Burnley vs Southampton: Clarets cruise past sleepy Saints

Burnley vs Southampton: The Clarets scored twice in the first half en route to a 2-0 victory and three vital points at Turf Moor on Thursday.

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Connor Roberts and Nathan Collins got the goals for interim manager Mike Jackson’s side, as Burnley (28 points) continue to battle Everton (29 points) for 17th place in the Premier League.

Southampton (39 points), meanwhile, remain 13th in the table, with Crystal Palace (37 points) and Aston Villa (36 points) now possessing and one two games in hand, respectively.

Final score: Burnley 2, Southampton 0

Goal scorers: Burnley (Roberts 12′, Collins 44′), Southampton (None)

Shots: Burnley 16, Southampton 11

Shots on target: Burnley 6, Southampton 3

Possession: Burnley 43%, Southampton 57%

1. Burnley more ambitious, confident in possession: At halftime, Burnley had out-shot Southampton 11-7 while holding nearly 49 percent of possession. For any familiar with Burnley’s existence under now-former manager Sean Dyche, those numbers sound almost made-up. 11 shots would have been a high-volume output in many games, let alone one half. The Clarets average just 10.2 shots per game on the season. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? (They managed just 5 shots on 35 percent percent possession in the second half, when they had a lead to protect.)

2. They were up, now they are down: Southampton’s 2021-22 Premier League campaign has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride. They didn’t win their first game until two months into the season (seven games). The month of November was woeful after finally waking up in October. Now, after losing just one game in two and a half months from mid-December to late February (5W-4D-1L), Saints are back in the mud