Southampton recorded their biggest ever Premier League victory on October 18, 2014, after they thrashed Sunderland 8-0 at St Mary’s Stadium. Southampton went into the match in good form after winning four of their previous five games, with Sunderland fresh from beating Stoke in their previous match and they had kept clean sheets in two of their previous three games.
However, that defensive resilience became a distant memory at on the south coast as the Saints recorded what proved to be the biggest win by a top-flight side that season.
A comical own goal from Blacks Cats centre-back Santiago Vergini set the tone for the game early doors, with the Argentine volleying the ball past his own goalkeeper Vito Mannone from fully 18 yards out after just 12 minutes.
Graziano Pelle and Jack Cork added further goals before the half-time break to put the Saints 3-0 up and another own goal, this time from Liam Bridcutt, put the result beyond doubt just after the hour mark.
Sunderland seemingly capitulated from there and Southampton were more than happy to take the opportunity to boost their goal count, with Pelle grabbing his second before two goals in two minutes from Dusan Tadic and Victor Wanyama made it 7-0.
There was even time for Sunderland to score a third own goal, with Patrick van Aanholt steering the ball past the hapless Mannone with four minutes left to play.
The victory still stands as Southampton’s biggest during the Premier League era, while it was also the heaviest defeat Sunderland had suffered for 32 years.
Southampton moved up to the dizzy heights of third in the table following the win and they remained in the upper reaches of the division for much of the campaign, eventually finishing a respectable seventh under manager Ronald Koeman.
Sunderland spent much of the campaign battling against relegation, a fight they eventually won as they finished 16th, but boss Gus Poyet never really recovered from the hammering at St Mary’s and was relieved of his duties the following March.
Sunderland did manage to get their revenge on Southampton in the reverse fixture later in the season, with the Black Cats claiming a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light in May 2015, a result that boosted their ultimately successful survival push.
COMMENTS