Saints edge Boxing Day thriller

premier-league London Stadium | Sun 26 Dec 3PM | Attendance: 41,027
Match Report post Highlights

WHU vs SOU
Match Centre

WHU vs SOU As It Happened

Key moments so far

  • Moi Elyounoussi fired Southampton ahead after just eight minutes of play at London Stadium
  • The hosts levelled things up twice through Michail Antonio and Saïd Benrahma
  • James Ward-Prowse and Jan Bednarek find the net in the second half to ensure three points
  • HALF TIME: West Ham 0-1 Saints

FULL TIME: West Ham 2-3 Saints

What an afternoon of football at London Stadium. A superb performance from Hasenhüttl's Southampton side who had to take the lead three times in order to secure all three points in East London. Elyounoussi's opener came after just eight minutes as Saints dominated early on, with Ward-Prowse and Bednarek also netting to ensure a very festive Boxing Day for Saints fans. On to Tuesday!

+6’

Yellow Card for Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton)

Walker-Peters sees a late booking.

+5’

Yarmolenko shoots over 

Bednarek bundles over Antonio and the hosts take the free-kick quickly, they look for space as Yarmolenko releases a shot from his right-foot but his strike goes over Forster's goal. 

+3’

Southampton substitution: Ibrahima Diallo replaces Oriol Romeu

Hasenhüttl utilises his final substitution of the night as Diallo replaces Romeu. 

+2’

Forster punches clear

Another West Ham corner sees Forster having to make yet another vital save from the set-piece. Saints can breathe for a second, but the pressure keeps mounting.

90’

Antonio shot blocked

Some misunderstanding in the penalty area as West Ham continue to search for another goal. Antonio eventually releases a shot but the Saints defence does just enough to clear it. Six additional minutes at London Stadium, a nail-biting few minutes ahead...

89’

Southampton substitution: Stuart Armstrong replaces Theo Walcott

Armstrong makes his long awaited return, featuring for the first time since November. 

85’

Yellow Card for Jan Bednarek (Southampton)

Bednarek is shown a yellow for a tussle with Antonio. 

80’

West Ham United substitution: Andriy Yarmolenko replaces Saïd Benrahma

80’

Southampton substitution: Ché Adams replaces Armando Broja

First change of the afternoon for Hasenhüttl as the opening goalscorer is replaced by returning Adams. 

79’

Benrahma fires over

Lanzini finds Benrahma in a central position but he can't get his shot under control and fires well over Forster's crossbar. 

71’

West Ham retaliate 

Within seconds of the restart, West Ham win a corner as they look to get back on level terms for a third time this afternoon. Bowen's initial cross is deflected behind for another West Ham set piece but Forster is there to safely recover the second. 

GOALSCORER 35 Jan Bednarek

BEDNAREK REGAINS SAINTS LEAD

Ward-Prowse fires in a sublime free-kick to the penalty area and would you believe it, Bednarek is there to fire home a header for Saints as they take the lead for the third time this afternoon.

69’

GOOOAL!!!

Jan Bednarek (69’) | 2 3

69’

Yellow Card for Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)

West Ham find another leveller

As Saints appealed for a free-kick in West Ham's half, Moyes' side rapidly hit the counter. Bowen's released down the right before finding Benrahma charging into the box who fires home a superb strike. 

64’

GOAL

Saïd Benrahma (64’) | 2 2

GOALSCORER 8 James Ward-Prowse

FLAWLESS FROM WARD-PROWSE

Ward-Prowse scores from the penalty spot as Saints regain their lead in the capital. Cool, calm and collected from the captain and while Fabianski comes close, the shot is just too powerful from the skipper. 

60’

GOOOAL!!!

James Ward-Prowse (60’) | 1 2

58’

VAR Decision: Penalty awarded for Southampton [Armando Broja] was confirmed

Kevin Friend goes to the screen and Southampton are awarded a penalty after Dawson makes a clumsy challenge on Broja. 

56’

Rice inches away 

The captian comes just inches away from giving West Ham the lead as he fires a shot from 25 yards out towards goal, it goes past Forster but thankfully for the hosts it skips past the far post too. 

55’

Ward-Prowse hits the counter

Ward-Prowse races down the wing for Saints and searches for the head of Walcott in the box, Dawson is there to clear for the hosts but it only goes out as far as Redmond who can't get his shot under control and on target. 

Antonio draws West Ham level

Instant impact from Antonio who finds the back of the net with a powerful header ending his 10 game goal drought. 

48’

GOAL

Michail Antonio (48’) | 1 1

47’

Back to it 

Moyes has made his intentions known by bringing on Antonio and Lanzini at the break. Can Saints hold off the West Ham attack?

46’

West Ham United substitution: Michail Antonio replaces Nikola Vlasic

45’

West Ham United substitution: Manuel Lanzini replaces Pablo Fornals

HALF TIME: West Ham 0-1 Saints

Southampton came out the far more energetic of the two sides at London Stadium with Elyounoussi monopolising on the advantage early on to give Saints the lead after just eight minutes of play. A couple of positive spells from West Ham have been largely outshone by a dominant performance from the visiting team. A huge 45 minutes ahead as Saints look to hold onto this afternoon's lead. 

+2’

West Ham searching for an equaliser

Rice leads the charge for West Ham as they look to get back into the game just before the break. It's an impressive charge but Saints clear and the ball goes behind for a corner which is safely collected by Forster. 

42’

Walker-Peters applying pressure

Walker-Peters gets the better of Coufal as he comes away with the ball to offload Broja who finds his way into the area with ease. The Albanian looks to drift forward to fire a shot across goal but he loses the angle and there's nobody there to tap in the cross. 

40’

Vlasic forces save

The hosts caught Saints sleeping with a real opportunity to punish Hasenhüttl's side. Vlasic gets the better of Salisu before releasing a powerful, low drive towards goal. It's a good save from Forster who gets a strong hand to the ball to send it behind for a West Ham corner. 

38’

Walker-Peters cautioned 

Walker-Peters has a brief word with Kevin Friend, who cautions him over a number of questionable challenges. He gets away without a booking for now, though ...

35’

Redmond tries his luck

Broja forces Dawson into conceding a corner with Ward-Prowse then firing in a tantalising ball into the area. The West Ham defence is there to clear once more but only as far as Redmond who looks to find the net from range but it's a safe recovery for Fabianski. 

34’

Yellow Card for Declan Rice (West Ham United)

The captain picks up a yellow card for a challenge on Broja. 

33’

Elyounoussi attempts a second

Some lovely footwork from Elyounoussi who dances his way just into the penalty area before releasing a low shot towards goal, it's lacking power and heads straight into the hands of Fabianski. 

31’

Saints back in control

Saints have regained control at London Stadium, after a brief spark of energy from Moyes' side. Ward-Prowse sends in a corner but it's safely cleared by the West Ham defence. 

PARTNERSHIP 🔗

Back in the squad and back scoring goals. A vital goal from Elyounoussi to give Saints an early lead over West Ham. 

22’

Improvement from West Ham

Better from West Ham. Bowen swings in a wonderful ball from the corner into a packed six-yard box, Forster manages to punch it clear but it doesn't get far but Dawson and Soucek hold up eachother and fail to monopolise on the opportunity. 

14’

Better from West Ham

Vlasic breaks for the hosts but his cross flies over the head of Fornals and behind for a goal kick. 

13’

Saints maintaing momentum

Hasenhüttl's side are taking advantage of a somewhat sluggish West Ham side so far, with every player contributing on the attack to maintain Saints' lead. There's a lot of time to go in East London, but it's impressive from the visitors nonetheless. 

GOALSCORER 24 Mohamed Elyounoussi

ELYOUNOUSSI YOU BEAUTY

Having seen plenty of the ball in the opening ten minutes at London Stadium, Walker-Peters drives forward for Saints before releasing to Elyounoussi 20 yards out. A fantastic strike from the Norwegian as the ball bounces into the bottom corner to give Saints an early lead. 

7’

GOOOAL!!!

Mohamed Elyounoussi (7’) | 0 1

4’

Saints feeling their way into the game

An energised start from Saints, who have looked particularly aggressive in the opening stages in their last few games. Can they take advantage early on?

0’

Underway at London Stadium!

Let's go Saints!

5 minutes and counting ⏰

Kick off is fast-approaching in the capital!

14.55

West Ham line-up confirmed 

Starting XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Diop, Masauka, Rice [c], Soucek, Vlasic, Fornals, Benrahma, Bowen. 

Subs: Areola, Ashby, Fredericks, Johnson, Kral, Noble, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Antonio. 

14.10

SAINTS LINE-UP CONFIRMED 😇

Starting XI: Forster, Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Romeu, Ward-Prowse [c], Walcott, Elyounoussi, Redmond, Broja. 

Subs: Caballero, Simeu, Valery, Perraud, Diallo, S. Armstrong, Adams, Long, A. Armstrong.

14.00

STAT ATTACK 🔢

All four of Armando Broja's Premier League goals have given Saints the lead in the game, and have been worth five points overall.

13.47

BOXING DAY DELIGHT | Chelsea 0-2 Southampton

On this day in 2019, Saints claimed a 2-0 victory over Chelsea on another Boxing Day trip to the capital. Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond were on the scoresheet for Saints two years ago, but will Saints see victory at London Stadium this afternoon?

13.15

FESTIVE FOOTBALL 🔜

Fraser Forster, Stuart Armstrong and Ché Adams all returned to first team training this week ahead of Saints' trip to West Ham.

13.00

Southampton have been an interesting side this season. At times they have been capable of competing with the best teams and they’ve got a lot of good things there. I THINK RALPH HASENHÜTTL'S STYLE IS SOMETHING HE'S IMPLEMENTED REALLY WELL AND SOUTHAMPTON, WHEREVER THEY GO, GIVE TEAMS DIFFICULT GAMES.

david moyes
on ralph hasenhüttl's southampton
12.46

FLASHBACK: Saints 0-0 West Ham [September 2021]

Neither side could produce a match deciding goal when these two sides faced in the reverse fixture earlier this season, with Michail Antonio also seeing red in the 95th minute of play. What will happen this time on West Ham turf?

12.30

They are consistently on a high level, hard to beat, defensively well organised, offensively with a lot of quality on the pitch and when you see the development in the past years it’s amazing, yes.”

ralph hasenhüttl
on saints' trip to west ham
12.16

MATCH PACK: West Ham vs Saints

Prepare for today's trip to the capital with our Match Pack.

12.00

Welcome to London Stadium!

Good morning Saints fans and welcome to London Stadium. Boxing Day football is back as Southampton travel to West Ham in the Premier League. Ralph Hasenhüttl confirmed earlier this week that both Ché Adams and Stuart Armstrong have returned to training for Saints, while David Moyes is hopeful Michail Antonio will return after testing positive for COVID. Come on you Saints!

11.17

WHU vs SOU Line Ups

West Ham United

1
Lukasz Fabianski (GK)
15
Craig Dawson
5
Vladimir Coufal
23
Issa Diop
26
Arthur Masuaku
8
Pablo Fornals
replace Manuel Lanzini (45′)
41
Declan Rice (C) yellow card
11
Nikola Vlasic
replace Michail Antonio (45′) goal
22
Saïd Benrahma goal
replace Andriy Yarmolenko (81′)
28
Tomas Soucek
20
Jarrod Bowen yellow card
7
Andriy Yarmolenko
33
Alex Král
9
Michail Antonio
10
Manuel Lanzini
24
Ryan Fredericks
31
Ben Johnson
13
Alphonse Areola
16
Mark Noble
50
Harrison Ashby

Southampton

44
Fraser Forster (GK)
22
Mohammed Salisu
35
Jan Bednarek yellow card goal
2
Kyle Walker-Peters yellow card
21
Valentino Livramento
11
Nathan Redmond
24
Mohamed Elyounoussi goal
6
Oriol Romeu
replace Ibrahima Diallo (93′)
8
James Ward-Prowse (C) goal
32
Theo Walcott
replace Stuart Armstrong (89′)
18
Armando Broja yellow card
replace Che Adams (81′)
27
Ibrahima Diallo
38
Dynel Simeu
10
Che Adams
13
Willy Caballero
43
Yan Valery
17
Stuart Armstrong
15
Romain Perraud
9
Adam Armstrong
7
Shane Long

WHU vs SOU Match Stats

West Ham United

Head to Head Stats

Southampton
  • Possession (%)
    56
    comparison angle
    44
  • Shots
    11
    comparison angle
    11
  • Shots on target
    5
    comparison angle
    6
  • Corners
    10
    comparison angle
    2
  • Passes Complete
    362
    comparison angle
    290

Top Saints Player Stats

shots on target
Goals
1
Jan Bednarek
Jan Bednarek
shots on target
Shots On Target
2
Nathan Redmond
Nathan Redmond
chances created
Chances Created
3
Kyle Walker-Peters
Kyle Walker-Peters
passes completed
Passes Completed
39
Jan Bednarek
Jan Bednarek
tackles
Tackles
6
Mohammed Salisu
Mohammed Salisu
clearances
Clearances
9
Jan Bednarek
Jan Bednarek
saves
Saves
2
Fraser Forster
Fraser Forster