Southampton vs Everton: Ralph Hasenhuttl inspires consecutive Premier League wins as Everton stumble

New manager Ralph Hasenhuttl just may be leading Southampton to safety and perhaps something better than mere survival. A far more convincing display than the score suggests gave Saints back-to-back Premier League wins and a three-game unbeaten run.

But this was yet another unconvincing performance from Everton, whose encouraging results in autumn feel a long time ago. They have lost six of their past ten league games, winning only two. This has seldom been a happy hunting ground for the Toffees – they lost 4-1 here last season – but they were abject for most of the game.

A cracker from James Ward-Prowse gave Saints an overdue lead after 50 minutes and a freak own goal from Lucas Digne doubled the lead 14 minutes later. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s late consolation means that Southampton have kept just one clean sheet in 13 Premier League matches, but no more.

Four players who started the midweek FA Cup replay against Derby County kept their places, but there was no sign of fatigue as Southampton dominated the first half.

Saints could have gone ahead in the seventh minute. Ward-Prowse found Matt Targett on the left and kept running into the penalty area. When the wing-back’s cross arrived, he brought the ball down and shot. It looped off a defender and almost onto the head of Danny Ings but even with an extravagant dive the forward could not quite make contact.

After 15 minutes, following another good run from Targett, Ward-Prowse delivered a corner from the left that Ings met with a glancing header, forcing a superb diving save from Jordan Pickford down to his left. He was entitled to ask his defenders how the smaller Ings had won the ball so easily.

Everton struggled to put any coherent passages of play together until 20 minutes had passed. Then Sigurdsson found space on the edge of the penalty area and passed to Andre Gomes, who teed the ball up for Ademola Lookman, well-known to Saints coach Ralph Hasenhuttl, for whom he played on loan at RB Leipzig last season. His shot was well-struck and goal-bound but Jan Bednarek slid across to block.

Bednarek then turned creator, intercepting a woeful attempted pass by Andre Gomes and striding forward before chipping the ball over the defence for Ings. He hit the ball on the full but Pickford was perfectly placed to parry the shot.

Richarlison led a breakaway for Everton but could not decide whether to pass or go it alone and in the end did neither, taking his eye off the ball and losing possession. Saints’ Nathan Redmond did better on 33 minutes when Hojbjerg’s pass sent him racing through with only Michael Keane for company. He shot left-footed across Pickford but the ball found only the outside of the far post.

Southampton were enjoying themselves, knocking the ball around the Everton players with ease while the men in blue shirts seemed incapable of stringing two passes together. Five minutes before the interval, Saints went even closer to taking the lead as Ings dribbled infield past Idrissa Gueye and Gomes’ attempt to dispossess the Saints forward only succeeded in rolling the ball against his own post, Seamus Coleman finally hacking the ball clear.

The second half opened much more promisingly for the visitors, and only a good save by Alex McCarthy kept out Sigurdsson’s near-post header from a cross by Digne. But they were finally behind after 49 minutes. Ward-Prowse beat Gueye to a loose ball and powered forward before smacking a rising shot past Pickford’s right hand.

The second goal, after 64 minutes, was as comical as the first was spectacular. As Redmond attempted to get a forward pass under control 20 yards out, Digne raced back and got his toe to the ball. Unfortunately for him, the contact sent the ball past the surprised Pickford and into his own net.

Jack Stephens was inches from making it 3-0 with a header past the post, and Pickford did well to tip aside Shane Long’s half-volley. A third would have been no more than the home side deserved but instead Sigurdsson reduced Everton arrears with a low shot through a packed penalty area exactly on 90 minutes