Full time: Bournemouth 0-2 Southampton
Peep peep! Bournemouth are on the brink of relegation after a chastening defeat. Their effort was beyond reproach, but they were outclassed by an excellent Southampton. Bournemouth can still stay up, but they need a lot of results to go their way.
Bertrand and Obafemi combine to find Adams, who moves the ball smartly away from Rico and rattles it past Ramsdale. That’s an important moment because goal difference will be a factor if Bournemouth are to stay up.
Updated
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-2 Southampton (Adams 90+9)
It’s all over now.
90+6 min I bet VAR is good at parties.
NO GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Southampton
Callum Wilson was offside. He didn’t touch the ball, but he did challenge McCarthy and was thus interfering with play.
There’s a VAR check for offside against Callum Wilson
Kelly’s long throw was flicked on by Surridge and fumbled by McCarthy under pressure from Callum Wilson. It came back to Surridge, who slid it under McCarthy from a tight angle. I think this will be disallowed.
Updated
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 Southampton (Surridge 90+4)
Sam Surridge has equalised!
Updated
90+3 min Michael Obafemi replaces the goalscorer Danny Ings.
Updated
90+3 min Ward-Prowse is booked for a tactical foul on Surridge.
Updated
90+2 min “Southampton’s excellent Austrian manager should definitely get more credit than he does,” says Phil Podolsky, “although he can facilitate this by adopting a last name non-German speakers can pronounce.”
90+1 min There are five minutes of added time. There’s a break in play while Bertrand is treated; he went down just before Harry Wilson’s shot, having been caught by Callum Wilson’s elbow.
Updated
90 min: Good save! McCarthy makes an excellent stop from Harry Wilson, plunging to his right to palm the ball behind.
Updated
88 min Bournemouth’s formation is essentially 3-2-5.
87 min At the other end, Hojbjerg has a shot blocked. Bournemouth bring on Dan Gosling for Philip Billing.
86 min Rico swings the resulting corner towards the far post, where Steve Cook heads down and straight at McCarthy. That was another decent chance.
85 min: Great defending from Vestergaard! Callum Wilson played a through pass towards Surridge on the edge of the area. Vestergaard diverted it towards Solanke, who drilled a low shot from eight yards that was brilliantly blocked by the recovering Vestergaard.
Updated
85 min Another save from Ramsdale. That was more comfortable, with Adams shooting straight at him from 15 yards.
82 min: Fine save by Ramsdale! That could have finished Bournemouth off. Redmond was found in all sorts of space on the edge of the area, but Ramsdale flew from his line to block the shot.
82 min Sam Surridge replaces Lerma for Bournemouth.
81 min: Chance for Callum Wilson! Billing moved down the left and clipped a flat cross back towards Wilson, who flicked his header wide. It was a difficult chance because he was a fair way in front of the near post.
80 min Redmond slips in Adams, who is in the act of shooting when Billing appears on his blindside to concede a corner. Excellent defending.
79 min Rico’s outswinging corner is headed across goal and behind by Lerma. I think he jumped under the ball, which is why it went so far off target.
78 min Lewis Cook is booked for a foul on Adams.
77 min Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg replaces Romeu in the Southampton midfield.
76 min Stacey wins a corner for Bournemouth. Rico swings it in, McCarthy punches it clear. A game of head tennis ensues, after which Solanke drags a cross-shot that is saved by the legs of McCarthy.
73 min Rico’s free-kick from the left is confidently claimed by McCarthy. He’s been good on set-pieces today, very authoritative.
70 min Armstrong shapes a curler well wide from the edge of the area.
68 min Bournemouth bring on two England internationals, Dominic Solanke and Lewis Cook, for Josh King and Junior Stanislas. And that’s drinks.
66 min: Harry Wilson misses a good chance! That was better from Bournemouth. King held off Vestergaard and slipped a pass across the edge of the area to the unmarked Wilson. He tried to curl it first time into the far corner but hit a tame effort too close to McCarthy.
66 min A change for Southampton: Che Adams replaces Shane Long.
64 min Bournemouth are running out of time. They can barely get out of their half at the moment.
63 min Southampton continue to dominate, despite the blow of that missed penalty. They’re a very impressive team.
61 min “I’m finding the Pearson sacking hard to process, Rob,” says Mac Millings. “I know Watford have the manager-merry-go-round reputation, but even by those standards, this is shocking to me. A season and a half ago, we were around seventh in the league, and on a cup run for the ages, and when other fans questioned the way the Pozzo family ran things, we could point at the results of a club punching above their weight. But now, I think there’s a level of despair among us Watford fans. The Pozzo model has little margin for error, and a policy of buying rough diamonds to sell on, rather than buying to fit first-team needs, runs the risk of producing what we currently have - a lot of good midfielders (notably Doucoure, Capoue, and Will Hughes), but a shaky defence and no goals. I fear that, if Watford go down, we’ll struggle in the Championship, too.”
Modern football has the same moral compass as Donald Trump.
Ings stopped in his run-up and then hit an unconvincing penalty that was saved by Ramsdale as he dived to his left. I must say, I didn’t see that coming: I’d already typed GOAL! Bournemouth 0-2 Southampton (Ings 59 pen).
RAMSDALE SAVES INGS' PENALTY!
59 min Bournemouth have a lifeline!
Updated
PENALTY GIVEN! Wilson had his arms above his head when Romeu’s header hit his hand. His back was turned, and it certainly wasn’t deliberate, but he was in an unnatural position.
57 min This will be a penalty.
56 min Southampton appeal for a penalty when Romeu’s penalty hits a Bournemouth defender, Harry Wilson I think. VAR are checking it.
55 min Ward-Prowse’s left-footed daisycutter from 25 yards is palmed behind at full stretch by Ramsdale. That’s another good save.
54 min For all their endeavour, Bournemouth haven’t looked like scoring.
52 min This is the league table since Nigel Pearson took over as Watford manager. A sackable offence, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Updated
51 min Stanislas slides a good pass through to Callum Wilson, and McCarthy dives at his feet to make an excellent save.
Updated
49 min Armstrong batters a long-range shot that hits Cook and goes behind for a corner. Bournemouth are hanging on.
49 min Southampton have made an excellent start to the second half. If they go 2-0 up, Bournemouth will be in all sorts.
47 min Ings curls a terrific shot just wide from the edge of the D. Billing is booked for a foul on Romeu in the build-up.
46 min Peep peep! Bournemouth begin the second half having made one change: Harry Wilson replaces the unusually quiet David Brooks.
Half time: Bournemouth 0-1 Southampton
Danny Ings’ terrific goal means that Bournemouth need another second-half comeback if they maintain a realistic chance of staying up. It’s been a sweaty game of few clear chances; Bournemouth have played okay, but okay won’t keep them up.
45+2 min As for this game, nothing much is happening. That goal has winded Bournemouth.
45+1 min A reminder that Watford had nine toes in the Championship when Pearson took over in December.
45 min Hang on, Nigel Pearson hasn’t officially been sacked yet.
Breaking news: Nigel Pearson has been sacked by Watford
WHAT THE ACTUAL?
Updated
43 min That’s Ings’ 21st league goal of a remarkable season.
That was such a precise finish from Ings. Southampton worked the ball nicely from right to left, with Ings receiving the ball from Redmond on the left side of the box. He cut infield on his right foot, away from Stacey, and cracked a low shot from 18 yards that beat the diving Ramsdale and sneaked in the bottom right corner. Terrific finish.
Updated
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Southampton (Ings 41)
Danny Ings eases Bournemouth towards the Championship with an excellent goal!
Updated
39 min Ward-Prowse’s corner is headed away to Redmond in the D. He hits a sweet volley but it’s straight at Ramsdale.
37 min Bournemouth could do with more from Brooks, who has been unusually quiet on the right wing.
34 min Vestergaard is booked for taking a shortcut through Callum Wilson.
34 min Long finds Redmond on the left side of the box. He tries to cut inside and shoot but is crowded out.
30 min: Brilliant defending from Walker-Peters! King ran 50 yards down the right, and moved into the area before sliding a low cross towards Wilson in the six-yard box. Walker-Peters, stretching towards his own goal, not only intercepted the cross but also managed to avoid putting it into his own net. He diverted it back past the near post, allowing Vestergaard to complete the clearance.
29 min That was the first shot on target in the match.
28 min Ward-Prowse misses an excellent chance, heading straight at Ramsdale from Romeu’s angled cross. He probably should have scored.
25 min Stanislas wins a corner down the left and takes it himself. There’s a bit of a scramble in the area before Redmond runs the ball clear.
22 min Time for a drinks break.
20 min Bournemouth have been unusually direct so far, clipping the ball into the channels at every opportunity. It’s an interesting game.
Updated
16 min Ward-Prowse shapes an excellent through pass to Redmond, and Ramsdale dives at his feet to push the ball away. Excellent goalkeeping. At the other end, Stanislas’s through pass just evades the stretching King in the area.
Updated
13 min No, no penalty, there was nothing in it. King just lost his balance.
12 min Bournemouth appeal for a penalty when King goes over after a struggle with Stephens. It’ll be checked by VAR, and it’s a pretty good shout.
Updated
12 min Armstrong, on the right wing near the halfway line, plays an imaginative through ball that is just too far in front of Long.
10 min Rico’s corner leads to a scramble in the area. Eventually Kelly hits a clever shot on the turn that deflects just wide of the near post. This is a good spell for Bournemouth. Moments later, Wilson heads over the bar from eight yards. It was a good chance, from Stanislas’s floated cross, but Wilson couldn’t generate any power. Or any accuracy.
8 min A superb cross from Rico bounces right across the face of goal, just in front of a flat-footed Callum Wilson.
Updated
7 min Rico blooters well wide from long range.
7 min Bournemouth win their first corner. Rico’s inswinger is headed away by Vestergaard.
5 min Southampton have made a confident start, as you’d expect given their recent away form.
2 min Ward-Prowse’s corner is headed away by Billing. Southampton keep the ball alive and appeal for a penalty when Bertrand’s shot hits the arm of Kelly. We haven’t seen a replay but VAR hasn’t intervwned.
1 min Ings wins a corner after 29 seconds. Ward-Prowse will take it.
1 min Peep peep! Southampton, in their white change strip, kick off from left to right. Bournemouth are in red and black.
The players emerge on an overcast afternoon in Bournemouth. Southampton look relaxed, Bournemouth serious.
Only a few minutes until the kick off. A win today would also give Bournemouth their first league double over Southampton. Normally that would be a big talking point; today, at least for Bournemouth, bragging rights are a secondary consideration.
Team news
Bournemouth (4-4-2) Ramsdale; Stacey, S Cook, Kelly, Rico; Brooks, Billing, Lerma, Stanislas; C Wilson, King.
Substitutes: Boruc, Simpson, Gosling, Surman, L Cook, H Wilson, Solanke, Danjuma, Surridge.
Southampton (4-4-2) McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Stevens, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Redmond; Long, Ings.
Substitutes: Gunn, Valery, Vokins, Smallbone, Hojbjerg, Danso, Ferry, Adams, Obafemi.
Referee Craig Pawson.
Preamble
Hello. Bournemouth have won and lost eight of their last 11 Premier League games. But the timing and manner of that victory, the surreal 4-1 thrashing of Leicester a week ago, has given them genuine hope of avoiding relegation. They almost nicked a point at Manchester City in the week, and if they win their last two games – Southampton at home today, Everton away next Sunday – they could well stay up.
That’s because Watford, who are three points above Bournemouth, have two very tough games remaining: an aggrieved City at home on Tuesday, a confident Arsenal away on Sunday.
For those games to matter, Bournemouth need to do their job. A two-goal win today would move them out of the relegation places. A draw or even a defeat would not be terminal, but it would leave them with a dangerously good view from the precipice.
Kick off 2pm.
Updated
