Aston Villa edges past Southampton amid VAR dramaAston Villa edged past Southampton at St Mary’s with a 1-0 win but all of the talk will be about a goal disallowed by VAR. FULL MATCH REPLAYJames Ward-Prowse thought he had given Southampton the lead with a deflected effort but it was disallowed after referee Michael Salisbury was asked to go to the VAR monitor as a foul was spotted by Mohamed Elyounoussi on Jacob Ramsey. He then disallowed the goal.
Ollie Watkins then headed home the winner late on from a free kick, as that was checked by VAR and he was just onside to seal a third win in their last four league games. [ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA] Unai Emery has won five of his seven Premier League games in charge since replacing Steven Gerrard in November, while Southampton remain bottom of the table but are just two points from safety and the performances have been better which will give them hope. Premier League news Leicester, Brighton trade comebacks in end-to-end 2-2 draw Everton falls to another bottom-half side as West Ham gets big win Stalemate as Liverpool, Chelsea continue to struggle Lady luck not on Saints’ sideThese are the kind of results which happen when you’re at the bottom of the table. Southampton thought they had gone ahead with a deflected goal in the second half but it was chalked off via VAR for a soft foul.
Key storylines & in-form players to watchSaints’ main man is James Ward-Prowse and he is a flourishing in a more advanced role as a No. 10. He has banged in superb free kicks against Fulham and Everton and is leading by example with five goals in his last six games in all competitions. Center back Duje Caleta-Car has been exceptional, while Kyle Walker-Peters is also back to his best and is operating out of position at left back.
SAVE! Emiliano Martinez pushes away a great effort from Moussa Djenepo. Orsic and Djenepo are on late on. Understandably Southampton are going for it. GOALLL! Ollie Watkins heads home a free kick and Aston Villa lead at Southampton. After a VAR check, he was just onside. Villa 1-0 up. Can Southampton respond late on? Southampton really unlucky not to be ahead. Seeing the replays again, that is a very harsh call on Elyounoussi.
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A good chance for Leon Bailey as the ball comes in but he slips at the crucial moment. Villa looking much better. SAVE! Gavin Bazunu denies Ramsey with a fine stop after a great Villa counter. Bailey then smashes the rebound over. No goal! Che Adams somehow can’t bundle the ball home and Kyle Walker-Peters does, but they were both offside and the flag is up.
Southampton close to an opener. Nervy moment for Saints as Gavin Bazunu clatters into Jacob Ramsey in the penalty box and VAR has a look. But no penalty kick. Bazunu just got to the ball first. Strong start for Saints as they are putting Emiliano Martinez under pressure and pushing high. KICK OFF! The sun is out on the South Coast and Southampton are going after four wins in a row in all competitions.
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Nathan Jones and his players were furious and that perhaps led to them switching off at a free kick as Aston Villa grabbed all three points. The fine margins have gone against Southampton in recent games and although performances are improving, they are still bottom of the table. Villa showed extra nous and experience and Saints badly need to add experience, and a clinical finisher, in the final days of the January window if they’re going to stay up. They are so close to climbing out of the relegation zone and are heading in the right direction but the nature of this defeat to Villa will sting.
Stars of showEmiliano Martinez: Made some great stops in the second half to grab the win for Villa. Ibrahima Diallo: Won the ball back so many times and did his best to dig deep defensively. Southampton vs Aston VillaHow to watch Southampton vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start timeKick off: 10am ET, Saturday TV Channel: Peacock Online: Stream via Peacock PremiumFULL TIME: Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa – That is a tough one for Saints to swallow. Villa edge it and they are flying under Unai Emery.
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