Southampton eased through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win against Championship side Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Moussa Djenepo opened the scoring for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side before Nathan Redmond doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time with a superb run and finish.
The former Norwich City man then added his second and Southampton’s third goal in the second half as he finished into an empty net after Stuart Armstrong’s effort came off the post.
Although Redmond will steal the limelight after an impressive two-goal display, his teammate Armstrong was excellent throughout the game and deserves a lot of credit for his performance.
As per SofaScore, the former Celtic man earned an impressive 7.9 rating for his display, with only Redmond (9.4/10) rated higher of any outfield player who featured in Saturday’s early kick-off in the FA Cup.
Who was better vs Bournemouth?
Redmond
Armstrong
The 28-year-old, who reportedly earns £50,000 per week at Southampton, was full of energy down the right-hand side and caused Bournemouth all sorts of problems with his direct running, especially in the second half.
Armstrong completed four dribbles out of five attempted during his time on the pitch and clearly had the better of Bournemouth left-back Diego Rico, who earned a 5.8 Sofascore rating for his performance and was axed by Jonathan Woodgate before the hour mark.
The Scottish international also contributed three key passes during the game and registered an assist for Redmond’s first goal, so it was clear that he was at his creative best on Saturday, as he normally averages just 1.1 key passes per game in the Premier League.
He was unfortunate not to be credited with more goal contributions in the game, as his pass found Che Adams to score in the second half, only for VAR to rule it out, before his fierce strike came off the post for Redmond to score Southampton’s third.
Armstrong and Kyle Walker-Peters have formed a fantastic partnership down Southampton’s right-hand side this season and both were on top form on Saturday, which was a big factor behind Hasenhuttl’s side picking up an important win, which seals a place at Wembley in the semi-finals.
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