| Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl celebrates after the match with Jack Stephens and teammates Reuters/Paul Childs |
Goals from Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond earned Southampton a surprise 2-0 win at Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday.
Obafemi broke the deadlock with his first goal of the season, bursting inside from the right and curling into the top corner after a tight opening half hour.
Frank Lampard changed his side’s formation from 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1 at the break and nearly earned an instant dividend as substitute Mason Mount set up Tammy Abraham, who flashed a shot into the side netting.
Saints winger Redmond was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga on the break but coolly finished for the visitors’ second after an impressive team move to silence Stamford Bridge.
The hosts struggled to break down Southampton’s tight defence, and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side rise to 14th, three points clear of the relegation zone, building on last weekend’s win over Aston Villa.
Chelsea stay fourth with 32 points from 19 games and must pick themselves up for their visit to Arsenal on Sunday.
Bournemouth 1 Arsenal 1
A second-half equaliser from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Mikel Arteta a point in his first game as Arsenal manager as his side came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Bournemouth in the Premier League on Thursday.
The two sides came into the game in poor form, with Bournemouth having lost six of their last seven and Arsenal only winning once since beating Bournemouth 1-0 at the Emirates on Oct. 6.
Arteta restored Mesut Ozil to the starting line-up and the German forward looked sharp in the opening exchanges, but despite Arteta energetically encouraging his team from the sidelines, they failed to create many chances.
Arsenal‘s sloppiness was punished when they gave the ball away cheaply on the left wing and Bournemouth sliced through them quickly, midfielder Dan Gosling stabbing home Jack Stacey’s centre from close range to give the home side the lead.
The Gunners equalised in the 63rd minute as Reiss Nelson’s shot deflected into the path of Aubameyang, and he swivelled to rifle the ball home before a wild celebration with the traveling fans that earned him a yellow card.
Both sides created opportunities in the pouring rain, but neither could grab a winner and the draw left Arsenal in 10th place on 24 points, with Bournemouth four points further back in 15th.
Tottenham 2 Brighton 1
Harry Kane and Dele Alli led a second-half fightback as Tottenham Hotspur finally came to life to claim a 2-1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Thursday.
Captain Kane followed up his own shot to equalise in the 53rd minute and cancel out Adam Webster’s first-half header and Alli put Spurs ahead in the 72nd, knocking in a pass from Serge Aurier to complete a move inspired by Christian Eriksen.
Spurs were reeling from a disheartening home loss to Chelsea and were missing key forward Son Heung-min due to suspension after the South Korean was sent off in the 2-0 defeat.
“The first half performance was bad and related to the previous result and defeat. You need to start well to get back some good feelings and we didn’t start well,” Mourinho told a news conference.
“The second half was different we brought everything we had to bring, we got back to taking risks and defending in a less safe way.”
The victory took Tottenham up to fifth in the standings on 29 points after 19 games and left Brighton in 13th on 20.
A sleepy atmosphere gripped their stadium in the early kick-off the day after Christmas, although the mood was briefly lifted when Kane put the ball in the net before a VAR review ruled the effort fractionally offside.
Brighton, who had thrashed Spurs 3-0 in October in one of the final games under Mourinho’s predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, went ahead when defender Webster appeared unmarked to head in a Pascal Gross free kick in the 37th minute.
Mourinho left club record signing Tanguy Ndombele out of the squad, later explaining that the French midfielder had told him he was not ready to play because he was worried he could suffer a relapse of the injuries which hampered his start at the club.
The coach brought on Giovani Lo Celso and Eriksen after Kane’s leveller and the move paid off as Eriksen outfoxed Brighton’s defence with a cross-field pass which Aurier flicked to Alli.
“The spirit in the second half was so important. We did not start very well, we scored a beautiful goal which was offside and then they went on and scored. Brighton were very difficult to control but our spirit was fantastic,” added Mourinho.
“We cannot lose two in a row, the work rate was really brave. I told the boys to focus on this game and to give every last piece of energy we have. I think when you lost a game it hurts.”
Everton 1 Burnely 0
Carlo Ancelotti enjoyed a winning start as Everton manager with an 80th-minute Dominic Calvert-Lewin header earning a 1-0 Premier League win over Burnley at Goodison Park on Thursday.
Burnley had been typically resilient in defence, while posing few questions of Everton, and it took a high-quality finish to separate the sides.
Djibril Sidibe whipped in a cross from the right which Calvert-Lewin met with a superb angled diving header which flew in off the inside of the far post.
Sidibe had gone closest to breaking the deadlock with a low drive in the 32nd minute which Burnley keeper Nick Pope did well to keep out with his leg.
Burnley’s best opening came three minutes later when an Ashley Westwood free kick found Chris Wood at the back post but the New Zealander headed over the bar from a promising position.