Report: Brighton too strong for Saints

After Saints heeded a flurry of warnings that matched the visitors’ all-yellow kit, the deadlock was eventually broken on 23 minutes when João Pedro notched his sixth goal of the season.

Doing well to stay in the game up to the break, the hosts thought they’d levelled at the start of the second half through Cameron Archer, only for the linesman’s flag to quell celebrations that were further dented on 56 minutes when Georginio Rutter doubled the Seagulls’ stranglehold on proceedings.

Any feint hopes of a revival were extinguished when Kaoru Mitoma added a third for Brighton, with Jack Hinshelwood’s first goal since September condemning Saints to an afternoon to forget.

Having finished the last two league games at centre back, Joe Aribo began the afternoon on the left of a back three for the first time, as Ivan Jurić made three changes to his starting eleven.

Nathan Wood dropped from the squad with Lesley Ugochukwu restored in the heart of midfield, while Tyler Dibling made a first league start in a month in place of Will Smallbone.

Refreshing the frontline further, Archer got the nod through the middle at the expense of Paul Onuachu who started amongst the substitutes.

Armel Bella-Kotchap made his first Premier League appearance of the season

As the sun beat down on St Mary’s, a pleasant afternoon in SO14 was short-lived by captain Jan Bednarek who was forced off with an injury after 10 minutes, allowing Armel Bella-Kotchap to make his first Saints appearance since August.

Involved in a Premier League match for the first time since May 2023, the German international was thrust into the middle of a good spell for the visitors which started with a set-play.

Carlos Baleba’s free-kick from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection off of Dibling in the Saints wall, landing on the roof of the net as St Mary’s held its breath.

The viewing continued to be at the Northam end, however, as Mitoma’s unorthodox connection with Hinshelwood’s cross from the right skewed just wide.

Now past the 20-minute mark, the hosts had a pre-match downpour to thank for the score staying level, as Yankuba Minteh, clean through on goal, slipped at the crucial point to allow Aaron Ramsdale to race from his line and claim the ball.

Any luck appeared to have been used up, as just moments later the Seagulls struck. Rutter somehow poked a ball through for Pedro, whose coolness defied the mild conditions to lift the ball over an advanced Ramsdale and into the net.

Tyler Dibling drives forward with the ball

The Seagulls continued to get success flying through the middle of the park, and it took Jurić’s side until 10 minutes before the break to mount any sort of response.

From a rare foray forward, Welington’s attempted cross from the right worried Bart Verbruggen enough to concede a corner at his back post, before the Brazilian blazed a 25-yard effort deep into the Chapel Stand shortly after.

Perhaps already feeling as if he should be on the score sheet, Minteh raced into the box from the right with conviction before curling a left-footed strike towards the bottom corner, an action read by Ramsdale who did well to get a hand down to his right to keep the deficit at one heading into the break.

There was one change at the halfway point as Yukinari Sugawara took Welington’s place at wing-back, with Saints then denied a dream start to the half.

The hosts’ best move of the game saw Ugochukwu set Mateus Fernandes into space 30 yards from goal, with the Portuguese’s threaded through ball expertly dispatched by Archer whose celebrations were cut short having been a yard offside.

What could’ve been a turning point quickly faded when Saints’ south coast rivals doubled their lead against the run of play in ruthless manner.

A long ball saw Rutter get the better of Aribo with the ball ricocheting into the path of Minteh, who showed awareness to square for the Frenchman to guide home from close range.

Joe Aribo operated as part of a back three against Brighton

While Fabian Hürzeler’s side were enjoying a good day along the south coast, Minteh’s touch in front of goal continued to allude him, this time in jaw-dropping fashion as he failed to benefit from an open goal, taking too long to shoot to allow Ramsdale to make a miraculous recovery.

A let off for Saints, punishment soon followed as the game ticked into the final 20 minutes, with Mitoma showing too much pace to bare down on goal before dinking the ball into the back of the net to put the game beyond doubt.

Although the points were secured, the Seagulls continued to surge forward at an alarming rate, with Hinshelwood adding to the home side’s misery late on with an emphatic finish after a corner found its way through to him.

Further punishment was avoided in the dying embers when Ramsdale produced two stunning saves to keep out both Minteh and Baleba, but it proved only to be damage limitation as the visitors left SO14 with their quest for European football back on track.

Southampton: Ramsdale, Walker-Peters, Bree, Bednarek (c) (Bella-Kotchap 12’), Aribo, Welington (Sugawara 46’), Ugochukwu (Smallbone 72’), Fernandes (Grønbæk 88'), Dibling, Kamaldeen, Archer (Onuachu 72’).

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Stephens, Manning, Downes.

Booked: Ugochukwu, Ramsdale.

Brighton: Verbruggen, Hinshelwood (Wieffer 83’), van Hecke, Webster (c), Lamptey (Estupiñán 67’), Ayari (Gómez 67’), Baleba, Minteh, Rutter (Gruda 79’), Mitoma (Adingra 79’), Pedro.

Unused substitutes: Rushworth, Cashin, March, O’Riley.

Goals: Pedro (23’), Rutter (56’), Mitoma (71’), Hinshelwood (82’).

Referee: Darren Bond

Attendance: 30,775