Brighton handed Southampton their 21st Premier League defeat of the season with a dominant 4-0 victory at St Mary’s, further deepening the relegation worries for the struggling side.
Joao Pedro opened the scoring for Brighton just before halftime, and after Cameron Archer’s potential equalizer was ruled out for offside, the Seagulls took control in the second half with goals from Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma, and Jack Hinshelwood. The result leaves Southampton 13 points adrift of safety with only 12 games remaining, while Brighton climbs to eighth place, boosting their hopes of European qualification.
Southampton’s woes began early, as Lesley Ugochukwu was booked for a reckless challenge on Pedro within the first two minutes. Matters worsened when Jan Bednarek was forced off with a left leg injury after just 12 minutes, compounding the team’s misfortunes.
Brighton soon seized control of the match, with Carlos Baleba’s free-kick narrowly missing the target after a clearance from Tyler Dibling. Mitoma then had a great opportunity but squandered it with a poor first touch after breaking free of two defenders. However, it wasn’t long before Brighton made their breakthrough. Bednarek’s replacement, Armel Bella-Kotchap, on his first appearance for Southampton since August, inadvertently helped Pedro’s touch onto Rutter. Rutter then played Pedro through, and the Brazilian calmly dinked the ball over goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to give Brighton the lead.
Early in the second half, Southampton thought they had equalized when Archer latched onto a through ball and finished past Bart Verbruggen. But the celebrations were short-lived as Archer was flagged offside, a decision confirmed by VAR after a swift review.
From there, Brighton’s dominance was undeniable. Rutter capitalized on a mistake by makeshift center-back Joe Aribo, and after a square pass from Yankuba Minteh, Rutter tapped home to double the lead. Southampton’s appeals for a foul went unanswered.
Brighton added a third just 15 minutes later, with Pedro’s deft touch setting Mitoma free. The Japanese winger finished coolly with a dinked shot to make it 3-0.
The fourth came when Hinshelwood chested down a corner delivery and finished from seven yards out, sealing the victory. By then, hundreds of Southampton fans were already heading for the exits, having witnessed yet another humbling defeat for their team.
