The contrast of emotions on the touchline could not have been clearer. As Oriol Romeu exquisitely volleyed in to double Southampton’s advantage, Slaven Bilic, who wore a pained look throughout, stood forlorn, arms folded.
A few yards to his left, Ralph Hasenhüttl high-fived his assistant, Richard Kitzbichler, safe in the knowledge they were heading for successive victories. This was another satisfying workout for Southampton, who shared the goals around as they swept a porous West Bromwich Albion aside on a dank afternoon courtesy of brilliant strikes by Romeu and Moussa Djenepo.
For Hasenhüttl, a pleasing result, another clean sheet and what he termed a “proper performance” was augmented by the £12m arrival of the Brest midfielder Ibrahima Diallo, who has signed a four-year contract. Better still, Southampton are hopeful of making further additions before Monday’s transfer deadline. “I think it will be an interesting 24 hours,” Hasenhüttl said. “We are still hoping to get alternatives in one or two positions. We must have a look. We know we have some issues in some positions and if we can get the right package, we are still looking to get another player in.”
As for Diallo, it is hoped the France Under-21 international will bolster Hasenhüttl’s midfield options following the departure of former captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to Tottenham and provide competition for James Ward-Prowse and Romeu, who struck to put the game beyond Albion after arriving late into the box to lash in Stuart Armstrong’s cross.
“I’m happy that we got him because in our No 6 position we don’t have so many alternatives,” Hasenhüttl said. “We were fighting hard for him and in the end we got him.”
Djenepo opened the scoring after nonchalantly turning away from Jake Livermore, the West Brom captain, before drilling a low strike into the far pocket. West Brom improved after the half-time introduction of Sam Field, who replaced Kyle Edwards, who struggled to make an impression on his first Premier League start. But he was not the only one and West Brom, who did at least ask some questions of the Southampton backlline in the second half, failed to assert any authority in a one-sided game, much of which the goalkeeper Sam Johnstone spent repelling Southampton chances. “If there is anything positive from this game, it is his performance,” Bilic said.
He made a superb double save, which culminated in Che Adams being denied from point-blank range after a brilliant break by the excellent Kyle Walker-Peters, who eliminated Conor Townsend after latching on to a flighted Jannik Vestergaard pass, and then brilliantly clawed Danny Ings’s deft header away from danger.
Southampton should have won by a bigger margin but their goalkeeper Alex McCarthy had to be alert to keep out a low strike by Grady Diangana with an outstretched leg after a quick free-kick routine, while West Brom’s centre-back pairing Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley passed up an even better chance before Romeu put the game to bed. “I’ve never seen a professional like him before in my entire managing career,” Hasenhüttl said. “He’s sometimes under the radar because he makes the work that nobody wants to do – closing the gaps, closing the space, winning duels, being everywhere. For this, they love him here.”
Bilic remains desperate to bolster his front line – Leicester’s Islam Slimani and Huddersfield’s Karlan Grant are believed to be on Albion’s radar and how they could have done with a striker’s instinct when Matheus Pereira’s whipped free-kick flew towards the penalty spot. First Ajayi and then Bartley tried and failed to convert from close range, much to Southampton’s relief but, in truth, had Albion taken anything from this game it would have been a travesty.
“They were quicker, they were sharper, and they were better on the ball,” Bilic said. “Their aggression from the start was much better than ours. We have to improve everything.”
