Aston Villa bolstered their pursuit of Champions League football on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 Premier League win over already-relegated Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.
The visitors undoubtedly controlled the first period, but they failed to produce a serious threat to test Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in the first 45 and went into the break frustrated knowing that three points could put them into the top five.
Simon Rusk's men knew that a draw would be enough for them to equal Derby County's 11-point total from the 2007-08 campaign - the lowest tally in Premier League history - and perhaps this was on Ramsdale's mind when he saved Marco Asensio's penalty with a little over 20 minutes to play.
However, Unai Emery's side found a way to break the deadlock when Youri Tielemans played an inch-perfect pass to substitute Ollie Watkins, who produced a world-class finish on the volley within minutes of Villa's penalty miss.
After the Villans' opener, the match flowed more freely for the European hopefuls, and fellow substitute Donyell Malen added a second before the 80-minute mark, while John McGinn made it three in stoppage time after Ramsdale remarkably saved a second spot kick from Asensio.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
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After their relegation to the Championship was confirmed last weekend, Southampton parted ways with then-boss Ivan Juric, and Rusk was in the dugout today as interim manager for the second time this season.
With the Saints already demoted, Rusk has the unfortunate task of setting the side up for the remaining few games, and he will be desperate to surpass Derby's historically low points total before he passes the job onto the next permanent head coach.
As for Villa, Emery's men were made to wait for the breakthrough, though they did deserve all three points and moved into the Champions League places with the win.
Attention turns to their quarter-final second leg against PSG in midweek, and the Villans may draw confidence from the fact that they found a way to win this weekend despite being frustrated for large periods.
SOUTHAMPTON VS. ASTON VILLA HIGHLIGHTS
69th min: Marco Asensio (Aston Villa) missed penalty
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73rd min: Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa (Ollie Watkins)
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Tielemans plays an excellent ball from the centre-circle that bypasses the entire Southampton team and finds Watkins on the left-hand side of the box, and the striker deftly stretches out and volleys the ball over Ramsdale, off the crossbar and into the back of the net.
79th min: Southampton 0-2 Aston Villa (Donyell Malen)
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Morgan Rogers turns on the right-wing, finds Malen in a good position on the right-hand side of the box, and the Dutchman fires a powerful strike beyond the goalkeeper into the bottom-left corner to double the lead.
90+4 min: Marco Asensio (Aston Villa) second missed penalty
90+4 min: Southampton 0-3 Aston Villa (John McGinn)
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Remarkably, Southampton goalkeeper Ramsdale saves a second penalty from Asensio, but McGinn - who won the spot kick - is on hand to score the rebound and put the visitors three goals to the good in stoppage time.
MAN OF THE MATCH - OLLIE WATKINS
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Within just five minutes of coming off the bench, Watkins won a penalty for his side and scored the breakthrough goal on what was a previously frustrating afternoon for Villa.
Fellow substitute Malen added a second moments later, but it was the striker's opener that changed the flow of the game.
SOUTHAMPTON VS. ASTON VILLA MATCH STATS
Possession: Southampton 40%-60% Aston Villa
Shots: Southampton 7-25 Aston Villa
Shots on target: Southampton 2-10 Aston Villa
Corners: Southampton 2-14 Aston Villa
Fouls: Southampton 11-4 Aston Villa
BEST STATS
66' - Marcus Rashford off, Ollie Watkins on; Jacob Ramsey off, Donyell Malen on
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) April 12, 2025
68' - Watkins wins penalty (saved)
73' - Watkins scores to put Aston Villa 1-0 up
79' - Malen makes it 2-0
Impact subs. pic.twitter.com/zUgTJ8BTsR
Mohamed Salah (17) and Bruno Fernandes (16) are the only Premier League players to have been directly involved in more goals across all competitions in 2025 than Morgan Rogers (14).
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 12, 2025
Another assist today. 🅰️ pic.twitter.com/zVo8GmomTM
WHAT NEXT?
Up next for Southampton is a trip to London to take on West Ham United next Saturday, while Aston Villa will welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Villa Park for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
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