Southampton suffered their 24th defeat of the Premier League season as Wolves walked away from St Mary’s with a 2-1 win thanks to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s double.
Wolves have now moved nine points clear of the bottom three, while the gap separating Southampton and top-flight safety stretches to 14 points.
Saints started the game well but their momentum was punctured when Strand Larsen latched onto Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross to give Wolves the lead in the first half (19), and it was the same combination that linked up shortly after the restart to double the advantage (47).
While the first goal showcased the Norway forward’s aerial ability, the second highlighted his talents with his feet. After receiving Bellegarde’s pass, Strand Larsen shifted the ball onto his right foot and slotted his effort from outside the area into the bottom corner.
Southampton’s Paul Onuachu celebrates after reducing the deficit
Half-time substitute Paul Onuachu pulled a goal back for Southampton with 15 minutes to go, having poked Tyler Dibling’s effort that had cannoned off the post home, but his side lacked the quality and drive to take anything more from the game, as has been the case all season.
A chasm now separates Juric’s men and Wolves in 17th, with their fate in the Premier League all but sealed after yet another disheartening display that was greeted by boos from the home crowd throughout.
Juric: Something is always missing
Southampton boss Ivan Juric speaking to Sky Sports:
“I am disappointed because we had two big chances at the beginning of the match and conceded when they first arrived close to our goal. The second goal was almost the same.
Wolves’ Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Rayan Ait-Nouri , and Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes compete for possession
“It is not enough. When you have a season like us, there a lot of things missing. Everything is missing. We all make mistakes. We have to be a team, it is a moment to be tough and work harder.
“Not to go down in a bad way.”
On the boos from the home crowd: “Nobody is happy, it is normal. It’s a tough and ugly moment.”
Pereira: Wolves do not deserve relegation
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira:
“It was very important for us in this moment in the season. I think it was difficult for sure, we suffered a bit in the last 10 because we wanted to keep the three points.
“I think in this moment it was important to make the difference and have the difference to the other teams.
“Nine points is better than six (the gap to the bottom three). We can keep the nine points and try to be consistent. In this league we can’t sleep, we can’t go into games thinking that we can wait for results, we must fight, we must deserve
the victory.
Jorgen Strand Larsen celebrates scoring his second goal for Wolves
“This club doesn’t deserve relegation, the people of this club don’t deserve it. I’m feeling this with my heart and it’s a project I want to take with both hands.”
On the performance of Strand Larsen, he added: “In the last game, he didn’t perform at this level because he got an injury. He broke a bone in his hand two days before Everton but he told us he wanted to try.
“For a striker it’s impossible to do work with a broken hand. Today, one week after, he adapted, he didn’t have the same pain as the Everton game, he’s a player with a strong personality and he proved that he’s a team player and he has quality.
“It was not only the goals, for me he worked defensively and offensively.”
Relegation battle over?
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:
Wolves move nine points clear of the drop, while Southampton stare down the barrel of a 14-point gap separating them and safety.
It feels as if the relegation battle is all but sealed. All three teams that came up from the Championship will be heading directly back down.
A dejected Taylor Harwood-Bellis during the defeat to Wolves
Pereira should be applauded for the job he has done to steer this team, who were down in 19th when Gary O’Neil was relieved of his duties, to safety – but part of this success is down to the lack of quality Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester have displayed.
The fight for survival might be over but the threat of beating Derby County’s tally of just 11 points in the 2007/08 campaign still looms large for this Saints side.
Two points seems like a big ask at this point in time.
