Ayoze Pérez’s Hat-Trick Inspires Newcastle United To Victory And Across The Relegation Safety Line. Stuttering Saints Are Still Not Safe! Match Highlights. Player Ratings. Comments, And Stats.
By: Marc Gingell
Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 25 year old Ayoze Pérez joined Newcastle United from Tenerife in June 2014 for a reported fee of £3 million. At the time Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Porto were said to be interested.
During his first three seasons in the Premier League, he averaged seven goals a season. This season, with still a few games to go, he’s on ten and seems to have a good understanding with Salomón Rondón who’s found the net nine times in the Premier League this season.
Match Details
| 20-04 | St. James’ Park | Newcastle United (13) | 3-1 | Southampton (16) |
| KO:17:30 | ATT: 52,191 | Ayoze Pérez 27′, 31′, 86 | Mario Lemina 59′ | |
Goal Number One
27 Minutes: Isaac Hayden won the ball in midfield and fed Pérez on the edge of Southampton’s box. Faced with Maya Yoshida and Jan Bednarek he still had a lot to do but somehow squeezed the ball through Bednarek’s legs and in the corner.
Goal Number Two
31 Minutes: Rondón broke down the left and crossed low into the corridor of uncertainty. Ryan Bertrand, who’d had at least a three-yard start on Pérez, failed to clear and Pérez squeezed the ball in at the far post. Bertrand should have done better.
Goal Number Three
86 Minutes: Southampton failed to clear their lines and the ball looped out towards the edge of their box where Matt Ritchie bravely headed back into the danger area. With Angus Gunn going one-way Pérez directed the ball in another from six yards with his head.
Southampton First Half Slumber
Southampton, just as they were when they beat Tottenham at St. Mary’s a few weeks back, offered nothing in the first half and Newcastle won every first and second ball. James Ward-Prowse, for a cynical foul on Miguel Almirón after 23 minutes, could well have received a straight red card. The Newcastle bench were incensed and one of Rafa Benítez’s technical team received his marching orders.
Second Half Changes
Southampton Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl made two changes at half-time. He hooked Josh Sims, who changed the game when he came on at half-time against Tottenham with a man of the match performance, and Jack Stevens who’d looked well out of his depth in the first half. On came Stuart Armstrong and Mario Lemina who hadn’t featured for 13 games due to an abdominal strain.
The shakeup worked and the pair combined to bring Southampton back in the game in the 59th minute. Armstrong controlled a ball on the edge of Newcastle’s box and Lemina took over and curled a right foot shot right into the corner. Southampton followed that up with a flurry of corners and Yoshida, making himself a nuisance as he always does, could, and perhaps should, have scored twice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDN01NI0w5c
Player Ratings
Newcastle: Dubravka (7), Manquillo (6), Schar (7), Lascelles (7), Dummett (7), Hayden (7), Ki (7), Ritchie (7), Almiron (8), Perez (9), Rondon (8).
Subs: Atsu (7), Fernandez (6), Diame (6).
Southampton: Gunn (7), Bednarek (5), Yoshida (5), Stephens (6), Bertrand (6), Hojbjerg (5), Romeu (5), Ward-Prowse (6), Sims (5), Redmond (5), Ings (4).
Subs: Armstrong (6), Lemina (7), Long (5).
Man of the match: Ayoze Perez
Opta Stats
- This was Newcastle’s sixth home Premier League win of 2019 – only Man City (8) and Arsenal (7) have won more.
- Southampton have lost three of their last four away Premier League games (W1 D0 L3), having lost just one of their first four away matches under Ralph Hasenhüttl (W2 D2 L1).
- Ayoze Perez’s hat-trick was Newcastle’s first in the Premier League since October 2015, when Georginio Wijnaldum scored four times against Norwich City.
- Ayoze Perez has scored 10 Premier League goals this season – his best tally in a single top-flight season for Newcastle United.
- Ayoze Perez has scored seven goals in his last seven Premier League appearances at St. James’ Park.
Salomón Rondón has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other Newcastle player this season (15 – 9 goals, 6 assists). - Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn conceded a Premier League hat-trick 25 years and 11 days after his father Bryan Gunn conceded one in the Premier League against Southampton in April 1994, with Matt Le Tissier scoring a treble for the Saints that day.
- Southampton have scored 12 Premier League goals from outside the box this season, a joint high along with Man City and Spurs.
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