Premier League – James Ward-Prowse’s magic inspires Southampton in seven-goal thriller against Villa

James Ward-Prowse scored two sublime free throws in the first half as Southampton advanced to third place in the Premier League table with a thrilling 4-3 victory at Aston Villa.

The Saints midfielder celebrated his 26th birthday with an unforgettable display, doubling his team’s lead with a scandalous 25-yard free kick just after half an hour after assisting in Jannik Vestergaard’s opener some 13 minutes earlier.

Ward-Prowse’s second of the day, which came to the edge of the break, was a carbon copy of the first, as once again he gave Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez no chance with a free kick that ended in the upper left corner.

It could have been worse for Aston Villa as Southampton had the ball in the back of Villa’s net with less than three minutes left, with Ezri Konsa putting the finishing touch on Ward-Prowse’s corner delivery, but the Villa’s defender’s blushes were saved as Che Adams found himself in an offside position after a VAR review.

Southampton inflicted more misery after the restart when Danny Ings sprang into action with an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area with less than an hour to play. Unfortunately, the talisman was ejected with a worrying knee injury at the end.

Tyrone Mings gave Villa a glimmer of hope by converting a beautiful cross from Jack Grealish and Oli Watkins scored a penalty in injury time before Grealish himself entered the act after an additional seven minutes, but it was too late when the Dean Smith’s men fell to a second straight loss after a 3-0 loss to Leeds last weekend.

The victory extends Southampton’s unbeaten streak to five games and they climb to third place in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool, while Villa falls to seventh.

This is a birthday Ward-Prowse won’t quickly forget as he becomes the ninth player in Premier League history to score two direct free throws in one game. He also recorded an assist and would have had another only for the VAR to harshly rule out Konsa’s own goal. Ward-Prowse has now scored seven direct-free kick goals for Southampton in the Premier League, tying Matt Le Tissier as the club’s top player in the competition, and such a performance is sure to catch the attention of England manager Gareth. South Gate.

His talents have certainly not escaped Ralph Hasenhuttl, who has now won 14 Premier League away games, equaling Ronald Koeman’s club record. His high pressure and rhythm system has captured the imagination of everyone in the Premier League and Saints fans are right to harbor genuine ambitions to challenge the top six this season.

However, Villa’s lackluster performance in the first half was another dose of reality for Smith, whose defensive woes from last season seem to be resurfacing. Four wins in six games still represent a very good start, but Smith has work to do to regain his team’s morale after back-to-back damaging losses.

Who else? The Saints midfielder remembered all his qualities with two unforgettable free throws. It has been instrumental in Southampton continuing its best Premier League start in many years.

Aston Villa: Martinez 6, Cash 5, Konsa 5, Mings 6, Targett 6, McGinn 5, Luiz 5, Grealish 7, Barkley 6, Watkins 6, Traore N / A. Subs: Trezeguet 7, El Mohamady 6, Davis.

Southampton: McCarthy 7, Walker-Peters 7, Vestergaard 7, Bednarek 6, Bertrand 6, Armstrong 7, Romeu 7, Ward-Prowse 9, Walcott 7, Ings 8, Adams 7. Subs: Stephens 6, Long N / A, Diallo N / TO.

20 ‘- GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton (Jannik Vestergaard): Southampton have the ball back in the back of the net, and there is no doubt about it! It’s a mismatch as McGinn stays to mark Vestergaard and loses his marker to convert Ward-Prowse’s free throw shot with a bullet header!

33 ‘- GOAL! Aston Villa 0-2 Southampton (James Ward-Prowse): Oh my word, what a free kick! Birthday boy Ward-Prowse lifts the ball over the wall and curls heavily and dives into his shot to knock Martinez off a chance as he ends up in the top corner.

45 ‘- GOAL! Aston Villa 0-3 Southampton (James Ward-Prowse): He has done it again! This free kick is possibly even more ridiculous! He’s a little closer to the goal, but he manages to get high enough in his effort to lift him over the wall, and Martinez is once again unable to do anything as he ends up in the upper left corner.

58 ‘- GOAL! Aston Villa 0-4 Southampton (Danny Ings): What a hit of Ings! Take off Cash, carve inside and unload an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area!

62 ‘- GOAL! Aston Villa 1-4 Southampton (Tyrone Mings): A ray of hope for Villa! Southampton makes a mess clearing a corner, turns to Grealish down the left and a lovely cross comes up, finding Mings shooting point-blank.

90 ‘+ 1 – GOAL! Aston Villa 2-4 Southampton (Oli Watkins): Watkins sends McCarthy down the wrong track to score another consolation for Villa.

90 ‘+ 7 – GOAL! Aston Villa 3-4 Southampton (Jack Grealish): Villa has another back! Are you sure it’s too late ?! A gorgeous curling effort from Grealish makes things really interesting!