Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu’s Southampton fell to a 3-1 defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday despite the best efforts of the towering Nigerian, Soccernet.football reports.
Dango Ouattara opened the scoring for Bournemouth in the 14th minute as Southampton found themselves pinned back before Ryan Christie’s precise cross from the left set up the Burkinabe striker, who guided a cool header into the bottom-right corner.
Just a couple of minutes later, Christie went from provider to scorer, curling a shot into the bottom left from the edge of the area, despite Ramsdale’s full-stretch dive. The Saints left too much space for their enterprising opponents, allowing Justin Kluivert to slip a simple pass to Christie, who finished with a plum.
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Onuachu led the charge as Southampton sought to get themselves back into contention before the half time break and the Nigerian came agonizingly close to halving his team’s deficit but he couldn’t connect with Kyle-Walker Peter’s cross.
The former Genk hitman finally stamped his mark on the game in the second-half with his first assist of the 2024/2025 campaign. After receiving the ball from compatriot Joe Aribo, Onuachu played a brilliant pass into the Cherries’ box, finding Kamaldeen Suleiman, who in turn finished low and hard beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga.
However, Bournemouth eventually restored their two-goal advantage through second half substitute Marcus Tavernier, following a quick and incisive counter attack in the 83rd minute.
This latest defeat means Onuachu’s Southampton remain rock-bottom of the Premier League after recording 2 wins, 3 draws and 20 defeats to tally 9 points from 25 matches. Fellow promotion winners Leicester City and Ipswich Town occupy the other relegation spots with 17 points each.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s win sees them climb up to fifth place, leapfrogging Chelsea to enter that Europa League qualification spot. The Cherries will now be aiming to maintain their decent run of form and earn European football qualification for the first time in their history.
