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Dango Ouattara (right) now has seven Premier League goals for the season Goals from Dango Ouattara, Ryan Christie and Marcus Tavernier sealed victory for Bournemouth at Southampton and moved them up to fifth in the Premier League. The south coast sides are on different trajectories this season, evidenced as Andoni Iraola's team scored twice in the first half to put themselves in control at St Mary's. Ryan Christie's cross was headed in by Ouattara, who is proving himself as a striker in the absence of injured duo Evanilson and Enes Unal, before Christie fired past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from the edge of the box. Kamaldeen Sulemana set up a tense end to the match by halving the deficit in the 72nd minute, but Tavernier struck to sink the Saints and ensure the Cherries leapfrog Newcastle and Chelsea. Bournemouth dominated for much of the game but did not have to be at their scintillating best to defeat a Saints side who, for all their endeavour, lacked confidence. After Christie's cross was glanced in by an unmarked Ouattara, the hosts gave the ball away on the edge of their own box and the Scotland midfielder punished them with a fine finish beyond Ramsdale. The England keeper kept the deficit to two with remarkable stops from Semenyo - following a superb run - and Christie, before Sulemana gave the home side hope with a low drive. Despite the boost his goal gave the Saints, they lacked the cutting edge to capitalise and were hit on the break by a devastating Tavernier finish. Southampton remain rooted to the foot of the table, 10 points from safety. Have your say on Southampton’s performance What did you make of Bournemouth’s display? Ryan Christie's goal against Southampton was his first since October This season, Semenyo, Justin Kluivert and Ouattara have stolen the headlines for Bournemouth, as the Cherries' relentless attacking play has garnered praise for manager Iraola. One man whose consistency and influence has gone largely unnoticed, though, is Christie. Formerly a winger, the 29-year-old has reinvented himself as a central midfielder and is a key cog in Iraola's engine room, caressing the ball across the pitch, winning possession back and getting his team on the attack. His delivery for Ouattara's opener was pinpoint and, again with his trademark left foot, Christie fired beyond Ramsdale from the edge of the box for his second Premier League goal of the season. He almost grabbed a second goal with a flicked header from a corner but Ramsdale's reflexes ensured not all of the ball crossed the line when it looked destined to ripple the net. Christie has missed only one league match for the Cherries this term, starting the past 13. Of these games, Bournemouth's only loss was the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool at the beginning of February. The influence of the midfielder was not lost on Iraola either, who said afterwards: "I think Ryan has played very well in the games. "Today he got the numbers and sometimes he doesn't. I am very happy for him because he is trying to improve. Today he has done everything. " This video can not be played Results have been deserved - Iraola The Saints have won only once at home in the league this season - 1-0 against Everton in November. After Leicester lost 2-0 to Arsenal earlier on Saturday, Ivan Juric's team had the opportunity to cut the gap between them and the Foxes to five points and failed to take it - as has been the case regularly in 2024-25. Despite Sulemana's goal, which showed great quality, Saints were toothless once more. Matheus Fernandes desperately looked to create, but the home side were largely limited to speculative shots from the edge of the box. Paul Onuachu struggled to hold the ball up against Bournemouth's defenders, other than his assist for Sulemana, and when substitute Cameron Archer found space in behind late on he failed to beat keeper Kepa. Southampton's win at relegation rivals Ipswich two weeks ago appeared to breathe new life into Juric's team, but that optimism has since dissipated in a fortnight in which they were also eliminated from the FA Cup by Championship side Burnley. Only Sheffield United in 1975-76 have accrued fewer points after 25 top-flight games than Southampton's nine in 2024-25, but Juric insists the struggles of his side are not down to a lack of effort. "We have good spirit and we scored the goal and created opportunities and played like I want my team to play, with lots of aggression and winning the duels and flair but it wasn't enough, " he said. "We are in a bad situation and there were some positives but not enough to take points in the Premier League. "The players are giving 100%. I had a feeling that they have given the maximum. "We will try [to stay up]. While we have the chance, we will try. " This video can not be played Southampton 'missing a little bit of everything' - Juric After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 15th February 2025 at 19: 01 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Ivan Juric Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Manager: Andoni Iraola Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Ivan Juric Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 Manager: Andoni Iraola Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Premier League All competitions All competitions All competitions Having lost just two of their first 11 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth (W5 D4), Southampton have now lost both of their last two against the Cherries. Following their 3-1 win at the Vitality Stadium in September, Bournemouth are looking to complete the league double over Southampton for the first time, in what is the 15th different campaign in which they’ve met. After beating Ipswich Town 2-1 last time out, Southampton are looking to win successive Premier League games for the first time since February 2022. However, they have lost each of their last six home league games, conceding 22 goals in that time. Bournemouth are enjoying their longest ever unbeaten run on the road in the Premier League, with Andoni Iraola’s side unbeaten in their previous six matches (W4 D2). Bournemouth have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games against sides starting the day in the bottom three (W9 D2), winning all three games this season. Southampton have scored the opening goal in four of their last six Premier League games, including each of their last two, already once more than in their 16 league games under Russell Martin in 2024-25. Bournemouth have won possession in the final third more often than any other Premier League side this season (146), while Southampton have lost possession more often in their defensive third than any other side (154). After failing to score in his first 22 Premier League games, Southampton’s Paul Onuachu has scored two goals in his last three games. Against Ipswich he competed in 27 aerial duels (winning 16), the most by a player in a Premier League since the start of 2020-21, while Bournemouth have the second-lowest aerial duel success rate in the competition this season (343/744 – 46. 1%).   Only Mohamed Salah and Alexader Isak have scored more Premier League goals away from home this season than Justin Kluivert (9), who could become the first Bournemouth player to score in four consecutive away appearances in the competition. Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo has either scored (2) or assisted (2) in each of his last four Premier League away games, while his next goal involvement will see him record his best ever return in a top-flight season (7 goals, 3 assists currently). Match ends, Southampton 1, Bournemouth 3. Second Half ends, Southampton 1, Bournemouth 3. Attempt blocked. Alex Scott (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Kepa. Attempt saved. Cameron Archer (Southampton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Manning with a through ball. Foul by Alex Scott (Bournemouth). Mateus Fernandes (Southampton) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Fourth official has announced 6 minutes of added time. Substitution, Bournemouth. Daniel Jebbison replaces Dango Ouattara. Substitution, Bournemouth. Luis Sinisterra replaces Ryan Christie. Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Paul Onuachu (Southampton). Alex Scott (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Cameron Archer (Southampton). Foul by Alex Scott (Bournemouth). Mateus Fernandes (Southampton) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth). Jan Bednarek (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Southampton. Cameron Archer replaces Kamaldeen Sulemana. Substitution, Southampton. Ryan Manning replaces Joe Aribo. 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