Burnley remain winless despite Maxwel Cornet’s double at Southampton

Ralph Hasenhüttl had forewarned of the foolishness of judging a book by its cover, after admitting his perception of Burnley has changed somewhat in recent years and this match provided stirring evidence of just why. A game between teams that finished the afternoon 16th and 18th was unlikely to be high on the agenda for too many neutrals but they served up some entertaining fare, even if at times it was for the wrong reasons.

A lively contest was bookended by two fine goals by Maxwel Cornet but the reality is Burnley are still searching for their first Premier League win of the season, despite rallying to prevent the impressive Armando Broja from being Southampton’s match-winner for the second week running.

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Cornet gave Burnley the lead with a glancing header from a delicious Matt Lowton cross but they were unable to use it as a platform and the hard truth is that no top-flight team has dropped more points from winning positions than the 12 they have this season. “We’re aware of the situation, I can assure you of that,” said the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche. “We want to get back to those winning performances. I don’t think we’re that far away. We’re still searching for that win but there are a lot of good signs.”

Both teams were guilty of regressing after gaining the upper hand and in the first half Southampton overwhelmed Burnley following Cornet’s cute opener, which bounced in off the upright. By the time Tino Livramento equalised from a corner four minutes before the interval, he and Mohamed Elyounoussi had already rattled the woodwork, Theo Walcott had prodded wide and Nathan Redmond had somehow managed to miss the simplest of chances.

“How has he missed that?” asked one befuddled supporter from the top tier of the Itchen Stand and on the touchline Hasenhüttl was equally flummoxed, covering his face with both hands. Broja twisted away from James Tarkowski and sent in a perfect cross to the back post but Redmond was left shaking his head after filing a strong contender for miss of the season, tapping wide from two yards out. Livramento – arguably the signing of the season for £5m from Chelsea – then curled a shot that cannoned against the inside of a post before eventually finding a route through, sending a downward header in from a corner.

Burnley were wobbling, forgetting how to defend in the process and five minutes after the interval another silly mistake allowed Southampton to take the lead. Tarkowski gifted the ball to Ibrahima Diallo, who slipped in Broja to do the rest, drilling a shot into the far corner.

But just as Southampton looked assured, Burnley conjured something out of nothing. Ashley Westwood’s pass bounced over Cornet’s left shoulder and, after brushing off Jan Bednarek, the Ivorian made up his mind early, smacking a shot into the corner.

“We had one moment where we were a little bit sleeping and they scored their second goal, which killed our momentum a little bit,” said Hasenhüttl, who conceded those first-half chances came back to bite. “There must be more outcome. Two goals at home should be enough to win a game. I think it was a deserved result. It was an interesting game for the neutral.”

Not for the first time this season, Livramento was Southampton’s outstanding player. The 18-year-old’s gallant display was typified by a rampaging first-half run from halfway, which led to the former Southampton midfielder Jack Cork pulling his shirt and picking up a booking. Broja, another player with Chelsea connections, also made his mark before departing with an ankle problem.

“We know that young players can get a chance in our club,” Hasenhüttl said. “They are both very young and with a lot of talent and they feel comfortable with this team. In ‘the Southampton way’, we want to work with these young lads and make them better. They may not stay long with us but we will help them.”