeper watches it drop on to the top of the net.
Zaha shows his pace
First glimpse of Wilfried Zaha in full flight, as he tricks his way into the box but rather drags his shot on his left foot and Saints clear the danger. No doubt who is the visitors' biggest threat tonight.
Tadić shoots over
Another half-chance for Saints! This time Tadić picks up the ball from Boufal and fires over from 20 yards. Plenty of early intent from the hosts. Keep it up, lads!
Early chance for Long!
Saints fly out of the blocks and threaten to open the scoring in the very first minute, as Long seizes on a loose ball in the box and fires over from 15 yards.
We're under way!
The action is up and running. Come on you Saints! 💪
We're ready to go!
The players have exchanged handshakes and the Saints team are forming their traditional huddle. We're ready for kick-off at St Mary's!
19.44Warm-ups complete ✅
Not long to go now, Saints fans! The players have finished their pre-match warm-ups and we're waiting for them to emerge from the tunnel ahead of kick-off...
19.3819.14today is a very important game. we need to keep the same spirit we had against united. three points would help our confidence - we need to win.
sofiane boufalsouthampton midfielder
Two changes for Saints
Mauricio Pellegrino makes two alterations to his side who drew 0-0 at Manchester United on Saturday. In come Jérémy Pied and Ryan Bertrand in the full back positions, as Jack Stephens switches to central defence. Sam McQueen drops out, while Wesley Hoedt is missing with concussion.
19.04Crystal Palace team confirmed
Starting XI: Hennessey, Fosu-Mensah, Kelly, Tomkins, Schlupp, McArthur, Milivojevic, Townsend, Cabaye, Zaha, Benteke.
Subs: Speroni, Delaney, Riedewald, van Aanholt, Souare, Lee, Sako.
18.51Saints team confirmed 😇
Starting XI: McCarthy, Pied, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand, Romeu, Højbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Boufal, Tadić, Long.
Same again, lads?
Last time Saints met Crystal Palace in the Premier League, Roy Hodgson took charge of the Eagles for the first time and Steven Davis scored the only goal of the game. Relive the action here...
18.4230 minutes until team news!
Who would you like to see lining up for Saints tonight? Find out here who Mauricio Pellegrino has selected to start at 6:45pm.
18.16Saints have arrived...
Watch the players arrive at St Mary's ready for action!
17.43Remember this, Saints fans?
Southampton have been victorious on the last three occasions that Crystal Palace have visited St Mary's. Remind yourselves of the latest of those triumphs with these highlights from the last time we hosted the Londoners last April.
17.2316.49we know that palace are playing much, much better than before. it will be a really competitive, tight game, and we need to play at our maximum to get the three points. we haven't had long to prepare, but the recovery after a good performance is always easier.
mauricio pellegrinosouthampton manager
Pellegrino previews Palace clash
We caught up with Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino after his side's 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday, as the manager's focus immediately switched to tonight's meeting with the Eagles.
16.43The countdown is on! ⏳
We're counting down to kick-off ahead of tonight's Premier League encounter at St Mary's. Relive our victory at Selhurst Park in the reverse fixture and find out how you can keep tabs on the action in this short video.
16.36It's matchday! 😇
It's the end of a hectic festive period of Premier League fixtures, as Southampton return to action for the fourth time in 11 days. Tonight we welcome Crystal Palace to St Mary's, with just a single point separating the sides in the table. Stay with us for all the build-up, team news, live match updates and free audio commentary. Come on you Saints! 👊
16.33SOU vs CRY Line Ups
Southampton
| 13 |
Alex McCarthy (GK)
|
|---|---|
| 21 |
Ryan Bertrand
|
| 26 |
Jérémy Pied
|
| 3 |
Maya Yoshida (C)
|
| 5 |
Jack Stephens
|
| 11 |
Dusan Tadic
Nathan Redmond (79′)
|
| 14 |
Oriol Romeu
|
| 16 |
James Ward-Prowse
Steven Davis (70′)
|
| 19 |
Sofiane Boufal
|
| 23 |
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Manolo Gabbiadini (75′)
|
| 7 |
Shane Long
|
Substitutes
| 18 |
Mario Lemina |
|---|---|
| 8 |
Steven Davis |
| 33 |
Matt Targett |
| 35 |
Jan Bednarek |
| 44 |
Fraser Forster |
| 20 |
Manolo Gabbiadini |
| 22 |
Nathan Redmond |
Crystal Palace
| 13 |
Wayne Hennessey (GK)
|
|---|---|
| 5 |
James Tomkins
|
| 24 |
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
|
| 15 |
Jeffrey Schlupp
Bakary Sako (64′)
|
| 34 |
Martin Kelly
|
| 7 |
Yohan Cabaye (C)
Patrick van Aanholt (45′)
|
| 11 |
Wilfried Zaha
|
| 4 |
Luka Milivojevic
|
| 10 |
Andros Townsend
|
| 18 |
James McArthur
|
| 17 |
Christian Benteke
|
Substitutes
| 14 |
Lee Chung-yong |
|---|---|
| 27 |
Damien Delaney |
| 26 |
Bakary Sako |
| 3 |
Patrick van Aanholt |
| 1 |
Julian Speroni |
| 23 |
Pape Souaré |
| 44 |
Jairo Riedewald |
SOU vs CRY Match Stats
Head to Head Stats
-
Possession (%)6139
-
Shots1011
-
Shots on target34
-
Corners47
-
Passes Complete444246
